My Guardian Angel
The Angel Appears
I paced back and forth the hospital lobby. I couldn’t stop thinking about the accident. It constantly replayed in my mind, over and over and over again. Her beautiful face, battered and bloody. I’d been pacing for about two hours before I was finally interrupted.
“Are you okay?” asks Selena. I shake my head no and she wraps me in a tight hug. I start to cry again. “It’s ok. I don’t think any of us are.” I let go of her and she looks me in the eyes. She uses her thumbs to wipe away the stray tears. “Don’t worry, she’s strong.”
“Mr. Horan?” asks a young woman wearing scrubs. She approaches Liam and says, “Are you Mr. Horan?” He shakes his head no.
“No,” he says quietly. “That’s him.” He motions towards me. The woman follows his motion and her eyes land upon my own. She smiles before walking over. She had a very welcoming expression on her face.
“Hello, I’m Dr. Flores.” She introduces. “I’m your wife’s physician.” She states with a smile. Instantaneously, my mind is engulfed with questions. “I’m sorry sir, but she is a critical condition.” As soon as she finished that sentence I only had one question.
“Will she be okay?” I almost whispered. Selena must have sensed my tension because she walked back to the group of friends here to see Lily. She took a deep breath before answering my question.
“She is currently in a coma.” I suck in a breath. “We hope for the best but, fear for the worst.” Her words ignited a new flame inside me.
“What do you mean the worst?!” I question. There was no way I could live without her. She was my one and only. “You mean she could die?”
“That’s the worst possible outcome Mr. Horan. We have high hopes for her.” Dr. Flores states, “She only has a sprained ankle and a slightly bruised rib. Nothing major. Within twelve weeks she should be healed.” She explains. “If she wakes up.” Her final words startled me. There was no way I could live without Lily. It’s impossible.
“Can I see her?” I ask quietly. She hesitates for what seems like forever, then she nods. I’m so relieved I let out a long, heavy sigh. I hadn’t even realized I’d been holding my breath.
“Only if you, and whoever else who may be going, are quiet and respectful of the other patients.” She says. I smile widely and hug her as tightly as I could. I let go and run over to the group of people here for Lily.
“Well what did the doctor say?” Justin asks as soon as I get there. I had completely forgotten that he and Demi had come with Selena.
“She said that we can see her as long as we all are quiet and respectful of the other people.” Before I knew it Liam was standing by my side encouraging the others to hurry.
“C’mon! Let’s go see her!” he says. Everyone stands slowly and follow me back to Dr. Flores. She nods and opens a large door using a weird key card thing. We enter and find ourselves walking down a large hallway. We follow it all the way to the end and enter an elevator. She presses the button with a distinct number ‘7’ on it. Impatiently, I wait for the elevator to slowly reach the seventh floor. I hear a ding and quickly follow the doctor out the opening doors. She stops outside room 727. I hear Liam chuckle slightly. I turn to him.
“It’s pretty coincidental that Lily’s lucky number is 7 and she is on the seventh floor in room 727.” He says. I smile at the thought and watch as the doctor opens the door.
“If you all don’t mind, please try to stay quiet.” Dr. Flores says before letting us in. All eight of us nod and she opens the door. I rush in, trailed by Liam, then the others. I rush to her bedside and tear up almost instantly. Just looking at her poor state made my heart ache. Her face was so beautiful, even when bruised and battered like it was. I gently stroked her hair. The pain in my chest worsened noticeably. It was so horrible I wanted to curl up into a ball and cry.
“She’s so. . . broken.” I state quietly. Just watching her made my heart hurt more. The tubes in her nose and beeping of her heart rate were all I noticed. I felt a hand on my shoulder but I ignored it. She had a bruised cheek and busted lip but, she was still as beautiful as ever.
“My gorgeous sister,” says a voice I had never heard. “Don’t let her suffer the same fate as my own.” I turn around and notice everyone frozen. Liam was frozen at the foot of her bed, staring at her beautiful face. Everyone else, in mid-step. I look up at who’s hand was on my shoulder and saw someone with a slightly familiar face. I had seen him somewhere. But where?
“Who are you, if you don’t mind me asking?” I say. He looks over at Lily with loving eyes. I look at his face and study it closely. I notice the same eyebrow arch and nose as Lily. He had the same long, voluminous eyelashes as her and the same plump, rosy lips. Then it came to me. It was the man from the photos on Lily’s wall. The man the kids called Daddy. “Ar-are you. . . Drew?”
“That’s my name, don’t wear it out.” He says with a chuckle. He look s me up and down. “So you’re the lucky guy?” I nod my head and look back at Lily. “She always did have a thing for white boys. Especially, Liam.”
“Liam?” I ask. He smiles a little before walking to the other side of the bed, directly across from me. He picked up her hand and made little circles on it with his thumb.
“Well, of course Liam. He was her first love.” He whispers. “He took her in, cared for her, loved her, even comforted her when I couldn’t. He told me he would love her as I did and he kept his word.” He says. He looks up at me. “I drop in every now and then to check up on her, and I can see that Liam hurts.”
