Trials and Tribulations [Chaelisa]

Chapter 82 (part 1)

“Lisa?” Amy said, peering in to her daughter’s room from the doorway with an anxious expression on her face. Lisa opened her eyes, her lids fluttering heavily as though she’d been sleeping for so long that they’d forgotten how to work. The light that greeted her was blinding and harsh, forcing them instantly closed again until she was able to work up the courage and the effort to open them fully.

“Lisa,” the soft voice came again from somewhere close by, a hint of audible concern etched in it. Lisa pried her eyelids open to search for the source of the sound but instead they fell on to the ceiling above her bed and the white tiles of the hospital room that she occupied. All around her was the slow, rhythmic sound of electronic beeps and as she struggled to remain awake, to pull herself fully out of the deep slumber that she’d been consumed by she felt a gentle touch on her right arm and slowly twisted her head in response until she was greeted by the sight of her mom.

The older woman looked tired as she sat in the chair beside her bed and her eyes were dark and laden with the weight of her endless nights of worry. She smiled at Lisa sadly when their eyes finally found each other and the youngster wanted to reciprocate the gesture but found that she couldn’t, that her body would not obey her command no matter how much she willed it to. Lisa cleared her throat and licked at her lips, her mouth feeling dry and parched from a lack of oral fluid intake as a result of the nasogastric tube which was providing her nutrition during these early stages of her recovery.

“W…w…whe…” she started stuttering, her voice low and hoarse; the use of it making her throat protest painfully.

“What?” Amy probed kindly, brushing the hair at her daughter’s temple lightly with her fingertips and leaning closer to her small form, her elbows resting on the bed and sinking in to the mattress.

“W…w…ww…where’s….R.rr..Rosie?” Lisa asked and Amy’s forehead creased in confusion.

“Lisa,” she started, wearing a sympathetic look on her face as she continued to play with her daughters’ hair comfortingly. “Who’s Rosie?” Lisa felt her stomach lurch horribly at the question and a panic welled up within her that made her chest constrict tightly and trapped all the air in her lungs without leaving any way for it to escape. “Lisa,” Amy said urgently, sitting down on the edge of her daughter’s bed and shaking her shoulder roughly with one hand. “Lisa, wake up.” Lisa muttered something inaudible as she dreamt and Amy moved the hair out of her daughter’s eyes, noting the thin sheen of sweat that glistened on her skin and the way that her breathing was more laboured than usual. Her limbs were twitching in the bed as she slept and Amy could see the same distress on her daughter’s features that were always present during one of her nightmares. “Lisa,” Amy said more firmly, shaking the girl on the bed vigorously, determined to rip her from the bad dream she was obviously trapped in.

“You need to wake up now sweetheart,” she encouraged, her voice strong and loud as she shook her again, “Lisa!” This time Lisa’s eyes flew open and it took her a moment to orientate herself, her eyes darting from side to side and being brutally accosted with her bedroom wall and the multitude of photos which littered it. Lisa felt disorientated and her chest still heaved rapidly as her lungs fought to replenish the air which she’d previously believed to have been imprisoned within them. As her breathing started to settle and her faculties returned to her, Lisa’s eyes managed to focus on one of the photos directly in front of her on the wall. It was a picture of her and Chaeyoung during one of their many trips to the beach and Lisa closed her eyes and smiled to herself on seeing it; a slow, relieved sigh escaping between her pursed lips. “Lisa?” Amy asked tenderly, her fingertips moving back and forth across the fabric of her daughter’s Ed Sheeran tshirt in an attempt at comfort. “Are you ok?” she asked uncertainly. Lisa rolled over on to her back beneath her covers and met Amy’s troubled eyes.