This chapter is dedicated to @nawwusulfi1 for constantly supporting my story and always looking forward to it :)
The ambulance came rushing to the scene of the accident only a few minutes after receiving a call from a panicked witness.
Cassie's car was still slumped to the side and she remained unconscious with blood gushing out of the cut on her head. Her car door was jammed shut and her convertible top was over the car so they had to break the window at the back and climb through in order to gain access into the car, it was the safest and fastest way to rescue her. One of the men climbed in through the broken window while the others made sure the car was held up.
He climbed in and struggled with her seatbelt a bit, it was stuck, he pulled out a pocket knife and cut her free from her seatbelt. As soon as he was able to cut her, he slowly and carefully pulled her out of the destroyed car with the help of some other paramedics outside.
As soon as they brought her out, one of them pulled out her bag and cellphone that had fallen to the back in order to find out her personal information. The few people that were watching cheered and let out sighs of relief as soon as they saw her out safely.
They placed her on the stretcher, she was in terrible shape, she had cuts on her hands and legs, the most prominent being the one on her head. Just a minute or two after they pulled her out, the worst thing happened, her car burst up in flames, a minute or two delay could have cost her and possibly some people on the paramedic team their lives.
"She's loosing a lot of blood," one of the paramedics said "but thankfully she's still alive" he said as they loaded her unto the ambulance and started work on her, they strapped an oxygen mask over her nose and mouth and cleaned the wounds on her hands legs and head as they rushed her to the Freetown Hospital.
They arrived the hospital and immediately rushed her to the emergency room, there was a team of doctors there on standby waiting to save her life. The paramedics had already easily contacted her family with the help of her ID card and her phone, although Danny had already called her parents expressing his worry, he heard when her car crashed and when she didn't pick her phone up, he knew something serious had happened.
In a few minutes her parents came rushing through the hospital doors and ran over to the receptionist, it was a different receptionist this time.
"Cassie Meyer" her mum blurted out with a pounding heart.
"Where's my daughter" her father demanded impatiently.
"Please could you take a seat over there" the receptionist said politely, motioning her hands over to the waiting area "she's in surgery, she's barely been in there for twenty minutes"
Mrs Meyer dragged her husband to the waiting area and sat down on the front row, she tried to make him sit but he was impatiently pacing round the hospital. She called Danny to tell him that his suspicions were correct, she asked him to come over to the hospital because Cassie needed all the help and support from loved ones that she could possibly get.
Danny came rushing through the hospital doors alongside Phoebe just a few minutes after Mrs. Meyer called him. They spotted Cassie's parents in the waiting area and rushed over to them.
"How's Cassie?" Phoebe exclaimed "please tell me she's alright"
"She's in surgery" Mrs. Meyer said worriedly "we haven't heard anything yet," she said breathless.
"Dammit" Danny exclaimed "I wish I could do something to help her, I was on the phone with her when she had the accident, we were talking and then I heard screeching of cars and then a crash, I was so scared"
"There was nothing you could do" Mrs. Meyer encouraged.
"I know" he said taking a seat beside Cassie's mother "but I can't help but feel guilty, if I didn't call her she wouldn't have been distracted" he said weakly.
"I've been a terrible friend" Phoebe said sadly as she slumped on the couch beside Danny "when you told me she was in an accident I was drained I felt heartless and I was so damn mad at myself" she said sobbing "Cassie has been an incredible friend and I just bailed on her, right now she's here fighting for her life, I wouldn't be able to live if something bad happened to her"
"Nothing bad is going to happen to Cass" Danny he said in a strong tone and placed a hand on Phoebe's shoulder "she's a fighter."
"Cassie and I have never had a special mother-daughter bond," Mrs. Meyer sobbed, talking to no one in particular "today we had a the most heartwarming conversation and we promised to start acting like mother and daughter, I was so happy this morning because finally I had my daughter back, we understood each other and now--" her tears interrupted her and Phoebe ran over to her to give her a hug. .
"We have to be strong for Cassie" Phoebe said softly
"Yes, she'll be fine, " Mrs. Meyer added, trying her hardest to believe her own words.
Mrs. Meyer looked up at her husband who was still pacing round the waiting area impatiently "Fred please relax."
"How do you expect me to do that when I don't even know if my daughter is alive?" he sparked which made Cassie's mother flinch a bit. She did not say anything further in order not to worsen the state of the atmosphere they were in.
A very long and agonizing hour passed by with everyone still waiting anxiously for an update on Cassie's condition.
After a while, Tyler came rushing through the hospital doors and immediately spotted Cassie's parents and his friends.
"How's Cassie?" he asked impatiently.
"We haven't heard anything yet," Phoebe said with a yawn..
"Ty, how did you know about Cassie?" Danny asked. "I tried to call you but I couldn't reach you, Phoebe couldn't reach you either."
"Tucker told me," he said, scratching the back of his head and maintaining no eye contact.
"I didn't tell Tucker," Phoebe said, confusion vivid in her tone.
"You know what, it doesn't matter, I can't remember how I found out" he snapped "all that matters is that I'm here"
"Woah easy bro, we were just curious" Danny said, putting his hand in front of him.
