Peripheral Vision: A Supernatural Thriller(48)
August came quickly. Elizabeth, still not expecting her sister's family for another day, was making her usual Sunday night dinner when she got the phone call… head on collision.... Signal Hill.... John, dead… Michelle, dead.... Sarah, in critical condition. The room spun. Everything turned to grey. Elizabeth fell backwards against the butterfly wallpapered kitchen wall. The phone dropped from her hand and hung by its long black cord as she slid down to the floor.
It’s slipping again, she thought. Everything is slippy here. The tears were now streaming down her cheeks, as she tried to wrap her mind around what she had just been told. It can't be true, can it? She pressed the palms of her hands against her eyes and began to weep violently. It was uncontrollable. She kept pressing harder and harder, the increasing pain almost giving her a sense of relief, but at the same time scaring her. Finally she pulled her fists away from her eyes and slammed them against the wall. A cry of pain that grew deep in her belly suddenly escaped from her mouth. The sound of which surprised Elizabeth. “Was that me?” She asked to no one in particular, and that's when her eyes refocused. The grey had slipped away, and her eyes came to rest on the photograph of the smiling little girl on a red tricycle. Lizzy knew what she must do.
The last minute flight to Utah wasn't cheap, and renting a car was something that Elizabeth had never done before, but there was a little girl that needed her and that was that. The ranch could wait. The bills could wait. It all could wait. Family is family is family is family… she thought as she arrived at Bryan Memorial in Signal Hill, Utah. The smooth outside of the white building made her feel cold on the inside. These days, it had been getting harder and harder for Elizabeth to even leave the river house, let alone the state. Just to drive into town for groceries seemed like some impossible chore, but for Sarah, she would force the feelings away. All she had to do was think of the little girl on the red tricycle. The dark-haired girl with the sparkle in her eye and that smile. That innocent smile that says I've been loved. I've been loved well.
The smells in the hallway were strong. Too strong, she thought. Hospitals have a way of mixing smells… the shit and sickness, mixed with a touch of medicine, and a pinch of strong lemon cleanser. This hospital was no different and as Elizabeth approached her niece's room, she began to doubt if she should really be there. It was no longer the fear of leaving her home, or going out amongst people, but a fear of putting someone else in danger. A fear that maybe something had followed her up from the valley, waited patiently in the grey shadows, and was now waiting for Lizzy to find the little girl from the photograph. “The curse,” is what kept playing over and over in her mind… the curse. Elizabeth stopped. Sarah's room, 17, was only two more doors away. Her heart beat loudly in her chest. It seemed to thump violently in her ears. She looked around the hallway half expecting that everyone else was hearing it too. They weren't however, and Elizabeth quickly made up her mind. I'll take one quick peek, she thought, one little peek will be okay, and then I'll go.
The doorway to Room 17 was standing open. A low, audible beeping sound lead Elizabeth into the room, and then she was greeted by the mechanical breathing of Sarah's respirator. The little one looked so frail, so fragile, lying on the hospital bed, attached to so many oil sucking machines. The top of her small head was wrapped with a large white bandage. Visible cuts stood out on her once rosy cheeks and her left arm seemed to be in a cast. All at once the air seemed too thin. It made it hard to breathe… to think.
Elizabeth turned quickly and attempted to leave the hospital room, but was startled to see three people blocking the doorway. A young man and woman were standing halfway in the room holding hands and looking in at Elizabeth. Behind them another man, a much older man in a long white coat was busy writing something on a clipboard. He was chewing gum. Really smacking it, back and forth, up and down. Elizabeth blinked hard. Her eyes adjusted again.
“Elizabeth?” The woman asked.
“Yes.” Lizzy answered slowly. Her mind raced. How does she know my name?
“I'm Joan Spence. We spoke on the phone yesterday?” Elizabeth stared blankly back at the woman. “This is David, my husband, and Doctor Tripter.” The older man in the doorway waved. The other half-smiled.
“I'm sorry, I just...” Elizabeth's voice cut out as she felt a new batch of tears begin to flow. The woman… Joan, was now standing in front of Elizabeth with arms outstretched and a stupid look of sympathy on her face. Elizabeth immediately resented the woman.
“I'm so sorry about your sister.” Joan said as she wrapped her arms around Lizzy. Elizabeth let her, it felt good to be held. “It's so unbelievable.” And now Joan was crying too. They stood there for some time, embraced, crying together. It was a good cry, and good cries can be hard to come by.
Later, after going over insurance and medical paperwork and sharing a cup of coffee from a styrofoam cup, Joan and Lizzy became friends. Joan and David Spence were little Sarah's godparents, the late Michelle and John's best friends, and now Sarah's legal guardians. Although Sarah was still unconscious, Dr. Tripter expected her to awake shortly, and barring anything out of the ordinary in her post tests, also expected her to make a full recovery. “We can be thankful she was in a car seat, folks.” He had reminded the room on more than one occasion.
Early the next morning, Sarah opened her eyes. Joan and David were there, sitting next to Sarah on the bed. Dr. Tripter was there, standing next to the read out monitor. And Elizabeth was there as well, standing behind Joan, and smiling. The little girl's eyes sparkled. She was only conscious for about five minutes or so the first time, but it was enough time for Elizabeth to say “hello,” kiss her niece on the cheek, and then to say “goodbye” with her smile. Sarah was going to be okay. Suddenly, Lizzy's fears from before began to resurface and she thought. It's time for me to go. I've risked enough just coming here.