Sandra Bullock
There were sirens coming. It all happened so fast. I was there, watching and absorbing every single scene flashing through my very eyes. I didn't even notice that Edith was hugging my legs and the poor kid was also watching the whole thing. I waa so disoriented. I could not hear her cries, nor the fast beating of my own heart. There were a lot of people coming; they were all chattering, but I heard nothing except the loud deafening sounds of the siren. I was approached by a paramedic and she gave me a smile. I stood there, still paralyzed, still not at my best self. She asked for Edith and I didn't answer. But I saw that she carried Edith towards the car. Yellow lines were placed on my property and as I stood there on my place, it was when I realized I was not watching a movie, it was the reality. My heart wrenched and my stomach twisted as I saw the body of my fiancé on the stroller.
I couldn't see her face for it was covered with blood. She was very pale and her alabaster skin wasn't glowing anymore. Her maxi brown dress turned into red and the bracelet that I gave her was hanging on her wrist, covered in blood too, fresh blood dripping from it and I painfully watched as every drop fell into the pavement. My whole life flashed before me and I collapsed. My knees kissed the cold hard ground, but I felt none at all. I knew I shouted and there were tears coming out, but I didn't hear my voice. It was like I was in a dream - so helpless, that no matter how hard I tried, I could not do what I wanted. A woman approached me and helped me to stand, but I didn't. They were telling me things, but I couldn't understand a single thing. My lips wanted to ask what happened, but my mind could not form a coherent thought. All I knew was that the love of my life, the woman I was gonna marry was there inside the ambulance, lifeless. She's dead.
In a sweat drenched shirt, I arrived at the hospital. Two people put me inside the ambulance and I didn't know, not until I arrived. I saw Cate's body being dragged inside and every passing second that I was watching it felt like my heart was being sliced into pieces. The happenings had sunk in successfully and even with a head splitting headache, I knew I had to wait. She was sent into a room and I had to wait outside - but what for? Should I wait for the doctor to tell me that she's dead, because I already knew it - for goddamn fucking sake, I was there and I saw it, she was dead. But still, there I was, trapped in the quitest and whitest hallway. There was no one around - it was just me, but evanescent muffled cries were heard. I heard about agony, sufferings, birth and death at the same time. I knew that in these tiny rooms lined in the hallway, some were enjoying the birth, and some were crying over the death of a loved one, and I, I knew that mine was the latter.
My knees trembled. The bench was too far from me and I didn't have the energy anymore so I chose to collapse and sat on the cold-tiled floor and there, I sobbed. How did it happen? It was almost perfect. We were okay. Everything was going into what was planned. I was about to marry her. We were just a minute away from our end game. Edith and Cate were just playing outside. What the fuck happened? The phone on my hand beeped, countless times, but I didn't have the energy to answer it. I knew that the news already broke around Hollywood and have been laid into tabloids already, but what broke me apart was the fact that I didn't know what really happened. I was just in the kitchen plotting my suprise for her, but it was me who got surprised the most.
I stood from the floor when a doctor came out. I knew that I had to embrace myself for the she's gone, but when I met the doctor by the door, what he told me made me cry even harder than I did.
"She's alive."
My eyes watered and it fell hard. I was happy and I couldn't contain my happiness so I broke down and sobbed helplessly. The doctor tapped my shoulder.
"Her pulse stopped, but she's alive. The most common causes for an absent pulse are cardiac arrest and shock. What happened with Cate was the shock. Shock happens when our blood flow reduced and would be sent to vital organs. This causes a weak or an absent pulse, rapid heartbeat, shallow breathing and unconsciousness. She got two gun shots. One on her shoulder and on her ear, it almost hit her head which could have been worse. The impact probably caused the shock and that's why she had an absent pulse."
Gun shots? I felt my mouth hung. How did it happen? Who did that? I felt my whole body shaking, yet I managed to stand.
"Is she safe now?" I asked, trying to not break my voice.
The doctor gave me a smile and a tap on my shoulder, "She's table now. She's still asleep, but you can go into her room now."
I didn't wait any longer and right away, I walked in. She was attached to tubes and machines. Her skin and her lips looked pale and it crumpled my heart. Who the fuck did this? I threw my hand over my mouth to supress my own cries as I sat down on the chair beside her bed. She looked so fragile and even though I wanted to hold her and touch her, I didn't, for I was so afraid that I could hurt her.
"Baby?"
I knew she's asleep, but my soul couldn't wait to speak. I almost lost her and I could lose her still. The thought of losing her twisted my insides and I sobbed. I didn't help myself from holding her hand.
"Please... fight. I cannot lose you. Not again, not forever, please...." I choke on my words, "I need you." I kissed her hand, the tears were clouding my eyes, but I couldn't make it stop, "We need you, please..." I wiped my tears and tried to compose myself.
I stared at her face - her face screamed so much tranquility. Despite the wound on her shoulder and on her ear, despite the paleness of her skin, despite all the tubes attached to her body and the bandages patching her form, she still looked so beautiful. I thumbed her lips and caressed it gently. Whoever did this would pay. I could not make this pass.
"Wake up. Wake up and I'll be here waiting for you. It will be me who will be your first view when you wake up." I smiled at her sleeping form, "Wake up and we'll get married. You still have to marry me, Catherine."
My heart dropped its beat when I noticed a small smile tugging on her lips. I didn't quite know what to say for a few seconds. It took me a few breaths and a thousand finger-shaking, before I got to speak.
"Hey... baby, it's me..." I scooted closer and held her hand even tighter, "It's me." With that, my tears fell even harder once more.
Her smile grew even more and she responded by holding my hand back. Her chest moved, but her eyes remained close. I watched as her lips opened slowly.
"I heard you. Marry me now, baby..."
Her voice was at its weakest point. Her eyes were still closed, but she was smiling. The sight of her alive and talking made me cry even more. I wanted to hug her and crush her in between my arms, but I couldn't. My hands trembled. I held her and she held me back. The feel of her hands was so soft that I had to tighten my hold, afraid that she might slip away.
"Hey..." She whispered and a small laugh came out of her lips, "Stop crying..."
I looked at her and she was still closing her eyes. She was weak and all I wanted to do was to transfer all of my energy for her. I wiped my tears with my shoulder before I came to her and kissed her head.
"I'm happy you're safe..."
"Of course. I still wanna be Mrs. Bullock."
My heart ached sweetly. Catherine Elise Blanchett-Bullock. It sounded perfect. She finally opened her eyes. It still looked beautiful and even if it looked exhausted, my soul slowly got lost once again. Cate moved, but what she told me next startled my very existence.
That can't happen.
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