Tyler took a seat beside Phoebe and joined the wait. A few minutes later, Detective Brady and some other people from the station arrived, Peter included.
"Hello, Mr. Meyer, Mrs. Meyer" Brady greeted curtly but none of them replied. "I'm in charge of your daughters case," he went on. "We were called to the scene of the crime, onlookers said that it looked like she was being chased, " he said, and with this he grabbed her parents attention.
"What do you mean?" he father demanded. " Who would anyone want to hurt Cassie?"
"We are still investigating, in the meantime we'll make sure Cassie is protected by having officers stationed outside her door," he said.
"It's the least you can do for getting my daughter involved in such a dangerous case, that's probably why this has happened to her," Mrs. Meyer said bitterly.
"Your men better watch after my daughter with their lives detective," Mr Meyer said in a threatening tone.
"I promise you I'll do everything in my power to protect Cassie," Brady assured as he nodded his head politely.
"Can I speak to you for a second detective?" Danny said nervously, he simply nodded his head and they walked outside to talk.
"What do you want to talk to me about?" Brady asked as soon as they were out.
"Before Cassie's accident, we spoke, I called her and then she told me that she knew who the killer was."
"Shit" Brady exclaimed " I had a terrible feeling that it had something to do with the killer, I never thought he would go after her, but it makes sense now. She must have somehow discovered who he was and he wanted to make sure he silenced her," he said pacing about.
"I'm scared he'll come back to finish what he started, " Danny's voice broke as he said those words.
"No one can get to her with my men outside the door. We'll catch that bastard," he said through gritted teeth.
"Can't wait till this hell is over, " he said hopefully "how did you guys know it was Cassie by the way?"
"Witnesses described her as the killers sister, they must have seen her on the news yesterday."
They walked back into the hospital and walked over to the waiting area, on approaching, they saw a doctor emerge from the emergency room , it was the same male doctor that attended to Cassie and Brady the last time they were at the hospital. They all stood up, anxious to hear whatever the doctor had to say.
"Are you Cassie Meyers parents?" The doctor asked.
"Yes!" Her mum exclaimed full of hope "how's my Cassie?" she asked.
"Where's my daughter?" Her father demanded
"It was a struggle but thankfully the operation was successful," the doctor announced and everyone let out a sigh of relief. "She cut her head badly and she smashed her head hard on the glass window causing her to have a severe skull fracture so we had to operate on it, she has a few bruises round her body but nothing too drastic, she'll be just fine" he said reassuringly.
"Can we see her?" Phoebe asked hopefully.
"Of course" he smiled "but I also have to share some bad news."
"What kind of bad news?" her father asked worriedly.
"She's in a com," the doctor said calmly.
"What?" Her mother exclaimed, Phoebes mouth was agape, her dad looked furious, Brady looked scared, Danny looked worried and Tyler was expressionless. "She fell into a coma due to the severe injury to her head."
"How long will this coma last?" Tyler asked curiously.
"We can't tell, for some lucky people, it's a few days, others weeks, and for the unfortunate ones, years, but hardly years, so all we can do is hope"
"But she'll be alright" Brady asked.
"Hopefully, right now she's doing good, she's in the ICU where we can keep a close eye on her and give her maximum attention, she'll be fed through a plastic tube and her breathing will be aided by a ventilator" he said.
"I want to see her" her mum said.
"Me too" said Mr. Meyer.
The doctor nodded politely before saying "follow me" he led them to the ICU where Cassie was transferred to after the surgery. He opened up the door and made way for them to walk in. They walked in slowly, scared to see what state she was in, as soon as her mum saw her, her heart broke. Cassie looked so pale and lifeless in the completely white huge room, her head was wrapped up in a bandage, her skin pale, and her skinny nature made her look even more helpless. Like the doctor said, a ventilator was placed over her nose and mouth to aid her breathing and she was being fed through a plastic tube.
"You'll be alright her mum cooed as she picked up Cassie's hands and rubbed it gently "I know you will come out of this stronger and then we can keep the promise we made to each other, fight Cassie, don't make me wait for a year to know what it truly feels like to have a daughter" she said with a single tear rolling out of her eyes. Her dad just stood there with his hands crossed over his chest, he found it terribly hard to believe that his Cassie was in a coma.
When they were done, the rest of her friends took turns in visiting her and whispering how much they loved her into her ears, they know she couldn't hear them, but it just felt right.
*********
It's been six days and Cassie was still trapped in her state of comatose, her friends and family had come to visit her every single day, they brought flowers, cute teddy bears that had 'get well soon' written on a heart at its centre, and 'get well soon cards'. Her parents, Danny,Phoebe and Brady hardly left her side, her other friends visited her frequently, surrounding her with all their love and care. As promised, Brady brought an officer to guard her door 24/7, he didn't let anyone that wasn't a hospital staff or known family member even breathe close to her room.
It was night time and everyone had gone home, her parents had been there all day and hesitantly went home after being forced by Danny and Brady who were the only ones left.
"So have you found out anything new about the killer?" Danny asked.
