Coma

Seeing the one story house they shared in the outskirts of Baltimore Maryland didn’t make Emma cry. It should have; everything about the small brick house reminded her of Mark. From the green living room they painted together, to their bedroom, everything had to do with Mark. But she didn’t shed a single tear.

Upon seeing their year old St. Bernard Eugene is what made Emma finally burst into tears. Eugene ran into the living room wagging his tail, looking positively happy to see her. Mark had gotten Eugene for Emma to protect her while he was away.

“Emma, can you come in here?” Mark called one night while Emma was making dinner.

“What is it?” she called. “I’m kind of busy.” Mark had just gotten back from one of his trips and she wanted to make sure everything was perfect for his first night back.

“It’s a surprise,” Mark said, holding a very large box. Emma sighed as she put down her spatula, wiped her hands on a towel, and made her way into the living room.

“This better be important,” she grumbled but stopped when she saw Mark standing in the middle of the room smiling and holding a large box that had a red bow on it. “What is that?”

Mark’s grin widened when he saw Emma looking confused. He loved the way her nose scrunched up when she was confused. He loved everything about her; her long, wavy strawberry blond hair that he loved to run his fingers through, her wide, pale green eyes that always shined with happiness when they looked into his brown eyes. Mark loved her personality; shy at first, reserved almost, but then when she was comfortable around you, she opened up completely. Once Emma knew you, she trusted you one hundred percent. She was always so polite and nice to everyone, even if they didn’t deserve it. Emma loved Mark so much, something he was grateful for. “I got you something for when I’m away. I know you say it doesn’t bother you that I’m gone all the time, but I know it does.”

“It doesn’t bother-” Emma started but Mark interrupted her.

“Yes it does. I know you too well Ems. Anyways, just open the box.” Instead of handing Emma the box, he set it on the floor so it wouldn’t bump whatever was inside. Emma sighed before she tore the red bow off and opened the box.

“Mark, you didn’t,” Emma said as she looked into the box. A small, brown and white St Bernard puppy barked up at her, wagging his tail with his tongue hanging out. Emma picked up the puppy and held him close to her. “What’s his name? Why’d you get him?” she asked.

Mark smiled again at the sight of Emma and the new puppy. “Eugene is his name. And I got him so he can protect you whenever I’m gone or if something ever happens to me,” he said softly. Emma put Eugene down, he ran around the house inspecting it, and moved closer to Mark. She stared intently into his eyes, causing him to gasp.

“I love you so much,” was all she said before she pressed her lips against his.

Mark was a firefighter. Emma was worried every time he went into work, but she knew it was his job to put out fires. Being a firefighter was Mark’s dream ever since he was five; he was born to be one. The reason he traveled all the time was because the fire chief had Mark, and a few other guys, visit other fire stations to compare how they ran their station.

Emma sniffled as she buried her head into Eugene’s fur. She felt bad for neglecting Eugene the last few days, but she had to be there for Mark. Just thinking about when she got Eugene made her tear up. Mark’s words haunted her brain. “…protect you whenever I’m gone or if something ever happens to me.” was like a knife in the chest each time it repeated itself in her mind. It was like Mark knew something was going to happen to him.

Emma wiped the tears from her eyes as she stood up. She arrived home around nine thirty and she was starving. She made herself a simple sandwich before going to take a much needed shower. After the shower, Emma collapsed onto the bed and fell into a restless sleep.

“Ms Graham?” a nurse in purple scrubs called. Emma had gotten a few hours of sleep and was back at the hospital holding Mark’s hand by six in the morning. Emma tore her eyes from Mark’s unmoving face to look at the nurse. “Sherriff Carlton is outside; he wishes to speak with you for a moment. I’m just going to check on Mark while you step out.” Emma nodded at the nurse, squeezed Mark’s hand, and went out into the hallway where the officer was standing.

“Hello officer,” Emma said in a bored tone. “How may I help you?”

Sherriff Carlton looked at the girl with pity in his eyes. To him, she seemed so lifeless and lost. “We recovered a few items from Mr. Skiles person when he crashed. We’ve looked at them and we have a hunch as to why Mr. Skiles got into a wreck,” the officer said. He handed Emma a large, clear bag filled with items that Mark had on him when he got into the accident. His cell phone, a pack of gum, his wallet, keys, and about three condoms were inside the bag.

“What do you think happened?” Emma said, barely acknowledging the bag she held.

“We looked at his phone and we believe Mr. Skiles was on it at the time of the crash.”
Emma’s face drained off all color. “He was probably calling me to say he arrived safely,” she whispered.

Sherriff Carlton grimaced, not wanting to tell the poor girl the truth. He had to though, it was his job. “Although you were the last person he called, Mr. Skiles was actually texting when he crashed. We believe that he wasn’t paying attention to the road and lost control of his vehicle.” Officer Carlton saw how Emma’s face scrunched up in confusion. “Do you know why Mr. Skiles was on Route fifty-three?” the officer asked.

Emma became even more confused. “Mark was supposed to be heading west, not east. He wasn’t on Route fifty-three,” she said, unbelieving.

“The scene of the crash was on Route fifty-three miss,” Carlton said, “maybe you misunderstood him when he said where he was going. Well, that’s all I needed for today. I’ll contact you if we find anything else,” Carlton bowed his head and left the confused girl standing in the hallway.

Emma walked back into Mark’s room, her head spinning. Why would Mark lie to her? Had she misunderstood him? She was positive he said he was heading out west to visit a station; yet, his crash had him going east. Emma wondered who he was texting when he crashed. She stayed about an hour at the hospital before she left for home, intending on finding out whom Mark was texting and why he was going in the opposite direction he said he’d be in.