The day had started like any other day. You walked to school with Ian, met up with your friends, and went on your way to class. You were sitting in fifth period, passing notes with Avery, when you saw your aunt walk into your classroom with a note. Avery gave you a concerned look as you watched your aunt give the teacher the note then motioned for you to follow her. You felt like something was clutching your chest as you quickly shoved your things into your backpack. If your aunt was pulling you out of class, you knew something had to be wrong, and it was. As you followed your aunt out of the school she explained that your sister was packing a bag for both of you because you had to rush back to New Urban. Your grandma had had a stroke and shortly after being admitted to the hospital, they had told your third oldest brother that she needed a pacemaker put in. You cried as your aunt explained what was happening, what-ifs filling your head as your mind began to race.
Your phone began to ring as you and your aunt got back to your house.
“(Name)!” Ian’s voice came from the speaker, “What’s going on? Avery said your aunt pulled you out of class?”
“Ian,” Your voice cracked as you cried, “Grandma had a stroke. They say she needs a pacemaker put in.”
You heard Ian gasp from the other line, “Oh, love, I’m so sorry!”
Ian wanted to hold you, to comfort you, and let you know it was going to be okay. That was hard to do over the phone though.
You felt a large hand on your shoulder and looked up to see Barley.
“It’s gonna be okay.” Barley said, gently squeezing your shoulder, “Let me talk to Ian. Why don’t you go check your bag to make sure (Sister) got everything you need.”
“O-okay.” You sniffed handing the phone to Barley.
“Love?” Ian questioned, wondering if he really did hear Barley.
“It’s me,” Barley said, “I’m gonna drive them up to New Urban.”
“Did you talk to mom?” Ian asked.
“Yeah,” Barley said, “Mom’s going to pick you up after school then meet us at the hospital.”
“Okay.” Ian said, relieved he was going to be able to be with you later, “Is their grandma going to be okay?”
“Honestly?” Barley said, looking to make sure you weren’t able to hear him, “It doesn’t look good, Ian. All we can do is hope it gets better.”
“Yeah,” Ian sighed, “Thanks for taking them up there.”
“Yeah, of course.” Barley replied, “If (Name) doesn’t call you when we get there, I will.”
“Thanks.” Ian said.
They said their goodbyes, leaving Ian to wonder if things would be okay.
“Is everything okay?” Gabby asked.
It was lunch time now and all of your friends had gathered around Ian to make sure you were okay. Ian explained what was happening and spent the rest of the day watching the clock until the final bell rang.
Ian quickly made his way to the front of the school, looking for Laurel’s car. A horn honking caught his attention. He saw his mom waving from the driver door and he quickly rushed to the car.
“Have you heard anything?” Ian asked.
“They got to New Urban about half an hour ago.” Laurel replied, “It sounds like their grandma’s in surgery now.”
“Is she going to be okay?” Ian asked.
Laurel paused, unsure of what to say at first, “The doctors are going to do everything they can. All we can do is hope for the best.”
——
A couple hours had passed, you had been texting with your friends in a group chat, trying to keep your mind off of the surgery. You wished you could talk with Ian, but he didn’t have service between towns.
“Ian will be there soon!” Gabby texted.
“Yea! He left as soon as school let out!” Winston added.
“Have you heard anything yet?” Avery asked.
“Not yet.” You replied.
“Hang in there! We love you!” Gabby wrote.
“We’re here! What floor are you guys on?” Ian wrote as Laurel parked the car.
Your heart jumped when you saw his message and you quickly typed where you were.
“Ian and Laurel are here, I’m going to meet them at the elevator!” You said to your sister and Barley.
You hurried to the elevator, reaching it as the doors opened. Ian hurried out, quickly wrapping his arms around you and hugging you tightly.
“I’m so sorry, love!” He said as you started to cry, “I don’t know what to do for you.”
“It’s okay,” You said, burying your face in his neck, “I’m just glad you’re here!”
“It’s going to be okay.” Laurel said, wrapping an arm around you, pressing her head to yours, “If you guys need anything you just let us know.”
“Thank you.” You said with a weak smile.
You lead Ian and Laurel back to the waiting area where your aunt, sister, and Barley were, your oldest brother, Ted, wasn’t there anymore.
“Where’s Teddy?” You asked as you looked around.
Your sister opened her mouth to talk but just turned to your aunt.
“Well, grandma’s surgery is done,” Your aunt said, “But the doctor wanted to talk to Ted alone for a minute.”
“What does that mean?” You asked, feeling your chest tighten as Ian squeezed your hand.
“We don’t know yet.” Your sister said, her voice cracking as she sniffed.
At that point, Ted came around the corner, running a hand through his hair.
“What’d they say?” Barley asked.
“So, good news: grandma’s going to be okay.” Ted said.
“What’s the but?” Your sister asked.
