Chapter 52
The sound of the clock ticking becomes less faint as he gets conscious.
Richard opens his eyes to a white ceiling. He immediately closes them back from the effect o the bright light.
By squinting his eyes, he adjusts to the brightness. He looks up and trails to the door. He doesn't seem to know where he is. He looks to his left and sees a big window with white curtains pushed aside to allow light and fresh air.
Looking to his right, he notices his wife in a sofa sleeping while his step children's heads are laid on their mother's lap.
He smiles and takes in a deep breath before recognising the place he's currently sleeping as a hospital.
In a mean time, a doctor comes in to check up on Richard making Mirabel wake up.
"Morning madam."The doctor greets. I see you are tired. Staying up is not an easy thing. How are you?"
"Am fine, thanks."Mirabel replies.
"Ok let's check you." The doctor walks over to Richard. "How are you feeling?"He removes his stethoscope from around his neck and checks Richard's heartbeat.
"Am fine, Doctor."Richard answers and inhales deeply.
"Mm..you are fine, I see. But you have to stop drinking."The doctor says. "You are endangering yourself. It may be a collapse this time but we don't know what it will be next time. You don't need someone to tell you to take care of yourself. Take good care of yourself. I will write you a diet plan so you stop certain taking in certain things."
Richard nods as he listens to the Doctor's nags.
"Can you come with me please?"He tells Mirabel and she stands up slowly, asking sure not to wake her kids.
"Stay here, I'll be right back."She tells her husband and follows the doctor out the room.
"Sam."Grams cries and kneels beside him while he vanishes bit by bit into nothing.
Grams cries out and the others take deep breaths in sadness as they watch Grams cry over her son's death all over again.
Evie and Claude go to help Grams stand as the last words of Sam resounds in Irye's ears.
The day goes by quietly. Grams doesn't bother eating anything even when Evie brings her food. Although she knows her son is already dead, she must have been lost in a moment of thinking her son is still alive. Him dying is again all a news to her.
It's evening and the family sit down quietly, waiting for sleep to cage them.
It's at these times that Gerrard is really missed. If not for him being hurt now, he would have been cracking jokes or finding anything funny just to hear his family laugh.
He silently wishes he gets a lot better. It seems like ages since he's been hurt but he barely makes an improvement.
"Just as the time is very slow there as compared to the outside, is that how our bodies function here too?"He wonders.
The baby starts crying and Mae tries to quiet him down. She stands up and takes a walk with the baby, singing a lullaby to make him sleep.
The rest of the evening is filled with everyone doing their own thing and this makes Blake feel a bit left out.
He is not family so he doesn't feel anything towards Sam gone but as just a human, he feels a bit of sadness. Even so, he wants to talk or move on not to sit around feeling sad the whole time..
Nonetheless, he understand the family and keeps his troubles to himself.
In the night, the family is asleep and Irye has a dream. A dream that she suddenly wakes up from, sweating profusely.
She suddenly feels cold as if a fever is getting to her as she lets out a tear.
"What made her have this dream? Why would she have this dream? Is everything about this dreams true?"She wonders.
She takes in several breaths and lays back eyes open scared she will get the same dream or even worse than what she dreams of.
She stays awake until her eyes get tired and close by themselves.