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Last Goodbye
by
Cara Walker
Part Three
As we were running, I realised that I’d accepted his brother coming to get me.
His brother, like I’d mentioned before, hadn’t had much to do with Rick or I,
but he hadn’t even hesitated when Rick had asked him to get me. He’d rang pretty
much straight away and I had to appreciate that.
When we got to the hospital, we charged to the desk.
“How can I help you?” the receptionist asked. Honestly, I felt like grabbing
hold of her and shaking her. Hard. I didn’t though, because violence wouldn’t
get me anywhere.
“Our... brother, Richard, he’s just been admitted. About an hour ago.” Richard’s
brother gasped, clearly out of breath. The receptionist typed something onto the
computer and nodded grimly.
“I’m afraid that you cannot see him at the moment.” The receptionist told us. I
did something totally out of character for me.
“Please, just tell us where he is.” I pleaded. I do a lot of things, but I NEVER
plead. The receptionist looked closely at both Rick’s brother and I.
“You can’t see him right now, but if you take a seat, I’ll try to get hold of
one of the doctors.” She told us. I sat down, breathing deeply to try and keep
the well of tears that was building up inside me from coming out. It didn’t
work. I leaned against his brother’s huge body and let the silent tears fall.
When I finally looked up I saw that his brother was crying too.
“I was so awful… Rick means so much to me, he just doesn’t know it.” His brother
hiccoughed. I sat up.
“What d’ you mean, you were awful?” I asked.
“I ignored the guy. I didn’t have much to do with him, you know that. I pretty
much ignored him but I love him really, I mean he’s my brother. Now I mightn’t
have a chance to tell him I do care.” He choked.
“Don’t talk like that!” I said harshly, “Rick will be fine, he’s a fighter. He
wouldn’t have lasted this long if he wasn’t.” Rick’s brother looked at me. I’d
never spoken like that until then, and I doubt that I ever will again. I was
just panicking and I felt like I needed to reassure myself as well as Rick’s
brother.
“I know he’s a fighter, but this hasn’t happened before. I’m just scared that
it’s the…the end.” The last two words came out as a croak. I shook my head.
“This can’t be the end. He won’t give up, he can’t.” I cried quietly. An
official looking man in a suit came over to us. We immediately stood up,
inwardly preparing ourselves for the worst. However, the reality was quite
different.
“Are you Richard’s brother and sister?” the man asked.
“Who’s asking?” I asked, fully aware that he would probably be the doctor that
the receptionist sent for.
“I am Doctor James Hudson.” The doctor paused. “Richard is currently in the
I.C.U, but he is stable.”
“Can we see him?” Rick’s brother asked quickly.
“You may see him for ten minutes at a time. You may go in alone or both of you
together.” The doctor answered.
“Together.” Rick’s brother and I said in unison. The doctor nodded, turned on
his heels and led us to the room that Rick was in.
“Remember, ten minutes.” The doctor reminded us quietly. As soon as he was
walking back down the corridor, Rick’s brother opened the door to the room and
we edged inside, careful not to make too much noise. As soon as we were inside,
I noticed the steady beeping of the machine that was monitoring his heartbeat.
(If you’ve ever had to listen to that noise, you’ll probably be able to relate
to how un-nerving it is.)
“Thought I’d… thought I’d see you two… here.” The sound of my friend’s voice,
however weak it was, relieved both his brother and I.
“Course we’d be here. Where did you expect us to be?” I asked softly. Ricky
slowly turned his head to look at me.
“I knew you’d come but I… didn’t know you’d be so quick. I thought you’d be in
bed, Kay.” He answered.
“I was watching telly in bed. As soon as bro rang me, I got up and we came
straight here.” I told him. Rick chuckled quietly to himself.
“You make a habit of sleeping in your clothes, do you?” he chuckled. Typical
Ricky, I thought, it doesn’t matter how bad things are for him; he still tries
to make everyone else feel better.
“No. Obviously I got dressed first.” I replied, with a slight grin.
“You staying all night?” he asked, his voice barely a whisper.
“Yeah.” His brother and I said in unison. Rick smiled slightly.
“Where you gonna sleep?” he asked. Truthfully, neither of us had even thought
about sleep.
“I think one of us should ask one of the nurses where to sleep.” Rick’s brother
told us. I looked at him.
“Seeing as you were the one to suggest it, could you go?” I asked quietly.
Rick’s brother nodded. He got up and left.
“Hey Katie, you remember the year you entered that talent show?” Rick asked
weakly. I nodded, blushing at the memory. (I’d been singing and everyone had
said I was great. I didn’t win though, because there was this older boy who was
amazing.)
“Have you sung much since then?” he asked. I shook my head.
“Not at all. I haven’t even tried.” I admitted, somewhat guiltily. He took hold
of my hand and turned his head to look directly at me.
“Try it now.” He requested. I stared at him.
“You want me to sing?” I asked.
“No, I want you to parade around the wards shouting ‘I’m a crazy kid’.” He said
sarcastically. I grinned.
“Okay then. I’ll sing, if you want.” I told him. “What d’you want t’ hear?”
“Something that shows off that amazing voice of yours.” He replied. I blushed.
“How about Walking In Memphis?” I asked. He nodded.
“Would you? It’s one of my favourites, I’d really appreciate it.” He replied.
Well, I couldn’t really say no to that, could I? So, I started singing.
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