"Brie?" I spoke first after taking the call.
"Jerry? Can you hear me?" I heard her ask in a shaky voice and it made me seat up from the bed.
"Yeah, what's the matter?" Dylan stopped reading and turned to me when he heard me ask her that.
"It's mum..."
"Mum?! What's wrong? What...what happened?!"
"I don't know, it's why I called you." She was crying, I could hear her over the phone.
"Hey, calm down, okay? Where are you now?"
"At home."
"Mum? What about dad? Where is he? Is he there?"
"No, no, he isn't. It's just me here. Dad took her to the hospital, he asked me to stay behind but I can't...I'm scared Jerry, mum, her condition, it got worse, she coughed out a lot of blood and I'm just so scared to stay home and do nothing."
"..." I couldn't even think after my sister mentioned all of that. I was scared too, I didn't want to lose my mum but I had to find a way to calm her down.
"Jerry?"
"I'm here, Brie. Look, don't leave the house like Dad said okay? I'm coming."
"You are coming? What do you mean you are coming? You are like miles away."
"Home's not far from my school, I will find a way." I ended the call and went to pick my shoes which I had kicked off earlier.
"Hold on, are you really going? Like now?" Dylan stood to ask me when he saw me putting on by shoes.
"Yeah, my house isn't very far from here." I stood and grabbed my wallet and phone.
"Okay, but it's almost midnight...what am I saying, it's actually past 12 right now."
"So?"
"How do you possibly plan to go home, where are you gonna find a mode of transport by this time."
"A cab?"
"Don't be stupid, a cab won't agree to take you all that way."
"Look man, it's my mum we are talking about here," I thought I should tell him."I really have to go, I'll find a way."
"Your dad's there, isn't he? He will handle things, relax."
"What about my sister?"
"Just find a way to help her keep calm over the phone, maybe go when day breaks?"He sounded so reasonable and he was right, I guess. The chance of me getting a car that could take me home was a two out of ten.
I didn't think through, I was just thinking of my mum and nothing else, not even calculating the things I planned to do.
I couldn't sleep the whole night, I just turned in bed over and over while receiving calls from Brie every now and then.
Day broke and first thing I did was put on my shoes to leave. Dylan was still deep asleep when I left. I could see the sun hiding in the clouds when I started walking towards the school gate on foot because I hadn't seen any cab yet.
******
I was able to get on a bus going home and while I was in a taxi that was to take me to my doorstep, I received a call from Dylan.
"Heyy man, you home yet?"
"Almost," I inhaled deeply then sighed in loud exhalation.
"Didn't even know when you left," I heard him again.
"Yeah, I left pretty early."
"Any news on your mum?"
"Not yet. My dad won't tell my sister anything, so I'm just going to be there to know. Will leave for the hospital once I get home and see my sister."
"Okay. I guess I will call you again to know what's up."
"Yeah," I just said.
The cab stopped right in front of my family house. After I paid my fare, I headed inside inside through the footpath there.
"Brie?" I called out after I rang the bell and got no response. I was about to go around the house to the back when the door opened. My sister was slipping her left foot into a flat shoe.
"Alright, I'm ready, let's go." I heard her say and looked at her with an 'i don't understand' look.
"Go where? Let's go where?" I asked her.
"Where else? To the hospital of course, let's go see how mum's doing."
"No."
"Huh?" Her face turned sour.
"Dad says you shouldn't come. I only planned to see you and then go alone to the hospital." I explained to her.
"But..."
"No buts, Brie, please. We both know how you get whenever you visit hospitals." I reminded her.
"It's not fair, why do you get to go and I don't. I just wanna see mum and know how she's doing." She pouted and I saw tears in her eyes.
"Brie..." I tried not to fall for those sad eyes of hers but then I did; I fell for them."...alright, let's go."
She smiled dryly and immediately locked the doors, then we both headed to the hospital to see my mum.
******
We got to the hospital and asked around and were able to find my dad. Taking the directions given to us by a woman I presumed to be a nurse, my sister and I turned around a corner and we both saw our Dad. He was pacing about in front of a room.
"Dad," I called and went to him in hurried footsteps. He turned around when he heard me and I got a view of his tired-looking face. His eyes were bloodshot red and his hair was a little messy.
"Dad? Where's mum?" It was my sister. She ran in front of me to ask my dad.
"She came with you?" It was the first question my dad asked and I felt like I made a mistake by letting her come with me because he looked freshly stressed when he saw her.
"Where's mum?" My sister asked again without giving him a break and I saw him run his fingers through his hair roughly before sighing out loud. I gave myself a mental facepalm because How did I forget? My sister would only ask questions upon questions non-stop now that she was here.
"Brie,"I tried to stop her but she wouldn't let me hold her hand to calm her down.
"Dad, where's mum? I wanna see her. Can I see her?"
"No," My dad finally gave an answer but she bounced on another question.
"Why not? Why can't I see mum, Dad? What did the doctors say?"
"Nothing, no one's said anything yet. They just keep going in and coming out of the ER since last night. No one can see her yet till they say so." I heard my dad answer all of my sister's questions.
She went on to hug him after, then she started to sob. My dad sighed again then looked at me briefly before putting his arms around her and hugging her back. His rubbed on her back as she cried like she was still so young.
"I don't want anything to happen to mum," My sister told him amidst faint sobs.
"Nothing will happen to her, your mum is a strong woman, she will be fine." He replied her but I still felt worried; maybe it was because I didn't hear that usual sense of brave assurance he normally had in his voice.
Few minutes later, the door to the ER opened and the red light above it went off. My dad immediately left my sister and went to one of the doctors who just stepped out.
"Mr Foller?" The doctor called my dad by his last name.
"Yes?" My dad answered.
"Please come with me to my office so we can talk," The doctor said and started towards the bend we came from. My dad followed, leaving my sister and I standing there.
Some nurses then came out of the ER pulling on a gurney, they were carrying my mum.
"Mum?" Brie almost pushed one of the nurses to the side to get to my mum but I stopped her just in time.
"It's our mother," I informed the nurses when they all cast their eyes on us both."Where is she being taken to, can we see her?" I asked them but didn't get an answer from any of them. It was a different nurse that came to me .
"The patient is being taken to the ICU, and yes you can see her but that will after some time, not now. When it's safe for anyone to visit her, you would be informed to do so one at a time."
"Thanks." I told her.
"You are welcome. Please, excuse me." She nodded and followed behind the other nurses carrying my mum.
*****
We were now allowed to see my mum. My Dad was just coming out of the room, he sighed and looked at me to go in.
"She is still asleep, be as quiet as you can." He informed me before I went in. I stopped in my steps when I saw my mum laying there, motionless with both her eyes shut. I took In a deep breath to keep calm and not cry like my sister; I wanted to be strong like my dad.
I went closer to the bed she lay on and took her right hand in mine. It was hard not to cry now, I sniffed in an effort to stop my tears once more but it didn't work this time, a drop fell from my eyes but I quickly wiped it away, scared that a nurse could just walk in and see me crying.
*****
Heyy, it's your author Geni. Please note that everything written here is nothing but fiction.Please vote as you read, comment your thoughts and don't forget to leave a review, I am very open to constructive criticism.
Genika3na.