"No, but I'm working on it, I have gone to the scene of the accident with some officers a couple of times, we still have no idea where Cassie was coming from"
"I hope you find out who the killer is soon"
"Yes, after what he did to my sister and Cassie, I declared war"
"How's your sister? Cassie told me about her" he asked concernedly.
"She's better, she's been discharged, she's staying at a friends place right now"
"That's great, well I think we should get going too, it's really late, I have school, you have work, and she's in great hands here" he said yawning and stretching his body.
"Yeah you're right, see you tomorrow kiddo" he said as her patted Danny on his back, they got up and walked over to the door but before they could open it, someone else did. They looked to see that it was a nurse, in her hand she had a tray of injections, but when Brady looked closely, he saw that he recognized that nurse.
"Aren't you the receptionist?" He asked, as soon as she saw him she dropped the tray on the ground and fear overtook her.
"What are you doing here with those injections" he demanded.
"Yes I remember you" Danny Said, also recognizing the woman, she became more scared now that two people had recognized her.
She cleared her throat and brought her shaky legs down to the ground to pick up the tray that she had dropped. "Yes I'm the receptionist, I'm just filling in for one of the nurses" she said nervously.
"Why would anyone ask you to fill up for a nurse?" Brady asked annoyed "there are hundreds of other actual nurses in this hospital "he said "you're not even a nurse, no one will ask you to replace them"
"Yes I know but my friend" she said scratching her head nervously "she's a nurse and she had to leave early without the hospitals permission, and so she asked me to help her so she doesn't get in trouble"
"Cassie has two nurses assigned to her, they are all present" Danny said. "We are here everyday, they don't give Cassie any injections at this time" Danny said, looking at the time on his watch and them glancing at the tray in her hands.
"Oh silly me" the receptionist said nervously, as she hit her forehead "I must have gotten the wrong room, silly me" she said, laughing sheepishly and she quickly exited the room.
"What was that all about?" Danny asked
"I don't know, but I don't trust that woman, I'll be sure to keep a close eye on her, she's strange"
"Very strange"
***********
The next day they were all gathered in Cassie's room as usual, it was afternoon time and once more, they brought flowers and just filled up her room with as much love as they could. All were there but Mr Meyer who was still trying his hardest to save his sons life. The ventilator was finally taken off thankfully she could breathe on her own now which was an incredible sign.
"I can't wait for her to wake up" Mrs. Meyer said smiling.
"Me too" Phoebe said "I have to tell her that I love her and that I'm sorry, I need to explain to her why I've been so distant"
"There's no rush" Tyler said and everyone's head snapped towards him.
"What do you mean there's no rush?" Brady asked.
"I mean she needs to rest, she's overworked herself these past few months, maybe this coma will be good for her"
"What the hell do you mean it will be good for her?" Phoebe asked angrily "when is a coma ever a good thing"
"I don't think Tyler means any harm, right Tyler?" Mrs. Meyer asked, looking at him skeptically.
"Of course I don't mean any harm, I just mean that it's nice seeing her in rest mode, rather than in work mode like she always is, you know what, forget I even said anything" he said, laughing nervously.
Some of them still looked at him suspiciously but they decided to let it go, they didn't want to have an argument at such a delicate time.
"I have to go back to the station" Brady announced "still working on Cassie's case, I'll be back in the evening as usual"
"Yes I have to leave too" Phoebe announced "I have some things I need to take care of" she said as she walked out of the room.
"Call me if there are any changes" Brady said as he left
It was just her mum Danny and a nervous looking Tyler left as usual.
"I can't wait for the day she wakes up" Danny said as he took a seat at the edge of her bed, he picked up her hand and massaged it lightly and then he felt something, her hands moved slightly. "Oh my" he exclaimed.
"What's wrong?" Mrs. Meyer asked nervously.
"I think she just moved her hands" he said pointing to her hand, and as he said so, she moved it again slowly, confirming his suspicions.
"Are you sure?" Tyler asked
"Yes, she moved it again"
After a while her eyes slowly fluttered open, she struggled to open them at first and they kept on shutting, but after a few tries, she was finally able to open them. She pulled up her weak hands to her face to block the light from attacking her vision.
"Oh my Cassie!" Her mum screamed "you're awake" she said as she bent down to attack her in a light hug.
"So happy to have you back Cassie" Danny said, smiling from ear to ear and Tyler just stood awkwardly at the back.
"I knew you could do this Cassie, I knew you would fight through this" her mum beamed. "Tyler honey, please go get the doctor"
"Sure" he said as he slowly walked out to get the doctor.
"How do you feel?" Danny asked, but she didn't answer, she was still too weak and extremely tired, her eyes skimmed through the large white room a few times, she looked at the table in front of her that was clustered with various types of flowers and cards, and then her eyes landed in Danny and then on her mum who was smiling like a fool.
"Don't worry honey, take your time, we're just glad to have you back" she said placing her hands over Cassie's who immediately pulled out her hands.
she kept on looking at her mum and then to Danny and then at the room and she landed her eyes back on her mum who had been smiling like a fool, and then with the little energy she had, she managed to ask weakly with a croaked whisper "who are you?"