Not Now

2

"Is she going to be alright?" I hear a male voice as my eyes flutter open.

A soft, calm female voice responds with "Sir, please stop worrying, she's in the best hands".

I open my eyes and begin to squint at the bright light surrounding me. I see Harry sat next to me, sitting next to the lady with a paramedic's uniform who presumably who I heard speaking.

"She's awake!" Harry suddenly attempts to stand but is stopped by the paramedic who puts her arm in the way to stop him. He nods at her in an understanding manner before speaking again. "Olivia, it's okay, we're going to the hospital now and they're just going to do some tests to make sure that you're okay".

I nod, still a little confused as to how long I'd been unconscious. "My mum, where is my mum?" I ask, the earlier events suddenly springing to the front of my mind.

The paramedic and Harry exchange glances before Harry looks down to the floor.

The paramedic sighs, sitting down next to Harry as the ambulance we're in goes over a bump in the road and we all shake. "I'm very sorry to have to tell you this now, but your mother passed away at the scene of the crash. We did everything we could to save her".

My mouth opens in disbelief at what had just come out of this woman's mouth. "What??" I remark.

The lady gives me a sympathetic look before standing back up, checking a medical machine that has now begun to beep, probably letting her know that my heart is beating ten times faster than it was previously to finding out this news.

Obviously seeing my panic stricken face, Harry begins to talk. "Listen, don't worry, everything is going to be fine. I'll be here for you".

I scoff, turning back to face the ceiling instead of him. "Oh please, you don't even know me". A tear runs down the side of my face but I know that crying now isn't going to solve anything...I've never been one to show if I'm upset, regardless of what was causing it. I just get on with life.

Harry coughs a hurt cough and an awkward silence follows until we reach the hospital.

Once at the hospital, we were pushed from room to room whilst being told that the particular doctor I needed wasn't in that part of the hospital...whatever that meant, and neither me or Harry said a word. But eventually, a nurse escorted us to a room where we found a lovely doctor who was understanding and checked me over.

"Well, you're all good to go" she says as she takes the thermometer out of my ear and gives me a gentle pat on the shoulder.

"Thank yo-" I begin to mutter before Harry interjects.

"Um, actually, before we go, she was sick quite a lot on me..." he points down at the dried sick on his shoes/legs, bringing my attention to the smell of it which I hadn't noticed before now. "I was just wondering whether you could find out why?"

"Well, sickness is common after a large shock occurs, nothing to worry about" she smiles.

Harry gazes in thought for a second before speaking again. "That's the thing, she was sick before...well...everything"

I try not to tear up as I remember the day's events. "Harry, this lady has better things to be doing with her time. Being sick isn't out of the ordinary, probably just something I ate"

The nurse nods in agreement but I could tell that she was still thinking. "True, but I can still check you over while you're here if you would like?". Her kind eyes look over at me.

"Oh honestly it's okay, don't worry I'll be alright" I say, just wanting to go home and cry under a blanket.

Harry pipes up again. "Olivia, I really do think you should get checked...that was a lot of sick"