Show You How

Savannah immediately sat down, not knowing if she was going to be able to stand any longer. It couldn’t be true. Trent couldn’t be dead. She had talked to him just a few days ago, and now he was gone forever? “Miss Reid,” Dr. Roberts began. “I am so sorry for your loss.”

“How’s Vanessa?” Savannah choked out, surprised by the fact that she still had a voice, albeit a soft one. When Dr. Roberts didn’t answer immediately, Savannah looked up at her. “She’s not…” she tried, not being able to finish the sentence.

“No,” Dr. Roberts assured her. “However, she is in critical condition.”

“How likely is it that she’ll recover?” Savannah asked, and when Dr. Roberts hesitated with her answer, Savannah said, “Please, tell me the truth.”

“There’s about a twenty percent chance that she’ll recover,” Dr. Roberts admitted. “I’m sorry, but I need to go check on her.”

Savannah watched as she walked back towards Vanessa’s room. Savannah put her head in her hands and began crying. A little while later, she felt someone’s arms wrapped around her. She looked up to see Brendon. She buried her head in his chest and continued to cry. “Shhh,” he soothed her. “Audrey’s coming.”

Savannah quickly wiped her eyes, trying to put on a brave front for her cousin. She saw Audrey come up behind Brendon with a worried expression on her face. “Where’re Mom and Dad? Are they okay?” she questioned.

“Audrey, why don’t you sit down for a minute?” Savannah asked, putting her hand on the seat next to her. Audrey slowly walked around and sat down, curiously looking at Savannah.

“What’s wrong?” Audrey asked.

“Audrey, I don’t know how to say this…” Savannah began, looking at Brendon before she looked back at Audrey. “Audrey, your dad died,” she whispered.

“What? No! You’re lying!” Audrey cried, shaking her head. “It’s not true.”

“I’m so sorry,” Savannah told her, tears streaming down her cheeks while Brendon continued to hold on to her. “The doctor came out here and said that your dad died.”

“What about Mom?” Audrey asked, the tears pouring out.

“She’s in critical condition,” Savannah admitted.

“Can I go see her?” Audrey asked, standing up and walking towards the rooms. “Which room is she in?”

“Let’s ask a doctor, first,” Savannah told her, looking for a doctor. She saw Dr. Roberts coming out of a room and asked her if Audrey could see Vanessa. After her permission, Savannah showed Audrey which room her mother was in, and she stood outside giving Audrey some time alone.

Savannah turned around to Brendon and once again buried her head in his chest, letting his shirt soak up all of her tears. “Brendon, what am I going to do? Trent died, and the doctor said there’s only a twenty percent chance that Vanessa is going to make it through. If she doesn’t make it, I don’t know what’s going to happen!” she cried, letting out all of the thoughts that were running through her mind at the time.

Brendon listened to everything Savannah said, rubbing her back soothingly. “Savannah,” he said when she had finished. “We’ll get through this together, okay?”

“Brendon,” she said looking up at him. “I love you,” she whispered as Audrey opened the door and walked out of Vanessa’s room, not giving Brendon any time to respond, even though Savannah knew what he would have said.

“She’s not going to make it, is she?” Audrey choked out as she began to sob. Savannah quickly wrapped her arms around her, crying with her, and Brendon put an arm around each of them.

“I don’t know,” Savannah admitted as she continued to hold Audrey. “Why don’t we go over here and sit down and wait for them to tell us something,” she suggested, guiding Audrey to the seats in the waiting room.

Audrey collapsed on one of the chairs with Savannah sitting down next to her. “I can’t believe Dad’s gone,” Audrey sobbed. “I mean I just saw him. I just talked to him. How can he be gone?” she asked.

“I don’t know. I can’t believe it either,” Savannah told her, rocking her back and forth.

An hour later, Audrey had finally fallen asleep on Savannah, with Savannah leaning on Brendon, her eyes slowly shutting. They had finally shut when all of a sudden she heard Dr. Roberts’s voice, jolting her awake.

“Yes?” she asked, trying to sit up without waking Audrey up. “Do you have news about Vanessa?” she questioned.

“Yes,” Dr. Roberts said slowly.

“What is it?” Savannah asked nervously.

“I’m so sorry,” Dr. Roberts began, and Savannah’s heart dropped, knowing what the next words were going to be. “Vanessa just died,” Dr. Roberts said, confirming Savannah’s thoughts.

“What?” Audrey asked, sitting straight up. “Did you just say my mom died?”

“I’m sorry,” Dr. Roberts repeated. “I’ll let you have some time to yourselves,” she added, walking away.

“Savannah, she has to be wrong! Mom’s in there right now, and she’s going to be just fine,” Audrey cried. “She has to be just fine.”

“Audrey,” Savannah began.

“No, she’s fine,” Audrey yelled, getting up from the chair and running towards Vanessa’s room.

Savannah began to go after her, but she was held back by Brendon’s arm grabbing hers and turning her back around. “Let her go,” he told her. “I think she needs to do this.”

“Brendon,” Savannah cried, collapsing into his arms. “What do I say to her? Huh? She just lost both of her parents in a car accident. She’s fifteen years old! She shouldn’t have to deal with this right now! Brendon, what do I do?”

“Like I said before, we’ll get through this together,” he promised her, tightening his hold on her, trying to comfort her.