Remember me? (gxg)

Chapter 18

It felt like déjà vu walking along the halls of Tony's medical practice, only this time, Holly wasn't there for a stranger. Nick was talking but she could barely make out a word of what he was saying. She was still dazed from everything that had happened.

She stared at Mermaid's blood on her hands and couldn't stop blaming herself for what had happened. She may not have triggered it but it was her fault Mermaid was fighting for her life.

"Holly, we have to take a look at you," an attending said.

"I'm okay," she said as the attending took her to a private room to examine her.

Nick stayed with her as they waited to hear from Tony. By the time her family came to the hospital, Holly felt like an eternity had passed. Nick was kind enough to explain what had happened, and for once, Holly was glad he was there.

Lori, who loved Mermaid like a daughter, broke into tears while Michael, Cassie and Joshua were filled with grief and sadness. She didn't realize she'd been sedated by the attending until she found herself drifting off.

She started dreaming of the life she'd wanted to live with Mermaid and in her dreams, she was happy. Hours later when she came to, she realized the nightmare was not about to end.

"Mom?"

Lori was sitting on her bedside, with everyone else silently waiting for news about Mermaid. The moment she spoke, they all got up and circled around her, asking if she was okay, how she was feeling and if they should call a doctor.

"How is Mermaid?" she asked.

The expression that came across Lori's face frightened her.

"She's in critical condition. She lost a lot of blood and Michael, who shares her blood type, had to donate," Cassie said.

"It's all my fault," she said now as tears filled her eyes.

"It's not your fault, honey. This couldn't have been prevented," Joshua said as he leaned forward and pecked her forehead.

"I went after her when Nick told me not to. She got shot trying to protect me." She would've preferred being in Mermaid's position lying in the intensive care unit in a critical condition because then, Mermaid would've been okay. "If she doesn't make it..."

"She'll make it," Michael said as he squeezed her hand in reassurance.

Before Nick had gotten to the ranch, right after Mermaid had been taken by Shawn, Holly had hysterically told them everything.

She'd informed them of Mermaid's true identity and where she was originally from. At the very end, she'd revealed her true feelings for Mermaid, which was why they were easily understanding of her now.

All types of thoughts were going through Holly's mind. She was thinking that if she'd let Mermaid leave the previous night as she'd intended to, Mermaid wouldn't have been fighting for her life. Or if they had woken up early and left before Shawn had shown up, they would've gotten far enough from him and Mermaid would've been okay.

After everything Mermaid had told Holly about herself, the horror she had lived through, she surely didn't deserve this. When was her suffering going to end? She'd been through so much pain. When was it going to end?

"She's going to be okay, Holly."

She drifted off again as Cassie's words replayed themselves in her head. She wanted to believe her because it was the only shred of hope keeping her own sanity in place because if Mermaid didn't make it, she didn't know what she was going to do and she feared to dare think about it.