Not A Small-Town Girl

Chapter 20-1

"Caleb, Alice, it’s me, Audrey. Vivian, Howard, and everyone else are all hoping you’ll wake up soon. Everyone’s been so good to me-Danielle’s been great too. I pray for you both every day. As long as you wake up, I swear I’ll do anything," Audrey sobbed, her voice thick with emotion.

She turned to Vivian and Howard, tears streaming down her face. "I can’t even bring myself to visit Alice and Caleb anymore... I always end up crying, and I’m scared my emotions will just bring them down."

"Honestly, I wish it was me lying there instead of them-I’d take their pain for them if I could," she choked out, her tears flowing like an uncontrollable river.

Vivian and Howard exchanged a look, their eyes red and swollen from crying. "We know you’re just trying to help. Alice and Caleb will pull through," Vivian said gently, pulling Audrey into a tight hug.

Danielle stood quietly, watching the scene unfold. Audrey was crying like she’d already lost her grandparents, her wailing probably disturbing everyone else in the hospital.

Joseph spoke up then and suggested that Vivian and Howard bring Audrey outside so she could get a handle on her emotions.

Danielle gazed at the two elders, intubated and hooked up to ventilators, quietly slumbering. Her grandfather’s face was serious but kind.

Her grandmother had aged gracefully despite spending years lying in a hospital bed. It was easy to tell that she had been beautiful in her youth.

Before Danielle reunited with her family, she had no desire or aspiration for affection or familial love, but now as she stood gazing at her grandparents, she began to feel a longing. She wished to see them awake and well. She wondered if this was the power of family.

Danielle instructed the nurse to bring her their patient records. Looking through them, she noticed that even though the car accident had been serious, it didn’t justify such drastic injuries.

Their prescriptions didn’t seem out of order either, so there was no reason why they both remained in a coma.

Danielle sat between the two hospital beds and placed a hand each on her grandparents. "Grandpa, grandma. Can you hear my voice? It’s Danielle. If you can hear me, try moving your fingers."

There was no reaction whatsoever. Danielle retrieved two pills from her bag and put one each in their mouths.

Danielle’s brothers were surprised to see what their sister was doing. Although David had said that Danielle saved Logan, their grandparents were in a much worse condition than him.

"Danielle, are you trained in traditional medicine as well? What was that pill?" Austin asked curiously. He trusted Danielle implicitly, but hadn’t expected her knowledge to be so vast.