Categories > Cartoons > Delilah and Julius > Surreal
Chapter Fourteen - Hurt
Tubes. Bandages. Blood.
Those were the three things Julius noticed as he stepped into the room. An IV drip going into her arm, an air tube in her nose, and various others. White bandages covered her limbs and face. Red seeped through them.
God, what have I done to her?
Roger was nowhere in sight. Of course he wasn't. He'd slit long ago, moved on to the next place, the next victim. Good riddance to bad rubbish, the saying goes, but how Julius wished he could wrap his hands around that little bastard's neck. Just one twist. Just one punch.
Nosey brushed past him as he exited, unable to keep his lunch down. Sure, Nosey had seen carnage during missions ... but this happened to someone he knew. Someone he held close to his heart.
Julius, Al, Scarlett, Emmet and Ursula stood in a curved line in the doorway, staring down at her. At that moment, she was so many things at once: child, friend, role model, lover. Seeing her in that state, in possibly so much pain, made Julius sick. He could have prevented this, just by stepping inside her room that night. But no, he had to be a fool and go off to sulk in self-pity. Hours later, here was Delilah, lying in a hospital bed, while Roger had walked away.
There was a nervous cough behind them. Turning around, the quintet faced a doctor. "You must be the Devonshires?" he asked.
Al allowed himself a small smile - a twitch at the corner of his mouth, really. "More or less."
The doctor looked puzzled, but continued anyway. "Right. I'm Dr. Thoms, and let me say I am incredibly sorry."
Why do people always say that? Julius wondered. Say they're sorry, as if that would make it better.
"Now, you're ... daughter?"
"More or less." Scarlett answered, her voice firm.
"Right. Um, you're relation a traumatic brain injury. The unidentified man who was driving the car is suspected to have been impaired somehow, possibly by alcohol or drugs. We will know for certain what Miss Devonshire was on in a few days when her blood test comes back.
"Generally, there are six abnormal states of consciousness that can result from a TBI: stupor, coma, persistent vegetative state, minimally conscious state, locked-in syndrome, and brain death." Julius tried to ignore the awful feeling that crept through him at the word death. "Delilah is in a coma state, where she is totally unconscious, unresponsive, unaware and unarousbale. Unfortunately, she is in the worst state according to the Glasgow Coma Scale, with no eye opening, no verbal responses, and no motor response. Comas can't for certain be reversed. Sometimes the patient comes out of them on their own, sometimes ... not. In some situations, a patient has woken up while nurses move their limbs to possibly trigger a reaction. Other times, a person's voice can wake them."
Dr. Thoms checked his watch, and then a piece of paper on his clipboard. "I'll leave you alone for a few minutes. I have another coma patient that needs to be attended to."
As he rushed off, Scarlett slumped into a chair by the door. "My God. I ... I can't believe this is happening ..." she whispered.
Ursula nudged Emmet, and then said, "We're going for coffee." She turned to Delilah. "Don't wake up without us, okay?" Brushing at her eyes, she and Emmet left.
A few seconds later, Scarlett stood up. "You know what, I'm going to go grab a coffee as well. I figure we'll be here for a while."
She left the room biting her lower lip, and trying desperately not to cry. "I'll find Nosey ..."
Julius watched her until she rounded the corner. He couldn't bring himself to turn around and look at her again.
A soft sound caught his ears. For a second, he let himself hope that it could be Delilah, waking up. But when the sound came again, from beside him, he knew it couldn't be her. Instead, the truth was terrifying: it was Al. Julius had never ever seen Al show any emotion besides madly happy, let alone cry.
"Al?" God, he had no idea what to do. "What's ... um, what's up?"
He didn't even look up. "You were right, man. About Delilah. You were right all along."
=============================================================
Synonyms for /Hurt/: accident, casualty, damage
_____________________________________________________________
Sorry for the long wait, but homework has been heavy. Plus, I had writer's block. So sorry if it sucks, but it's almost over. No worries.
