Chapter Eight--Elizabeth Hudson---Angels Among Us/The Blessing
Chapter 8
Elizabeth Hudson
The doctor opened the door and Vanessa nearly passed out. Mike wasn’t conscience, but that didn’t change Vanessa’s reaction to the look of him. It had only been two days after the dance, and this had come of it. Then, as she looked at the sad face and the bandages wrapped around his head, she remembered the mental conversation that she had experienced in the restroom at the Snowflake Ball. The one in which she had blamed herself for the misfortune that Mike had experienced at Chad’s hand, and how she had blamed herself for his problems. And what Mike’s reaction had been, telling her that things just didn’t work that way. ‘Yeah, right’ Vanessa now told herself angrily. She wasn’t necessarily angry with Mike for trying to console her and tell her that she wasn’t being positive, but she was angry at herself for actually listening to something like that, which she knew wasn’t true.
Chad couldn’t believe it. Vanessa had told him that Mike would probably be in a worse condition then the fight Chad and Max had ‘participated’ in, but Chad hadn’t believed her. Now, however, he did, and the guilty feeling that he had experienced after seeing Vanessa, came back, with even more force. He had done this. He had caused all this pain and suffering. A month earlier, he would have never thought that he would be having these thoughts of sympathy and guiltiness. Yet, here he was.
Those guilty feelings became even stronger when he looked over at Vanessa and she was crying. The one girl he had wanted, and he had made her cry. What kind of friend was he anyway? He desperately wanted to hit a ‘rewind’ button on his life and rewind back to the day of the cafeteria incident. If he could, he wouldn’t even approach Mike and Vanessa while they were talking. He would just hang back and, at the most, snarl a snide comment about them to Max. But he would never begin the fight that would result in something as horrific as what had happened. He put his arm around Vanessa’s shoulder and held her. Then, she went limp in his arms.
“Vanessa? Vanessa?? Someone, help! P-please!” Chad shouted at the top of his lungs. The doctor that was standing right outside the door rushed in.
“What? What happened?” Then, he saw the limp Vanessa and he dashed over.
“What’s the matter with her?” Chad asked, getting more and more scared with every passing second.”
“She said she is a friend of Mike. Is that true?”
Chad nodded
“Yes. I am too.”
“Well,” said the doctor, “It could be the initial sight of her friend in this condition.”
Chad nodded. But the truth was, he hadn’t thought of that. He felt more stupid. Actually, he had felt increasingly senseless since he and Max had seen Vanessa the day after the fight. Chad took Vanessa out of the doctor’s arms and carried her out of the room. He walked slowly over to the waiting area and sat down, gently cradling Vanessa in his arms.
Chad was whispering softly to Vanessa, telling her how sorry he was and how he wanted to take back everything he had done, when someone came up to him.
“Just a question, is she alright?”
Chad looked up, surprised. There was a girl standing there. Her eyes were red, but she seemed to be hiding the thing that she had been upset about.
“Umm, it’s a long story. Her best friend is in there,” Chad motioned toward the door which guarded the haven in which Mike lay,” He is badly hurt after being beaten up three weeks ago.”
“Three weeks ago?? Well, what happened?”
“We-we really don’t know. We weren’t in the room barely a minute before she passed out.”
What’s her name?” The girl asked.
“Vanessa.”
“And yours?”
“Chad.”
Then, she asked one more question.
“A-And Vanessa’s friend?”
Chad struggled to get the words out.
“Mike.”
The girl sat down in the hard, plastic chair next to Chad and Vanessa.
“I’m Elizabeth; I’m so sorry.”
Chad shook his head, embarrassed by all the sympathy Elizabeth was giving him. And she didn’t even know him. He never thought it possible that someone you didn’t even know could be so nice. Then, a thought dawned on him,
“Elizabeth. Why are you here?”
Elizabeth suddenly got quiet. Then, she bit her lip and covered her mouth with her hand. Something was wrong, Chad could feel it. That’s why she had been crying. But Chad was going to figure out why Elizabeth was in that hospital.
“Elizabeth….”He began. But Elizabeth raised her hand and waved it, silencing Chad.
“I’m here to see my friend also.”
Chad was confused. Why wasn’t she telling him who her friend was, or what her name was, or-.
