Mrs. Hayman had just finished signing the papers before the doctors disappeared into the operating room. She needed to give consent so that her daughter could undergo surgery. According to what the doctors had said, the situation was serious and Jessica had suffered a massive hemorrhage to her head. Chances of her survival were slim and relied heavily on the doctors' skill. This was a matter of life and death, and there was nothing anyone could have done to alter the situation. At the corner of her eye, Mrs. Hayman noticed her niece talking to Nick Thomas. Nick was standing with a different girl, and they both seemed extremely close. Another thing that she failed to notice was how familiar Nick was with Avery; they conversed as though they had known each other for a long time.
She could not contain the anger that she felt inside herself with the imagination that her daughter had been with that same boy just a couple of hours ago. Jessica's mother thought deeply for a moment, her entire mind in a miasma of confusion. Just a couple of hours ago, her daughter had left her house extremely excited. Now she was inside that operating room, lying on the table almost lifeless, and the story was yet unclear. It didn't make sense to her. For all she suspected, Jessica's mother knew that Nick Thomas had something to do with this. He was not relaying 100% of the truth, and with this, she realized that it was time to pose her questions once more.
She moved towards the group of three seated in the waiting area. They acted as though they were more of the family, but no silly mask that Nick would ever wear would convince Jessica's mother of how much of an over-changed and caring man he had become. Mrs. Hayman knew Nick Thomas for who he really was. It was, after all, more of a mother's instinct to discern who was better and more genuine for her daughter.
"What exactly did you say happened to my daughter?" she asked, anger hiking her spirit as she stood before the young man.
Nick's expression seemed to change from a calm and composed one to an extremely worried man. His guard was suddenly up, and his expression displayed a certain kind of horror. Avery, however, was too occupied with the beautiful skin of the man. She could not stop admiring him.
"Well, ma'am, we were having a little argument with Jessica and she got angry. When she stormed out of my apartment, I tried to catch up with her across the street so I could reconcile things. I love your daughter very much, ma'am, and I would do anything for her. I tried to explain myself and perhaps patch things up with her, but she was too quick to hail an approaching taxi. I'm guessing the driver of the taxi was drunk because instead of stopping right next to Jessica and me, his car swerved across the pavement, coming right after Jessica. It happened in the nick of a second, like a flash. I didn't even have time to react. One moment I'm talking to my beautiful girlfriend, and the next, a car is coming out of nowhere. Luckily for me, I was still standing near the buildings just a little distance from Jessica. I blame myself for not being able to pull her to safety in time. I didn't even see it coming. I'm sorry for not being a good boyfriend to her. I know you hate me right now, but nothing you could say will make me hate myself more. I feel like a failure for not being able to protect the love of my life. She is my everything, the only reason..." Jessica's mother didn't even let him finish that statement before the palm of her hand collided violently with his cheek. She had had just enough of that nonsense, and she could honestly say that she had never seen a more horrible act than that one.
"Here's what will happen: if my daughter comes out of that operating room and she tells me that things went down differently from what you just cooked up, then you will have me to deal with," she said to him, feeling so heartbroken. Tears began to spill from her eyes, and with every little step that Jessica's mother took away from Nick Thomas, she could feel how science warned her that something was not right.
"Aunty, are you okay? I think the boy's telling the truth; he seems like a nice guy," Avery managed to say, catching up with her until she raised her hand over her shoulder. Mrs. Hayman could not tell whether Avery was trying to comfort her or rile her up. She, however, just shook her shoulder violently, giving the signal that she wanted to be alone.
A couple of hours passed, and Mrs. Hayman had grown frustrated. Up until right now, she did not realize how difficult patience was. Being able to sit on that chair and silently wait for the doctors to come out of that operating room was the hardest task she had ever done. She had made a few calls to their family members, mostly her sister, urging her to pray for their family. On the other hand, Mrs. Hayman had called the pastor for special prayers concerning the successful surgery of her daughter. She needed all the support she could get right now, but it seemed as though she was the loneliest person in the world.
All of a sudden, a doctor came out of the operating room. Mrs. Hayman rushed towards him in a heartbeat, wasting no time in bombarding the man with questions concerning her daughter's safety. She would not bring herself to ask if Jessica was alive, and she only hoped that that would be the first headline.
Nick Thomas, Avery, and the mysterious girl that Nick had come with all moved towards the doctor, surrounding him as they waited for him to speak.
"There was a lot of blood loss, which we managed to get under control. The patient seemed to have suffered Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy; in simpler terms, the injuries to her head were severe and physical. She suffered physical trauma, and even though we were able to handle the internal bleeding and clot the blood vessels inside her head that were ruptured, I'm afraid your daughter will be facing permanent MEMORY LOSS. When she wakes up from that table, she'll know nothing of who she is, who she can trust, or where she comes from. It's your duty as her mother to now decide the people you want to be around. IS EVERYONE AROUND YOU PEOPLE YOU CAN TRUST WITH THE LIFE OF YOUR DAUGHTER?"