“Why does he hurt exactly?” I ask, not understanding why he would be hurting when it was her who lost her brother. He sighs and kisses her head lightly.
“He still loves my baby Ana.” Drew says. I shoot him a confused look. “Lily is Ana. Lilliana.” I understand now. Then it dawned on me.
“So, if Liam is still in love with Lily, then what about Dani?” I ask. I would be so crushed if he left Dani for Lily. Dani is such an amazing girl.
“He loves Danielle too.” He says in a casual tone. “But, you never stop loving your first love.” I stood there shocked for a moment before a simple thought crossed my mind.
“So, does she still love Liam?” I ask quietly, fearing the answer. He releases a sigh before approaching me. He grabs my hand and everything flashes and I’m blinded by a bright light. Instantaneously, I find myself in a house. I looked around and saw a calendar that said it was 2009! I look outside and see an unfamiliar sight. One I had never imagined before.
“I love you so much.” Lily says. She was lying on the grass with a younger version of Liam. She looked younger as well. I watched as Liam rolled over and pinned her down. She laughed and playfully struggled to get free. He held both of her hands in one of his while the other hand tickled her stomach. She howled in laughter and struggled even more. He stopped after a short while and everything got really quiet. They were staring into each other’s eyes. I watched as he slowly leaned in and before I knew it, their lips had collided. I felt a deep feeling of hurt and anger well up inside me.
“What’s going on?” I ask quietly. Drew looks me in the eyes before answering me.
“This is what she is thinking about. We’re in her mind right now.” He replies. I felt even more hurt after hearing his words. I wanted to do something so bad but there was nothing I could do. “Look,” he says. I look up and see that we are in a different place. We were at Lily’s beach house and I saw Lily. She sealed an envelope and put it in a pair of my pants on the floor. She wiped a tear before saying something surprising.
“I’m sorry. It wasn’t my plan to drag you into this.” She says. She begins sobbing before continuing. “I’ll just handle it on my own. Again.” She grabs a suitcase and leaves the room. I run over to the pants and pull out the note. I open it and am surprised by its content.
“Why?” I ask myself. “What is this all about?”
Dear Niall,
I know this is abrupt but it has to be done. I’m sorry for all of the stress I’ve caused you. I’m sorry for being a bad girlfriend/fiancé. I’m sorry for ruining your life the way I keep doing. So, to make it up to you, I’m leaving. You don’t need me to stress you out or nag you or ruin anything else. I just think you would be better off without me. I really don’t want to leave but, it’s really my only choice. I’m sorry.
Love,
Lily.
“Are you okay?” asks Selena. I shake my head no and she wraps me in a tight hug. I start to cry again. “It’s ok. I don’t think any of us are.” I let go of her and she looks me in the eyes. She uses her thumbs to wipe away the stray tears. “Don’t worry, she’s strong.”
“Mr. Horan?” asks a young woman wearing scrubs. She approaches Liam and says, “Are you Mr. Horan?” He shakes his head no.
“No,” he says quietly. “That’s him.” He motions towards me. The woman follows his motion and her eyes land upon my own. She smiles before walking over. She had a very welcoming expression on her face.
“Hello, I’m Dr. Flores.” She introduces. “I’m your wife’s physician.” She states with a smile. Instantaneously, my mind is engulfed with questions. “I’m sorry sir, but she is a critical condition.” As soon as she finished that sentence I only had one question.
“Will she be okay?” I almost whispered. Selena must have sensed my tension because she walked back to the group of friends here to see Lily. She took a deep breath before answering my question.
“She is currently in a coma.” I suck in a breath. “We hope for the best but, fear for the worst.” Her words ignited a new flame inside me.
“What do you mean the worst?!” I question. There was no way I could live without her. She was my one and only. “You mean she could die?”
“That’s the worst possible outcome Mr. Horan. We have high hopes for her.” Dr. Flores states, “She only has a sprained ankle and a slightly bruised rib. Nothing major. Within twelve weeks she should be healed.” She explains. “If she wakes up.” Her final words startled me. There was no way I could live without Lily. It’s impossible.
“Can I see her?” I ask quietly. She hesitates for what seems like forever, then she nods. I’m so relieved I let out a long, heavy sigh. I hadn’t even realized I’d been holding my breath.
“Only if you, and whoever else who may be going, are quiet and respectful of the other patients.” She says. I smile widely and hug her as tightly as I could. I let go and run over to the group of people here for Lily.
“Well what did the doctor say?” Justin asks as soon as I get there. I had completely forgotten that he and Demi had come with Selena.
“She said that we can see her as long as we all are quiet and respectful of the other people.” Before I knew it Liam was standing by my side encouraging the others to hurry.