“But,” Ted continued, “The surgery took so long because one of grandma's lungs collapsed.”
“What?!” You and your sister exclaimed.
“It’s okay.” Ted assured you both, “They’ve got it fixed, but it means grandma’s going to have a longer recovery time than we thought.”
“So your grandma’s okay then?” Ian asked.
“I’m sorry, who are you?” Ted asked with a confused look.
“Oh, sorry!” You said, “This is Ian and Laurel.”
“Oh! Sorry,” Ted hissed, “I’m sorry. I should have known-”
“No, no!” Laurel said, “Don’t apologize, you all have had a long and stressful day! When was the last time you ate something?”
Ted paused for a moment before replying, “You know, I was late for work, so I skipped breakfast. Then I got the call about grandma, so I don’t think I actually ate anything today.”
“Why don’t we go down to the cafeteria?” Laurel suggested, “It’ll be a little bit before they let you see your grandma, why don’t we get you all something to eat while we wait.”
“That sounds good.” Ted said with a small smile. “Thank you ma’am.”
“Oh, don’t ma’am me, just call me Laurel.” She said with a smile.
Your sister and Barley nodded, getting up from their spots, but you didn’t want to go.
“Aren’t you coming?” Your aunt asked as she got up.
“I’m going to wait here.” You said, “What if the nurses or the doctor tries to look for us?”
“They’ve got my number runt,” Ted said, “Let's get some food.”
“I’ll stay with her.” Ian said, gently squeezing your hand.
Ted was about to object when your sister spoke up, “Okay, we’ll bring something back for you guys.”
“Thanks.” You said as they all walked away.
Once you were alone, Ian turned to you with a concerned look, “Are you doing okay?”
“Not really.” You said as you began to sob.
Ian pulled you into a tight hug as he let you cry.
“I can’t turn my mind off.” You sobbed, “I keep playing what-ifs in my head, over and over, and I just can’t stop.”
“It’s going to be okay.” Ian said, brushing a hand through your hair, “Just let it out, love.”
You sobbed into Ian’s shoulder, telling him all the fears of what could happen. Ian never let you go, he just held you and switched from brushing your hair to rubbing your back.
“I don’t want to lose her Ian.” You cried, “Not after losing mom and dad!”
“You’re not going to lose her.” Ian said, “Not today.”
You rarely talked about your parents. You only had a handful of memories of them before the accident. You were six and you had gone with your parents to visit their friends, your other siblings had stayed behind since they didn’t want to go. All you could remember was a bad earthquake, then you were unconscious. When you woke up, your aunt and your oldest siblings were with you. The building you and your parents had been in had collapsed during the earthquake and your parents didn’t survive. Since then, in situations like this, your mind would always go through every what-if you could think of.
Ian knew exactly what it was like for those what-if to build up, so he did the only thing he could think of to help you.
“It’s going to be okay.” He said, resting his chin on your head, “If you need anything, you know you can tell me, right?”
You nodded as you slowly began to catch your breath. You felt a little better after crying, but you still wanted to see your grandma. When you pulled away from Ian, he opened his bag and pulled out a bottle of water and handed it to you.
What felt like an eternity passed before the nurse came out and told you you could see your grandma. Ian took your hand as you followed the nurse to your grandma's room. When you walked in, your grandma slowly looked in your direction before weakly waving to you. You choked back tears, walking to her bedside as you began to gesture with your hands. Ian blinked, surprised that you were using sign language.
“I didn’t know you knew sign language!” He said.
“Oh, yeah.” You said, “When grandma started losing her hearing we all learned sign language with her.”
“That’s cool.” Ian smiled.
You grandma smiled weakly, nodding at Ian.
“She can also read lips, as long as you don’t talk too fast.” You explained.
“Oh!” Ian looked at your grandma and smiled, “It’s nice to meet you ma’am.”
You grandma waved her hand before making a few more gestures.
“She says ‘You don’t need to ma’am me, just call me grandma.’” You translated.
Ian laughed quietly, “Alright, grandma.”
A small smile spread across your face as you continued to translate for your grandma. Finally being able to see her, seeing her carry on a conversation with Ian, it made you feel so relieved. You couldn’t help smiling, not just because your grandma was okay, but also because of how supportive Ian was.
“Grandma!” Your sister and Ted chimed from the doorway.
You motioned to your grandma that you and Ian were going to go and let your siblings visit with her now. Your grandma nodded, motioning that she loved you and you told her you loved her too.
“Feel any better?” Ian asked, gently squeezing your hand as you both walked back to the waiting area.
“A little,” You said, “I just feel drained now. Like I kinda want to go home and just crash out.”
“You want to go home?” Your aunt asked, only catching the last part of the conversation.
“I’m just tired.” You said, noticing your aunt and Laurel had been talking.
“We were actually just talking about that.” Laurel said, “How would you feel about staying the night with us?”