Chapter 40

Ann walked in to the emergency room to see her youngest son, sobbing uncontrollably. Then she noticed her two eldest sons trying to comfort their younger brother by gently rubbing his back and whispering to him. She quickly ran to him, dropping to his side.

"Kevin, my baby, what's wrong?" she asked.

Kevin looked up at his mom; then he wrapped his arms around her.

"It's…it's…Lily…she's…" Kevin stuttered.

He tried to finish telling his mom what had happened, but he couldn't, the thought was too much for him to bare.

"Ssh, it's okay," Ann said, trying to comfort him.

"My baby," Kevin whispered as he continued to cry in his mother's arms.

"It'll be okay," Ann said as she choked back her own tears.

Kevin felt as though time had suddenly stopped. The only thing he could feel was this immense pain. All he could think about was the emptiness that he now felt in his heart. In a matter of seconds, his whole world had been shattered into a million pieces. The moment felt so surreal to him, as though he was in another world and experiencing someone else's pain.

"Daddy."

And now Kevin thought he was hearing things. He could have sworn he heard Lily.

"Daddy."

There was that same voice again. It sounded like an angel…his angel.

"Daddy."

He heard it the third time, and decided that he had to look up. He had to determine whether his mind was playing tricks on him, or if it was someone else in the hospital, or just maybe it was his little girl.

He slowly lifted his head from his mother's shoulder. All he could see was a blurry figure standing over him. He quickly tried to blink his tears away.

"Lily," he whispered, hoarsely.

"Daddy!" I cried.

"My little girl!" my dad exclaimed as he engulfed me into his arms.

He held me tightly as he continued crying.

"You're okay?" he choked out.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said as I also began crying.

"They told me that…that you were gone," my dad said.

"I'm right here," I said reassuringly.

"Kevin, sweetheart, come on," my grandma said. "They have a room for us."

My dad and I stood up; then he scooped me up into his arms, carrying me as though I were a little baby. I wrapped my arms around his neck tightly and buried my head into his chest.

We went into an empty hospital room, where my dad then sat on the bed, with me still in his arms.

The doctor then entered the room.

"You," my dad said, with hatred in his voice.

"Mr. Richardson, please accept my sincerest apologies," the doctor said, uneasily. "I was mistaken, it was a different child that I was looking at, I'm sorry."

"I will accept nothing," my dad growled. "I would beat the shit out of you right now, if it weren't for my daughter being in the room."

"I'm terribly sor…" the doctor began.

"Out," my dad stated, cutting the doctor off.

The doctor made eye contact with my dad, and then he hurriedly stepped out of the room.

As soon as the door shut, my dad began checking me over.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked.

"Just a couple of bumps and bruises," Officer Strickman replied.

"Yeah," I said.

My dad hugged me tightly. "Thank God you're okay. I don't think I could have continued to live without you."

"I love you Daddy," I said.

"I love you too my baby girl," he said.

My dad then looked towards Officer Strickman.

"I trust that you're not going to misinform me, right?" my dad questioned.

"That's correct, sir," he replied.

"Okay good. Now I need to know where my fiancée is," my dad said.

"I'll find out for you. Just stay here," Officer Strickman said.

"Thank you," my dad said.

Then Officer Strickman quickly left, closing the door behind him. But just as he closed it, it swung back open. Brian and Leighanne came rushing in.

"Lily, sweetheart, are you okay?" my Uncle Brian asked.

I shook my head yes. "I'm okay."

"Thank goodness," he said as he hugged me.

"Where's Kristin?" Leighanne asked as she looked at everyone in the room.

"We don't know yet," my dad answered.

"What happened?" Uncle Brian asked.

"Car accident," replied Jerald.

"Lily, can you tell us what happened?" my dad asked.

I shook my head furiously. "No, I…I can't."

Soon the tears began pouring from my eyes, again.

"Ssh…it's okay," my dad said as he wrapped his arms around me again. "You don't have to tell us."

After waiting for a few minutes, Officer Strickman came back in, with another doctor.

She walked up to my dad and extended her hand. "Hi, Mr. Richardson. I'm Doctor Erickson."

"Hi," he said as he shook her hand. "You can call me Kevin. Are you taking care of my fiancée?"

"Yes, I am," she said. "Is it okay to share this information with you right now, with everyone in here?"

