June 22, 2009
2:30 p.m.
St. Edwards Hospital


I'd rushed over to the hospital as soon as I'd received the phone call from Ash. It was about his mom, obviously. It turned out that the doctors had called him over because his mom was making sudden movements. So he'd called me and I was now standing at his side in the hospital room.

By the time I'd arrived, they had her restrained because she was trying to remove the tubes and IVs that were attached to her. "Does this mean that she's going to wake up?" Ash asked with perceptible hope in his voice.

"Well it could, we're not completely sure at the moment. However, she does have some pretty serious damage to the brain. She smacked her head pretty hard in that car accident and some shards of glass cut into her head. But only about 8% of coma patients are incapable of conscious behavior, so this isn't rare or anything."

"Do most coma patients who have conscious behavior wake up?" I inquired.

"Well it really depends on the situation." the doctor, Dr. Velasquez replied. "Some comas only last for four weeks, some last for four years. And in some cases..."

"In some cases they never wake up." Ash finished for him. The look on his face was killing me, until I had to look away. I just couldn't stand it.

"Ash, that's not going to happen. She's going to be ok." I assured him.

"How bad is this coma anyways?" Ash asked. "You've told me all the statistics and results of other cases, but what about this one? How bad is it, honestly?"

"Well," Dr. Velasquez said, "I can tell you how bad it is according to the Glasgow Coma Scale."

"What's that?" Ash queried.

"It's a scale of three to fifteen, three being the worst and fifteen being the best, that ranks how 'bad' the coma is. Would you like to know what your mother's ranking is?"

Ash bit his lips, glancing over at his mom. She was attached to so many tubes and IVs, it was all just so traumatizing. I couldn't even begin to imagine what was going through his mind at that moment.

"Yeah, I'd like to know." Ash finally replied.

"She's a six."

"Is that bad?" I inquired.

"Well, according to statistics, in patients with a scale from five to seven, about 53% will die or remain in the vegetable state, which is just another word for remaining in the lifeless stage. However, about 34% will have a successful recovery, with the possibility of a temperate disability."

"53% die." Ash repeated, looking disconsolate.

"Those are just other people's statistics." I told him. "That doesn't mean that your mom is going to die too. 34% live."

"I don't think you get it, Evalynne. You act like you can relate to me so well, when you have no idea. Is your dad dead? Are you going to fight in the army in a month? Is your mom in a coma?" he cried.

Dr. Velasquez looked at Ash, his eyes a bit wider.

"Ash, I'm sorry. But you have to calm down." I said soothingly.

He shook his head, "You have no right to tell me to calm down! I don't think you realize how lucky you are!"

"Um, Mr. Mongolia, would you mind keeping your voice down, please? We have other patients that don't want to be disturbed." Dr. Velasquez told him.

Ash took a deep breath, closing his eyes, breathing in and out, in and out. "Sorry, I just lost control for a moment."

"I understand. It's very common for relatives of the coma patient to react that way."

Ash nodded, unclenching his fists, which were balled up at his sides. I wanted so badly to tell him that everything was going to be alright, that his mom wasn't going to die, that he no longer had to go to war. But I couldn't lie to him like that.

Whenever I tried to put myself in his shoes, to distinguish how he felt, I just couldn't. I couldn't even begin to imagine the pain he was going through. And that just gave me even more reason to choose him over Cole.

I actually hadn't even told Ash that I needed to make a choice yet. He didn't deserve to have any more drama in his life. I would tell him when the decision was made and finalized. But for now, he could go without knowing. Although, that wouldn't last for much longer. Cole was leaving in a week. That was only seven days, 168 hours. Ok, maybe I was getting too in depth with this, but I had so much pressure put on me.

And what if I didn't choose the right person? What if I was stupid, and made the wrong decision? Ugh, I hated stress, I hated making difficult choices, I hated being torn between two amazing guys. I hated my life!

"Uh, Ash, I think I'm going to get going now." I said softly.

"You aren't mad at me, are you?" he asked, sounding a bit panicked.

"No, of course not, I just think that I should be getting home now."

"Ok, I'll see you later then."

"Yeah, I'll see you later." I replied. Then he gave me a quick kiss before I walked out. And as I walked into the waiting room, past the secretary desk, Nina called out to me.

"Hey Evalynne," she said.

I turned around to face her, "Yeah?"

"How are things with Ash? Did you two work everything out?"

"Uh, no offense, but why do you care?"

"Well Ash is such a sweet boy, and I would hate to see him hurt. I was just wondering is all." she replied.

"Oh, well we're kind of in a strange situation at the moment." I told her.

She nodded, "Just please don't do anything to put him in any more pain than he already is. If you do decide to break up with him...well, just don't hurt him."

"Um, ok," I said. Then I turned around and walked out of the hospital. Wonderful, now I was getting advise from random hospital secretaries. And of course, she was telling me not to hurt Ash. As if that was my goal this entire time.

I rolled my eyes, climbing into my car. My life was complicated enough, I didn't need Nina to try and make me feel any guiltier than I already did. She didn't even know what was going on.

I drove home, my head beginning to pound. What a great way to make things better. Migraines always made my day. "Ugh," I groaned.

And as I pulled into my driveway, I noticed that Ash's mailbox was open. So I got out of my car and walked over to close it. But when I reached the mailbox, I couldn't help but notice the wide white envelope that was sticking out of it. I glanced over it, realizing that it was from the church that the priest Ash and I were supposed to hire for our wedding worked at.

I knew that I shouldn't have, but I pulled it out anyways, opening it up and pulling out the folded up piece of paper inside.

Mr. Mongolia,

Hello, I understand that you would like to have your wedding ceremony in the park near your house. That would be just fine. However, I'd still like to meet your wife-to-be.

During our last meeting (June 19th), you were telling me how the two of you were having slight issues, but that everything would be ok. If there are any major problems between you and her, you can always come to me.

I would like to meet again soon, maybe June 24th. Please drop by the church so that we can schedule our next meeting. I just have some final arrangements to go over with you. And hopefully this time you'll bring along the soon-to-be-wife.

Sincerely,


Father Mulligan