“He’s in there.”
Chad snapped out of his mental conversation and turned his head toward the direction that Elizabeth was pointing. He saw two large double-doors there, but didn’t know what was beyond them. He looked at her with a questioning look in his eyes, hoping that she would get the point and explain to him what was beyond that point. She did, and began to explain.
“That’s the E.R.” She said, “The Emergency Room.”
Chad nodded. He had heard of that term before. His mother watch a show called ER. Then, Elizabeth continued.
“There has been an accident and my friend is in there.”
“I’m sorry-.”Chad began, but Elizabeth put her finger to her lips, silencing Chad.
“Please, no. I have heard that enough. People think, for some reason, that saying that will take away all the pain. All the suffering; all the mental anguish that I am in.” Elizabeth paused and covered her mouth with her hand. “People think that saying ‘I’m sorry’ is going to take away everything that has gone wrong. But they don’t know. They don’t know what you are going through; because if they knew, they wouldn’t be saying anything.”
Elizabeth was now crying and Chad was feeling very sorry for her. But she had helped him realize something. Never to say ‘I’m sorry’ to either Mike or Vanessa or to anyone else, because, like Elizabeth said, he wouldn’t know what they were feeling.
“Chad? I-is that you?”
Chad looked down and almost exploded with joy. Vanessa’s eyes were open. And she had spoken.
“Vanessa? Oh, thank God. I was so worried.”
“Is there any news on Mike?”
Chad shook his head, sadly.
“No, the doctors haven’t talked, or even checked on us.”
“And they call themselves doctors??” Elizabeth exclaimed. “I swear, they shouldn’t be. They’ve been ignoring me also.”
Vanessa sat up and looked at Elizabeth. Elizabeth realized that she hadn’t properly introduced herself to Vanessa.
“Oh, sorry. I’m Elizabeth. Elizabeth Hudson.”
“And why are you here, Elizabeth?” Vanessa asked.
Elizabeth sighed and repeated the whole spiel that she had told Chad while Vanessa had been unconscious. At the end, Elizabeth was, amazingly, not crying. But, Chad and Vanessa could tell that she was choking up. Desperately not wanting to see her cry again, Chad made a quick and hasty decision.
“Hey, Vanessa, do you want to go and see Mike again?”
Vanessa nodded.
“Sure.” Then, she turned toward Elizabeth, “Elizabeth, would you like to come with us?”“I would be honored.”
Elizabeth followed Chad and Vanessa into the room where Mike lay. This time, Vanessa tried as hard as she possibly should to regain her composure as she took Mike’s hand. Then, she felt a strong, reassuring grip on her shoulders that sent a tingling sensation down her spine. Positive that it was Chad, she turned around. What she saw shocked her. The strong grip had belonged to Elizabeth, who was now smiling down at her. Vanessa just smiled back. She hadn’t expected Elizabeth to be so friendly to her. After all, they had only met just five minutes ago. But, in a way, she was really happy that Elizabeth was there. It made it a whole lot less awkward between her and Chad.
But something distracted Vanessa, Chad, and Elizabeth from Mike yet again. The doctor came into the room and walked up to Elizabeth.
“Elizabeth Hudson?”
“Yes?”
“If you want to see Josh now, you can.”
Elizabeth nodded, but then looked at Chad and Vanessa nervously.
“Would you guys like to come?”
Chad looked at Vanessa and then they looked at Elizabeth,
“Sure.
As they were walking toward the large double-doors that Chad had seen earlier, Vanessa was watching Elizabeth. And, even though she had seemed so reassuring when they were in Mike’s room, Vanessa could tell that Elizabeth was nervous.
“Elizabeth?” Vanessa began.
Elizabeth turned her head, while they were walking.
“Yes?”
“It’s going to be alright. I know that people must tell you that a lot, but you have to realize something. I am going through the some thing that you are. I have a friend who is in almost the same situation that your friend is in. We have something in common. And don’t you think that it gives me the privilege to say that to you?”
At first, Elizabeth didn’t know what to say. She was shocked. She had just given Chad her whole speech about people telling her ‘I’m sorry’, and yet, Vanessa made perfect sense. They were going through the same thing. Someone that they had a strong relationship with was in life-threatening peril. This time, Elizabeth didn’t say anything. She just kept on walking.