"Yes, they're family," my dad replied.

"Okay," she said. "It looks like her side of the car was destroyed the most, causing her to break her left arm. She also has a bruise on her cheek and a couple of cuts on her face. In addition, she has a large bump on her head, where we think she hit her head on the windshield."

"The steering wheel," I whispered.

"We've done everything for her that we can, but it seems as though she has slipped into a coma," the doctor continued.

My dad gasped. "But is she going to make it? How long will the coma last?"

"I can't give you a definite time, because we just don't know," Doctor Erickson said. "But it doesn't look like it will be permanent, since her conditions weren't too severe. We'll just have to keep watch over her."

"Can I see her?" my dad asked as tears filled his eyes.

"Yes, if you'd like to follow me," Doctor Erickson said.

I quickly got up, letting my dad get up and follow the doctor. He took my hand in his as we walked down the hall, with the rest of the family following close behind us.

"I'm going to go there in alone," my dad said, turning to everyone.

"Dad...can I go with you?" I whispered as I pulled on sleeve.

"Yeah," he said.

"We'll be out here," Uncle Brian said.

"Okay," my dad said.

Then he turned the doorknob and we walked in.

I gasped as I saw Kristin, who was pale, lying there in the stark white sheets, with all sorts of machines connected to her.

My dad slowly walked over to her. Then he stood over her, watching as she lay there, completely still.

"Kristin…I'm here," my dad said. "Please open your eyes for me."

There was no response from her.

"Don't you dare leave me, do you understand? I almost lost Lily, and I'm not going to let that happen to you. You can't leave me," he stated.

Soon he began crying as he touched her cheek gently.

"I'm…I'm so sorry," I cried as I looked at my dad and Kristin.

Then I turned around and ran out of the room, tears streaming down my face.

Brian watched as Lily raced down the hall. "Hey Nick, she just came running out of Kristin's room."

"Well go get her, I need to talk to her," Nick said.

Brian quickly followed Lily, while still talking to Nick on the phone.

I reached the end of the hall, where no one was. Then I slid down the wall and sat down, burying my head in my arms as I pulled my knees up to my chest.

"Lily…" my Uncle Brian said, softly.

"Go away," I whispered.

"Your Uncle Nicky is on the phone, he wants to talk to you," Brian said.

I shook my head no. "I don't want to talk to him."

"He's worried about you though," Brian said.

"I don't care I just want to be left alone," I said.

"Okay sweetheart," my Uncle Brian said as he slowly walked away.

"She doesn't want to be bothered right now," Brian said.

Nick sighed in frustration. "Okay, I guess I'll call later."

"Okay, bye," Brian said.

"Bye," Nick said before he hung up.

Kevin walked out of Kristin's room and into the waiting room, where his family was gathered.

"How does she look?" Leighanne asked, worriedly.

Kevin wiped away his tears. "Lifeless," he choked out.

Leighanne then quickly grabbed Kevin, hugging him.

"Why? Why did this happen to them?" Kevin questioned. "Doesn't God understand that I need both of them…my fiancée and daughter."

Then all of a sudden Kevin's head shot up.

"Where is Lily?" he asked frantically, realizing just now that she was no longer with him.

"She came running out of Kristin's room and down the hall. Brian followed her," Leighanne explained.

"Which way?" Kevin asked.

"Straight," Leighanne said as she pointed down the hall.

"Thanks," Kevin said as he began to walk away.

"Hey Kev," Leighanne called.

Kevin turned around to look at her.

"Can I go see Kris?" she asked. His shook his head yes and then continued down the hall.

He stopped as he saw Brian, sitting in a chair.

"Where is she?" Kevin asked.

"Down there," Brian pointed.

Kevin looked to where Brian had pointed; there he found Lily crouched into a ball. He could hear her muffled cries from where he was standing.

"She wouldn't let me comfort her," Brian said. "I tried, but she just began yelling at me."

"Okay, thanks," Kevin said.

He then quietly walked over to Lily. Once he reached her, he sat down next to her as she continued to cry.

"Lily," my dad said.

I slowly lifted my head to look at him.

"Sweetheart, why are you crying?" my dad asked as he wiped away my tears.

"Cause…I did it…it's my fault," I hiccupped, and then burst into tears again.

