room.”
You would have thought that I told her to jump off a cliff. She bolted out of her chair and immediately fell to the floor, grasping her stomach in pain. “No! No, no, no.” She gasped. I knelt to the floor. “Ally is there someone I can call for you?” Shaking her head, she quietly said, “There is no one. I have no one.” I looked into her eyes. “No one?” she looked right into my eyes and shook her head. “Shit.” I kept running my fingers through my hair, as my own stomach became queasy, with the knowledge of what I needed to do. I was going back—back to the place that I hated more than anything. The Hospital.
I put my shoes on and grabbed my wallet and my keys. I went outside to pull my car around and parked it in front of the stairs. Walking back through the door, I spoke very softly to her. “Ally, I know you don’t want to go, but I think you are really sick, and you need a doctor. You asked me for help, so please let me.” I didn’t wait for her response; I just reached down and lifted her gently in my arms. She was so light that I had absolutely no problem walking with her. I carried her down the stairs, mindful of how much pain even the slightest of movement caused. As I set her into the passenger side of my car and leaned over to fasten her seatbelt, I paused to look at her. Our eyes locked, and I could see the fear in her eyes. We were so close that I could feel the heat radiating off of her skin. I couldn’t help but think that by going to the hospital, we were about to do something that scared us both beyond reason. I closed the door and walked around to the driver’s seat. I pulled forward and stopped in front of Ally’s house. Turning to her, I softly touched her hand. “Ally? Where is your wallet? You’ll need ID.” “Oh! Um, I think it is on the counter by the coffee maker.” I nodded and ran into her house to retrieve it. Running back out, wallet in hand, I slid into the driver’s seat again. With a deep breath, I drove down the drive and out onto the road.
Chapter 15
~Ally
I felt every bump in the road as Ian drove me to the hospital. I was shaking, but this time I knew it wasn’t only from the fever. I had not been away from my house in over 1 ½ years. If I had not already been sick to my stomach, I was sure I would have been now. Holding my stomach, I tried to focus on the pain. The pain was real, and I needed to distinguish between real and irrational fear. “Are you cold?” I heard Ian ask. I just shook my head. I could tell he didn’t want to take me. He had cursed several times after he decided that I needed to go. I knew it must be an inconvenience, but I couldn’t worry about that right now. I was barely holding it together. I pressed my head against the window and began to sing softly.
Goodnight, my angel
Now it's time to dream
And dream how wonderful your life will be
Someday your child may cry
And if you sing this lullabye
Then in your heart
There will always be a part of me
Someday we'll all be gone
But lullabyes go on and on...
They never die
That's how you
And I
Will be
I was brought back when I heard Ian on the phone talking to the hospital, asking for someone to meet us with a wheelchair. When I opened my eyes again, we were in front of the emergency room doors and someone in green scrubs was waiting with a wheelchair. I looked at Ian and shook my head. “I can’t Ian, I can’t do it!” I couldn’t stop shaking my head. “Ally, you have to, you’re sick.” If I didn’t feel like I had been run over by a truck, I may have been amused by the irony in that statement. “They will take care of you.” He said. My eyes shot open wide as I looked at him. “You’re not coming with me?” I choked. He shook his head and grabbed my hand. “Ally, I can’t go in there.” We sat there staring at each other, and right then and
Robert J. Sawyer, Stefan Bolz, Ann Christy, Samuel Peralta, Rysa Walker, Lucas Bale, Anthony Vicino, Ernie Lindsey, Carol Davis, Tracy Banghart, Michael Holden, Daniel Arthur Smith, Ernie Luis, Erik Wecks