Elizabeth Hudson
The doctor opened the door and Vanessa nearly passed out. Mike wasn’t conscience, but that didn’t change Vanessa’s reaction to the look of him. It had only been two days after the dance, and this had come of it. Then, as she looked at the sad face and the bandages wrapped around his head, she remembered the mental conversation that she had experienced in the restroom at the Snowflake Ball. The one in which she had blamed herself for the misfortune that Mike had experienced at Chad’s hand, and how she had blamed herself for his problems. And what Mike’s reaction had been, telling her that things just didn’t work that way. ‘Yeah, right’ Vanessa now told herself angrily. She wasn’t necessarily angry with Mike for trying to console her and tell her that she wasn’t being positive, but she was angry at herself for actually listening to something like that, which she knew wasn’t true.
Chad couldn’t believe it. Vanessa had told him that Mike would probably be in a worse condition then the fight Chad and Max had ‘participated’ in, but Chad hadn’t believed her. Now, however, he did, and the guilty feeling that he had experienced after seeing Vanessa, came back, with even more force. He had done this. He had caused all this pain and suffering. A month earlier, he would have never thought that he would be having these thoughts of sympathy and guiltiness. Yet, here he was.
Those guilty feelings became even stronger when he looked over at Vanessa and she was crying. The one girl he had wanted, and he had made her cry. What kind of friend was he anyway? He desperately wanted to hit a ‘rewind’ button on his life and rewind back to the day of the cafeteria incident. If he could, he wouldn’t even approach Mike and Vanessa while they were talking. He would just hang back and, at the most, snarl a snide comment about them to Max. But he would never begin the fight that would result in something as horrific as what had happened. He put his arm around Vanessa’s shoulder and held her. Then, she went limp in his arms.
“Vanessa? Vanessa?? Someone, help! P-please!” Chad shouted at the top of his lungs. The doctor that was standing right outside the door rushed in.
“What? What happened?” Then, he saw the limp Vanessa and he dashed over.
“What’s the matter with her?” Chad asked, getting more and more scared with every passing second.”
“She said she is a friend of Mike. Is that true?”
Chad nodded
“Yes. I am too.”
“Well,” said the doctor, “It could be the initial sight of her friend in this condition.”
Chad nodded. But the truth was, he hadn’t thought of that. He felt more stupid. Actually, he had felt increasingly senseless since he and Max had seen Vanessa the day after the fight. Chad took Vanessa out of the doctor’s arms and carried her out of the room. He walked slowly over to the waiting area and sat down, gently cradling Vanessa in his arms.
Chad was whispering softly to Vanessa, telling her how sorry he was and how he wanted to take back everything he had done, when someone came up to him.
“Just a question, is she alright?”
Chad looked up, surprised. There was a girl standing there. Her eyes were red, but she seemed to be hiding the thing that she had been upset about.
“Umm, it’s a long story. Her best friend is in there,” Chad motioned toward the door which guarded the haven in which Mike lay,” He is badly hurt after being beaten up three weeks ago.”
“Three weeks ago?? Well, what happened?”
“We-we really don’t know. We weren’t in the room barely a minute before she passed out.”
What’s her name?” The girl asked.
“Vanessa.”
“And yours?”
“Chad.”
Then, she asked one more question.
“A-And Vanessa’s friend?”
Chad struggled to get the words out.
“Mike.”
The girl sat down in the hard, plastic chair next to Chad and Vanessa.
“I’m Elizabeth; I’m so sorry.”
Chad shook his head, embarrassed by all the sympathy Elizabeth was giving him. And she didn’t even know him. He never thought it possible that someone you didn’t even know could be so nice. Then, a thought dawned on him,
“Elizabeth. Why are you here?”
Elizabeth suddenly got quiet. Then, she bit her lip and covered her mouth with her hand. Something was wrong, Chad could feel it. That’s why she had been crying. But Chad was going to figure out why Elizabeth was in that hospital.
“Elizabeth….”He began. But Elizabeth raised her hand and waved it, silencing Chad.
“I’m here to see my friend also.”
Chad was confused. Why wasn’t she telling him who her friend was, or what her name was, or-.
“He’s in there.”