"No, no my girl. It's not your fault, you didn't do anything wrong," my dad said, trying to comfort me as he hugged me.

I shook my head no, disagreeing with him.

"Lily, please calm down. You're going to make yourself sick," my dad said. "Just calm down. I'm right here and I'm not leaving you."

"Kristin…" I began.

"Ssh…not right now. We'll talk later," my dad said.

Then we just sat there as I tried to calm down my crying, while my dad ran his fingers through my hair, causing me to become sleepy.

After sitting there for a while, Kevin realized that Lily's breathing was no longer erratic. She was now breathing steady and softly. He didn't want to wake her, so he carried her, just like he had done early. He reached the waiting room and sat on one of the couches, with her still in his arms.

He smiled to himself as he realized he was holding his fourteen-year-old daughter, like she was a four-year-old. He had waited so many years to hold her, and now he finally could. He stared at her as she slept in his arms, every so often burying her head into his arm, trying to get closer to him.

"Kevin," Ann whispered to her son. "I think we should go home."

Kevin shook his head no. "I'm not leaving Kristin."

"You need some rest though, it's been a long day," Ann said. "You can come back tomorrow morning."

Kevin shook his head no again. "I can't leave her Mom. I'm staying no matter what."

Ann sighed, defeated. "Okay, if that's what you want."

"Thank you," Kevin whispered. "But I want you to take Lily home for me."

"All right," Ann agreed.

Then Kevin began gently rubbing Lily's back, getting her to wake up.

I opened my eyes to see my dad staring back at me. I sat up and then sat next to him on the couch.

"Grandma is going to take you home now," my dad said.

"What? You're not coming home?" I questioned.

"No, I'm staying here with Kristin," my dad said.

"Then I'm staying too," I said.

"No, you need to go home and get some rest," my dad said.

"No, I want to stay here with you," I said. "I'm not leaving."

Then my grandma began laughing.

"What's so funny?" my dad asked, frustrated.

"She's just like you…stubborn," she said.

I smiled. "Yes, I am. And I'm staying here with you."

"Fine, you win. You can stay," my dad said.

I smiled, satisfied that I got to stay with my dad.

"Okay, well your brothers and I are going to leave now," my grandma told my dad.

She then kissed him on the cheek and hugged me.

"If you need anything, just call," my grandma said.

"Okay Mom," he said.

"Bye Grandma," I said.

"Night Lily," she said as she waved goodbye.

We sat there for a few minutes, and then my dad asked, "Are you hungry?"

"Just a little bit," I said.

"Okay, we'll get some snacks," my dad said.

"That sounds good," I said.

Then we got up and headed to the hospital cafeteria, buying our snacks. Afterwards, we went back to Kristin's room.

As we entered, we saw a nurse checking her over and changing the bandage on her head.

I quietly sat down as my dad went to talk to the nurse.

"How is she?" my dad asked.

"The same, no worse, but no better," the nurse answered.

"Okay, thank you," my dad said.

"You're staying the night with her?" the nurse questioned.

"Yeah," my dad replied.

"Okay, I'll get a couple of pillows and blankets for you and your daughter," she said.

"Thank you so much," my dad said.

"You're welcome," she said as she walked out. "Oh yeah, and you can also pull that bed over if you'd like." Then she disappeared.

I quietly ate my bag of chips as my dad stood over Kristin. He held her hand and quietly whispered to her. I tried to make out the words, but I couldn't.

The nurse then came back in with blankets and pillows. I got up and took them from her, so that she wouldn't disturb my dad.

I set up everything up on the other bed.

"Lily," my dad said.

"Yeah," I said as I turned around to face my dad.

"I'm going to take a little walk," my dad said as he wiped his tears away. "Are you going to be okay? Do you need me to stay or have someone with you?"

"No, I'll be fine," I said.

"Are you sure?" my dad asked.

"Yes. I'm sure," I said.

"I'll be back," he said.

"Okay," I said.

Kevin closed the door, and then he let his tears fall freely. He didn't want to break down in front of Lily because he knew that he had to be strong for her. But seeing Kristin like that tore at his heart. He shoved his hands into his empty pockets and lowered his head as he slowly began to walk down the quiet empty hall.

After my dad had left, I slowly made my way over to Kristin.