My hand reaches out as I pull her into me. The moment her head touches my chest, she begins to cry. I kiss her forehead, trying to comfort her.
“I’m worried too.”
Charlotte pulls away. “Post-natal depression is hard enough to manage on its own. You throw in losing your husband, and I can’t begin to imagine the pain she’s in. Adriana needs help and someone with her at all times. Maybe we can do a roster system to help?”
“Mom is already on it,” I inform her gently. “We will do what we need to do. Time is running out.”
And with those words out in the open, we both know it is the hard cold truth.
* * *
The sound is loud, like a tornado siren warning everyone of destruction.
It sends chills throughout me, even though I’ve heard it many times during my hospital internship.
A life is just about to end.
Any ounce of hope any of us had, a miracle of some sort, is fading like the light in his eyes. The once blue orbs have long faded into darkness, making this all the more real.
We stand together inside the room, my mother beside me as she tries to remain strong for my sister. Across from us, my father holds onto Adriana knowing our time with Elijah is almost at an end, but she chooses to hover near the door.
Doctor Brady places his hand on Adriana’s arm. “Mrs. Evans, I think it’s time you said goodbye to your husband.”
I’m unable to fight back the tears, watching my sister’s blank expression as if she’s on autopilot and numb to the pain. My father is struggling, emotions overcoming him in a way I’ve never seen before. Even at his own father’s funeral, my father remained composed.
But this is unfair.
He’s too young.
A sob escapes my mother, forcing me to place my arm around her shoulder to console her while she rocks Andy back and forth in an attempt to shield him from the grief surrounding us.
Then, Dr. Brady glances at me, reminding me of what he just asked Adriana to do.
Without a second thought, I move to my sister, urging her to say goodbye. Each step we take closer to Elijah brings a new pain I never knew could exist.
Elijah is lying in bed, unable to open his eyes any longer. He’s pale and gaunt with his skin almost gray. The remaining strands of his once-luscious locks are barely visible. But the hardest thing to see is the shade of blue spreading across his lips.
A croak expels from his mouth as he attempts to lift his hand to touch his wife. With no strength left to fight, he drops his hand, defeated.
With a strained voice, he mutters his final words, “I did this for us. You deserve a life with someone who will see it through with you till the very end. Don’t hate me, Adriana… please…”
The staff rushes around in one last attempt to save him. No matter the situation, there is always the possibility of a medical miracle until the sound of a flat line echoes in the room, just as it does now.
Dr. Brady looks at the nurse, shaking his head slowly. The staff remove their masks before Dr. Brady glances at the clock.
“Time of death… 11:53 p.m.”
My mother’s sobs are the loudest in the room, and a nurse rushes to her side to help with Andy as my mother struggles to stand. My father stands in shock, his face stripped of any hope he had left in him.
Instinctively, I wrap my arms around my sister, needing to protect her from the pain. I hold her close to me, desperately wanting to feel the beat of her heart against my chest. I need her to remain breathing, afraid if her heart breaks into a million pieces, she will take this journey with him.
Unable to fight my emotions, tears fall down my cheeks as I hold onto her for as long as possible. Around us, the staff begins the procedure by covering him with a blanket.
Adriana is still in my arms, with not a single sound and barely a breath. I squeeze her tighter, but then her body begins to shudder like she’s standing outside in the dead of winter blanketed with cold.
Then, she buries her head into my chest and lets out a startling scream. The pain in her cry ricochets like a bullet inside a small metal room. The sound is forever engrained in my memory. It’s the sound of losing your husband.
Your best friend.