-panda_1418
Tubes. Bandages. Blood.
Those were the three things Julius noticed as he stepped into the room. An IV drip going into her arm, an air tube in her nose, and various others. White bandages covered her limbs and face. Red seeped through them.
God, what have I done to her?
Roger was nowhere in sight. Of course he wasn't. He'd slit long ago, moved on to the next place, the next victim. Good riddance to bad rubbish, the saying goes, but how Julius wished he could wrap his hands around that little bastard's neck. Just one twist. Just one punch.
Nosey brushed past him as he exited, unable to keep his lunch down. Sure, Nosey had seen carnage during missions ... but this happened to someone he knew. Someone he held close to his heart.
Julius, Al, Scarlett, Emmet and Ursula stood in a curved line in the doorway, staring down at her. At that moment, she was so many things at once: child, friend, role model, lover. Seeing her in that state, in possibly so much pain, made Julius sick. He could have prevented this, just by stepping inside her room that night. But no, he had to be a fool and go off to sulk in self-pity. Hours later, here was Delilah, lying in a hospital bed, while Roger had walked away.
There was a nervous cough behind them. Turning around, the quintet faced a doctor. "You must be the Devonshires?" he asked.
Al allowed himself a small smile - a twitch at the corner of his mouth, really. "More or less."
The doctor looked puzzled, but continued anyway. "Right. I'm Dr. Thoms, and let me say I am incredibly sorry."
Why do people always say that? Julius wondered. Say they're sorry, as if that would make it better.
"Now, you're ... daughter?"
"More or less." Scarlett answered, her voice firm.
"Right. Um, you're relation a traumatic brain injury. The unidentified man who was driving the car is suspected to have been impaired somehow, possibly by alcohol or drugs. We will know for certain what Miss Devonshire was on in a few days when her blood test comes back.
"Generally, there are six abnormal states of consciousness that can result from a TBI: stupor, coma, persistent vegetative state, minimally conscious state, locked-in syndrome, and brain death." Julius tried to ignore the awful feeling that crept through him at the word death. "Delilah is in a coma state, where she is totally unconscious, unresponsive, unaware and unarousbale. Unfortunately, she is in the worst state according to the Glasgow Coma Scale, with no eye opening, no verbal responses, and no motor response. Comas can't for certain be reversed. Sometimes the patient comes out of them on their own, sometimes ... not. In some situations, a patient has woken up while nurses move their limbs to possibly trigger a reaction. Other times, a person's voice can wake them."
Dr. Thoms checked his watch, and then a piece of paper on his clipboard. "I'll leave you alone for a few minutes. I have another coma patient that needs to be attended to."
As he rushed off, Scarlett slumped into a chair by the door. "My God. I ... I can't believe this is happening ..." she whispered.
Ursula nudged Emmet, and then said, "We're going for coffee." She turned to Delilah. "Don't wake up without us, okay?" Brushing at her eyes, she and Emmet left.
A few seconds later, Scarlett stood up. "You know what, I'm going to go grab a coffee as well. I figure we'll be here for a while."
She left the room biting her lower lip, and trying desperately not to cry. "I'll find Nosey ..."
Julius watched her until she rounded the corner. He couldn't bring himself to turn around and look at her again.
A soft sound caught his ears. For a second, he let himself hope that it could be Delilah, waking up. But when the sound came again, from beside him, he knew it couldn't be her. Instead, the truth was terrifying: it was Al. Julius had never ever seen Al show any emotion besides madly happy, let alone cry.
"Al?" God, he had no idea what to do. "What's ... um, what's up?"
He didn't even look up. "You were right, man. About Delilah. You were right all along."
=============================================================
Synonyms for /Hurt/: accident, casualty, damage
_____________________________________________________________
Sorry for the long wait, but homework has been heavy. Plus, I had writer's block. So sorry if it sucks, but it's almost over. No worries.
-panda_1418
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