Chad snapped out of his mental conversation and turned his head toward the direction that Elizabeth was pointing. He saw two large double-doors there, but didn’t know what was beyond them. He looked at her with a questioning look in his eyes, hoping that she would get the point and explain to him what was beyond that point. She did, and began to explain.
“That’s the E.R.” She said, “The Emergency Room.”
Chad nodded. He had heard of that term before. His mother watch a show called ER. Then, Elizabeth continued.
“There has been an accident and my friend is in there.”
“I’m sorry-.”Chad began, but Elizabeth put her finger to her lips, silencing Chad.
“Please, no. I have heard that enough. People think, for some reason, that saying that will take away all the pain. All the suffering; all the mental anguish that I am in.” Elizabeth paused and covered her mouth with her hand. “People think that saying ‘I’m sorry’ is going to take away everything that has gone wrong. But they don’t know. They don’t know what you are going through; because if they knew, they wouldn’t be saying anything.”
Elizabeth was now crying and Chad was feeling very sorry for her. But she had helped him realize something. Never to say ‘I’m sorry’ to either Mike or Vanessa or to anyone else, because, like Elizabeth said, he wouldn’t know what they were feeling.
“Chad? I-is that you?”
Chad looked down and almost exploded with joy. Vanessa’s eyes were open. And she had spoken.
“Vanessa? Oh, thank God. I was so worried.”
“Is there any news on Mike?”
Chad shook his head, sadly.
“No, the doctors haven’t talked, or even checked on us.”
“And they call themselves doctors??” Elizabeth exclaimed. “I swear, they shouldn’t be. They’ve been ignoring me also.”
Vanessa sat up and looked at Elizabeth. Elizabeth realized that she hadn’t properly introduced herself to Vanessa.
“Oh, sorry. I’m Elizabeth. Elizabeth Hudson.”
“And why are you here, Elizabeth?” Vanessa asked.
Elizabeth sighed and repeated the whole spiel that she had told Chad while Vanessa had been unconscious. At the end, Elizabeth was, amazingly, not crying. But, Chad and Vanessa could tell that she was choking up. Desperately not wanting to see her cry again, Chad made a quick and hasty decision.
“Hey, Vanessa, do you want to go and see Mike again?”
Vanessa nodded.
“Sure.” Then, she turned toward Elizabeth, “Elizabeth, would you like to come with us?”“I would be honored.”
Elizabeth followed Chad and Vanessa into the room where Mike lay. This time, Vanessa tried as hard as she possibly should to regain her composure as she took Mike’s hand. Then, she felt a strong, reassuring grip on her shoulders that sent a tingling sensation down her spine. Positive that it was Chad, she turned around. What she saw shocked her. The strong grip had belonged to Elizabeth, who was now smiling down at her. Vanessa just smiled back. She hadn’t expected Elizabeth to be so friendly to her. After all, they had only met just five minutes ago. But, in a way, she was really happy that Elizabeth was there. It made it a whole lot less awkward between her and Chad.
But something distracted Vanessa, Chad, and Elizabeth from Mike yet again. The doctor came into the room and walked up to Elizabeth.
“Elizabeth Hudson?”
“Yes?”
“If you want to see Josh now, you can.”
Elizabeth nodded, but then looked at Chad and Vanessa nervously.
“Would you guys like to come?”
Chad looked at Vanessa and then they looked at Elizabeth,
“Sure.
As they were walking toward the large double-doors that Chad had seen earlier, Vanessa was watching Elizabeth. And, even though she had seemed so reassuring when they were in Mike’s room, Vanessa could tell that Elizabeth was nervous.
“Elizabeth?” Vanessa began.
Elizabeth turned her head, while they were walking.
“Yes?”
“It’s going to be alright. I know that people must tell you that a lot, but you have to realize something. I am going through the some thing that you are. I have a friend who is in almost the same situation that your friend is in. We have something in common. And don’t you think that it gives me the privilege to say that to you?”
At first, Elizabeth didn’t know what to say. She was shocked. She had just given Chad her whole speech about people telling her ‘I’m sorry’, and yet, Vanessa made perfect sense. They were going through the same thing. Someone that they had a strong relationship with was in life-threatening peril. This time, Elizabeth didn’t say anything. She just kept on walking.
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