Chapter 27: Chapter 27
Michelle’s eyes fluttered open, revealing the hospital room she was currently in.
“Why am I here?” she asked no one in particular, as she didn’t notice her mother’s presence in the room.
Mrs. Stewart scoots closer to her daughter who was finally awake. She had been waiting for Michelle to wake up for five days now and was getting really worried, considering the fact that the doctor said Michelle’s unconsciousness was due to the hard impact her head made with the floor.
“Michelle, you’re finally awake” Leah excitedly said, taking Michelle’s hand in hers.
“Who are you?” Michelle asked, confused by the strange woman’s action. She can’t remember knowing her.
Michelle’s question wiped off the happiness that was previously evident on Leah’s face.
“It’s me, your mother” Leah explained, as she tried to hide her sadness with a forced smile.
“Don’t you remember me?” she asked Michelle
“I’m sorry, but I don’t” Michelle replied with a frown on her face.
“I'll be right back” Leah said, excusing herself from Michelle’s presence to go get a doctor.
Mrs. Stewart got to the doctor’s office.
“Doctor, she just woke up” Leah said to the doctor.
“Oh finally! That good, I'll go check on her” he replied, standing up from his seat.
He was about heading for the door when Leah continued,
“She doesn’t remember me, doctor” she nervously said
“Mrs. Stewart, calm down. I'll have to go check on her myself and ask her a few questions before I know what to diagnose” he replied, assuring Leah.
When they were about to go into Michelle’s room, the nurse stopped Leah from going in.
“I’m sorry ma’am, but you'll have to wait outside” the nurse said
“Okay” Leah replied, staring at the doctor and nurse as they entered the room.
While the doctor was with Michelle, Leah called Nathan, to let him know that Michelle had finally woken up. He immediately told her that he was on his way there before hanging up.
After waiting for ten minutes, the doctor finally came out of the room. Leah walked up to meet him.
“Is it bad?” she worriedly asked
“Well Mrs. Stewart, I'd have to run a series of tests on her before drawing out a conclusion” he said
“Will the results be out by the end of today?”
“No, it will take a while. I can’t say for sure if my suspicion is correct, until proper examination has been carried out. There’s no need to worry” he reassured, earning a nod from her.
#
Michelle was led out of her room by a nurse in a wheelchair, to go run the test on her. Leah felt really sad seeing her daughter looking so helpless. She wondered what happened between her, Nathan and Derek, that led to this.
Nathan got to the hospital and saw Leah. He asked her what was going on and she told him that some tests were being ran on Michelle, so they’ll just have to wait.
After forty five minutes of waiting, they were told that the doctor needed to see them in his office.
“Can you now tell us what’s wrong with my daughter?” Leah asked as soon as they sat down.
“My suspicions were correct. Due to the hard impact she had with the floor, her brain was inflamed, which has now led to an amnesia”
“Oh my God!” Leah exclaimed with tears in her eyes.
Nathan on the other hand was speechless. He cursed himself for letting his anger get the best of him. This was all his fault.
“Is it permanent?” Nathan couldn’t help but ask
“Well, no. Her case isn’t that serious. When the inflammation on her brain reduces, her memories would come back to her. I'd advise you let her get a lot of rest and also let her be in a place she’s familiar with, and with loved ones to help her have a speedy recovery” he replied
They left the doctor’s office when he was done with them. Leah was still in tears, her baby is helpless right now and there is nothing she can do to help.
She went into Michelle’s room with Nathan and found her asleep, so they decided to leave the room and let her have some rest.
“Michelle will have to come live with me” Leah began, as soon as she shut the door.
“That won’t be necessary Mrs. Stewart. She will be fine living with me” Nathan replied
“Look here, Nathan. I have no idea what went on between the three of you, and I’m not ready to expose my daughter to more danger, so I'd prefer you let Michelle live with me”
Leah was already angry because Michelle had to go through this sort of thing, because she’s in a relationship with a lot of drama. She knew this wasn’t Nathan’s fault. If only Michelle had listened to her and not gotten into a relationship with him in the first place, none of this would happen.
She could see the look of hurt on Nathan’s face when she said those words, but it was the truth. She had no idea what went on between them, because Derek was also brought to the hospital for reasons unknown to her. He came to see Michelle and that was when Leah noticed the cuts and bruises on his face.
She remembered Michelle telling her that they were going to get in a fight, but she didn’t think it would be this serious. Derek had promised to go see Michelle once he was fully recovered, because he was also still in pains from his bruises, which was obvious to her.
Leah tried to calm herself before she continued to speak
“Nathan, you’re a busy man. I don’t think you’ll be present to take care of my daughter and granddaughter at all times. I’m her mother and I’m not as busy as you are… you heard the doctor. Michelle needs people around her, who would help her get her memory back… she needs to remember things from the very beginning, not subjects that are really touchy…” she said, eyeing him before she continued
“So they won’t have negative effect on her recovery”
Nathan now understood where Leah was going. He could see how hard she was trying to control her anger, because of what her daughter is going through because of him. She is trying to protect Michelle, and had every right to do so.
He was ashamed of his actions. Michelle did stop him, but he wouldn’t listen. None of this would’ve happened if he had just listened to what she wanted to say.
He nodded in agreement and replied
“Okay Mrs. Stewart, Michelle will live with you”