“C’mon! Let’s go see her!” he says. Everyone stands slowly and follow me back to Dr. Flores. She nods and opens a large door using a weird key card thing. We enter and find ourselves walking down a large hallway. We follow it all the way to the end and enter an elevator. She presses the button with a distinct number ‘7’ on it. Impatiently, I wait for the elevator to slowly reach the seventh floor. I hear a ding and quickly follow the doctor out the opening doors. She stops outside room 727. I hear Liam chuckle slightly. I turn to him.
“It’s pretty coincidental that Lily’s lucky number is 7 and she is on the seventh floor in room 727.” He says. I smile at the thought and watch as the doctor opens the door.
“If you all don’t mind, please try to stay quiet.” Dr. Flores says before letting us in. All eight of us nod and she opens the door. I rush in, trailed by Liam, then the others. I rush to her bedside and tear up almost instantly. Just looking at her poor state made my heart ache. Her face was so beautiful, even when bruised and battered like it was. I gently stroked her hair. The pain in my chest worsened noticeably. It was so horrible I wanted to curl up into a ball and cry.
“She’s so. . . broken.” I state quietly. Just watching her made my heart hurt more. The tubes in her nose and beeping of her heart rate were all I noticed. I felt a hand on my shoulder but I ignored it. She had a bruised cheek and busted lip but, she was still as beautiful as ever.
“My gorgeous sister,” says a voice I had never heard. “Don’t let her suffer the same fate as my own.” I turn around and notice everyone frozen. Liam was frozen at the foot of her bed, staring at her beautiful face. Everyone else, in mid-step. I look up at who’s hand was on my shoulder and saw someone with a slightly familiar face. I had seen him somewhere. But where?
“Who are you, if you don’t mind me asking?” I say. He looks over at Lily with loving eyes. I look at his face and study it closely. I notice the same eyebrow arch and nose as Lily. He had the same long, voluminous eyelashes as her and the same plump, rosy lips. Then it came to me. It was the man from the photos on Lily’s wall. The man the kids called Daddy. “Ar-are you. . . Drew?”
“That’s my name, don’t wear it out.” He says with a chuckle. He look s me up and down. “So you’re the lucky guy?” I nod my head and look back at Lily. “She always did have a thing for white boys. Especially, Liam.”
“Liam?” I ask. He smiles a little before walking to the other side of the bed, directly across from me. He picked up her hand and made little circles on it with his thumb.
“Well, of course Liam. He was her first love.” He whispers. “He took her in, cared for her, loved her, even comforted her when I couldn’t. He told me he would love her as I did and he kept his word.” He says. He looks up at me. “I drop in every now and then to check up on her, and I can see that Liam hurts.”
“Why does he hurt exactly?” I ask, not understanding why he would be hurting when it was her who lost her brother. He sighs and kisses her head lightly.
“He still loves my baby Ana.” Drew says. I shoot him a confused look. “Lily is Ana. Lilliana.” I understand now. Then it dawned on me.
“So, if Liam is still in love with Lily, then what about Dani?” I ask. I would be so crushed if he left Dani for Lily. Dani is such an amazing girl.
“He loves Danielle too.” He says in a casual tone. “But, you never stop loving your first love.” I stood there shocked for a moment before a simple thought crossed my mind.
“So, does she still love Liam?” I ask quietly, fearing the answer. He releases a sigh before approaching me. He grabs my hand and everything flashes and I’m blinded by a bright light. Instantaneously, I find myself in a house. I looked around and saw a calendar that said it was 2009! I look outside and see an unfamiliar sight. One I had never imagined before.
“I love you so much.” Lily says. She was lying on the grass with a younger version of Liam. She looked younger as well. I watched as Liam rolled over and pinned her down. She laughed and playfully struggled to get free. He held both of her hands in one of his while the other hand tickled her stomach. She howled in laughter and struggled even more. He stopped after a short while and everything got really quiet. They were staring into each other’s eyes. I watched as he slowly leaned in and before I knew it, their lips had collided. I felt a deep feeling of hurt and anger well up inside me.
“What’s going on?” I ask quietly. Drew looks me in the eyes before answering me.
“This is what she is thinking about. We’re in her mind right now.” He replies. I felt even more hurt after hearing his words. I wanted to do something so bad but there was nothing I could do. “Look,” he says. I look up and see that we are in a different place. We were at Lily’s beach house and I saw Lily. She sealed an envelope and put it in a pair of my pants on the floor. She wiped a tear before saying something surprising.
“I’m sorry. It wasn’t my plan to drag you into this.” She says. She begins sobbing before continuing. “I’ll just handle it on my own. Again.” She grabs a suitcase and leaves the room. I run over to the pants and pull out the note. I open it and am surprised by its content.
“Why?” I ask myself. “What is this all about?”
Dear Niall,
I know this is abrupt but it has to be done. I’m sorry for all of the stress I’ve caused you. I’m sorry for being a bad girlfriend/fiancé. I’m sorry for ruining your life the way I keep doing. So, to make it up to you, I’m leaving. You don’t need me to stress you out or nag you or ruin anything else. I just think you would be better off without me. I really don’t want to leave but, it’s really my only choice. I’m sorry.
Love,
Lily.
11/11/13