Coma

Two weeks have passed since Mark got in the accident. Emma was by his bedside everyday from six in the morning to eleven thirty at night. Even though she knew he cheated on her, she felt like it was her fault, not his. Emma honestly believed that it was her fault he cheated; it must have been something she did, or didn’t do, that caused him to cheat.

“Mark, you need to wake up, I need you,” Emma whispered, staring intently at Mark’s face as she held his hand. The doctors told Emma that it wouldn’t hurt if she talked to Mark. Mark’s brown hair had grown slightly longer and he now had facial hair on his normally smooth face. Emma had taken to styling his hair into the usual spiky Mohawk he always wore everyday as soon as she got to the hospital. Normally, Mark always had a shaved face, but Emma thought he looked better with a scruffy look, so she kept it unshaved; Mark would probably be angry about that when he woke up, but she didn’t care.

Two tall, slim girls walked into Mark’s hospital room and stared at Emma with sadden eyes. Both girls hated seeing their friend like this. They both noticed the bags under their friend Emma’s eyes and the way her hair was thrown lazily into a ponytail.

“Emma, what are you doing?” the slim, blond girl asked. Shelby Stover was a blond hair, blue eyed twenty two year old. Shelby had been friends with Emma for as long as she could remember and she was always there for her. While Emma was more shy and reserved, Shelby was outgoing and a lively. Shelby rarely thought about the things she said and she didn’t care what anyone thought about her. She cussed like a sailor most of the time and always had something to say. She and Emma were opposites, but Shelby brought out Emma’s wild side, something Emma was grateful for, sometimes.

Amelia Ryan nudged Shelby in the ribs. Amelia was a dark skinned, dark eyed and hair girl who had also known Emma since they were little when Amelia gave Emma one of her cookies in first grade. Amelia seemed to have a personality that was a split between Emma’s and Shelby’s. She was kind and caring, shy sometimes, loud others; she knew when to have fun and when to speak her mind. Emma and Shelby were her best friends and she would always be there for them.

“What does it look like I’m doing?” Emma replied dryly, her eyes never leaving Mark’s face.

“What she means,” Amelia cut in before Shelby could say anything, “What are you doing here Emma? It’s been two weeks and there are no signs of Mark getting better. Don’t take that the wrong way, we all want him to make it, of course, but you’ve spent the last two weeks cooped up in this hospital. You’ve barely spoke to anyone and you haven’t been to work for the last two weeks. We’re sure you haven’t eaten or slept properly in weeks.”

“I own the place, I think I can take sometime off,” Emma snapped. Emma owned a very successful restaurant in downtown Baltimore. Emma was the head chief at Elizabeth’s, named after her grandmother. Ever since Emma was four, she loved cooking. It was with her grandmother that Emma learned to cook. Cooking came easy to Emma, so of course after high school she went to a culinary school. At twenty, she quit the restaurant she was working at to open her own. She used her own money to buy a run down building and fix it up. Within a year, Elizabeth’s was up in running. The last few months business had really taken off.

Shelby sighed. “Ems, that’s not the point and you fucking know it.” Shelby sighed again. “Sorry,” she said, apologizing for cussing. “Anyways, we came in here to tell you that you’re going to California with us.”

Emma looked at her friends with a bored expression on her face. “What part of I can’t leave don’t you understand?” Emma snapped, surprising both her best friends.

“Emma, you need this. You being cooped up in this hospital is doing you no good what so ever. Come to California with us for a week and then you can spend all the time you want in this place,” Amelia said.

“You both just yelled at me for not going to work for two weeks, now you want me to take another week off?”

“Yes, this is different,” Shelby said, twirling her blond hair.

Emma stayed quite for a while, ignoring her friends while she looked intently at Mark. “He’s cheating on me,” she said quietly.

“Excuse me?” Shelby asked, shocked.

Emma sighed. “Mark’s been having an affair with a girl named Melinda for at least the last five months. I found out that he wasn’t really going on a business trip, instead he was going to see her.”

“That’s impossible, Mark is head over heels for you,” Amelia said, “are you sure?”

“Positive,” Emma said. “I’ve got the texts and e-mails to prove it. She even came in and saw him.”

“What!” Shelby yelled. “What does she look like? How do you know it’s her?”

“I stepped outside for a few minuets today because my mom called. When I came back, a tall, girl was walking quickly out of the room. She looked extremely fake; huge boobs, curly hair, too much make up, basically the complete opposite of me. She even left him flowers,” Emma held back a sob.

“Oh honey,” Amelia said, attempting to comfort her friend.

“Where the fuck is these flowers?” Shelby yelled, going around the room and looking at every tag on the flowers in the room.

Emma smiled sheepishly. “I kind of got pissed and threw them in trash.” Shelby immediately ran over to the trash can and laughed.

“You mean, you got pissed, cut up the flowers and burned something?”

Emma smiled sheepishly again. “It’s the card. It said, and I quote, ‘I hope you get better soon, I miss you a lot sexy’ and it was signed M.” It was quite again as Emma held back another sob.

“All the more reason for us to come to Cali with us,” Shelby said, breaking the silence.

“Why are you guys even going to California?” Emma asked.

“I’ve got a dance thing over there and I wanted you guys to come with me, Amelia’s already taken off work,” Shelby answered. Shelby was a professional dancer and had dancing since she was two; Amelia was a vet.

“I can’t leave him,” Emma repeated. “What if he wakes up?”

“Then you and I will fly back,” Amelia said. “This trip will be good for you.” Emma thought this over. Amelia was always looking out for Emma and Shelby and she always knew what was best.

“Fine, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt for me get sometime away. I guess I have to call in a replacement chef.”

“Already taken care of,” Shelby said, smiling. “I called in pretending in to be you and explained everything. Your replacement said to have fun.”

Emma shook her head at her friend. “So when do we leave?”

“Five o’clock tomorrow morning. We broke into your house and packed for you, but I suggest you go home and get some sleep,” Shelby said.

“We also arranged for your parents to watch Eugene while you’re gone,” Amelia said before Emma could ask about Eugene.

“Alright, thanks you guys, you’re right, this trip will be good for me.” Emma kissed Mark’s cheek, like she always did before she left, and hugged her friends. They hugged back, linked arms, and walked out of the hospital together.