CHAPTER 3

Jeremiah spent a whole ten minutes lying on the ground, not being able to believe that in less than a couple of minutes he had lost the only person that made him happy.

"What do I do now? All the years I put into our relationship, trying my best to make her happy was all for nothing. If only I wasn’t a nobody who couldn’t afford to give her what she wanted—" Jeremiah said but was interrupted when his phone started ringing.

"Who the hell is it this time?" Jeremiah grumbled and decided to ignore the call.

After a few seconds, the call ended but then the phone started ringing again.

Jeremiah got angry that the caller couldn’t take the hint to not call back.

He sat up and took out his phone from his pocket so he could terminate the call.

He was about to hit the terminate button but looked at the caller ID and his eyes widened.

He quickly changed tunes and, instead, swiped to answer the call then he put the phone on his ear.

"Good evening, nurse Victoria! I hope everything is alright, seeing as how you're calling me at such a late h—" Jeremiah said but was cut off.

["Where are you right now, Mister Jeremiah?"]

Jeremiah grimaced in confusion.

Because the nurse was a trained professional, he couldn't get a read on what was going on through her voice.

"I'm currently outside.” He replied.

[“You’re not driving by any chance are you?”]

“Where would someone like me get a car to drive— I mean, no I’m not. Is anything the matter?"

["Well, I have great news to tell you.”]

“Great news? What is it?”

[“Your mother has finally woken up from her coma"]

"What?!" Jeremiah exclaimed.

["I don't know if you're busy but can you come to the hospital right now?"]

"Of course! I'll be there as fast as I can!" Jeremiah said with a huge smile on his face and the nurse ended the call.

Finally, something positive.

Jeremiah got on his feet and walked until he was able to get a taxi that took him to the hospital.

He rushed into the hospital and went straight to the reception.

"Excuse me but I'm looking for—"Jeremiah said to the nurse at the reception but was interrupted from behind.

"Mister Jeremiah."

Jeremiah recognized the voice and turned around to see Nurse Victoria.

He rushed to where she was.

"I came as fast as I could, just like I promised. Was what you said over the phone true? Did my mom really wake up from her coma?" Jeremiah asked and the nurse smiled.

Immediately, Jeremiah’s face lit up.

Elated by the news, he placed his hands on the nurse's shoulders and said "Are you being for real? Mom really woke up from her coma after these many years?"

"That's right. It really is a miracle because even we didn't think she was ever going to regain consciousness after so many years but I guess she never gave up and—" Nurse Victoria said and before she knew it, Jeremiah hugged her.

The nurse blushed.

"Mister Jeremiah, what are you doing?" She asked nervously.

Jeremiah jolted and immediately stopped hugging her.

He scratched the back of his head bashfully and said "I'm sorry about that. I was just so happy that I lost control for a moment. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable"

Nurse Victoria cleared her throat and arranged her uniform.

"It's fine. I understand how news like that could affect you enough to do what you did, but in case of next time, don't go hugging people without their permission first"

"Of course. I'll be more mindful next time" Jeremiah smiled then dropped his hand from the back of his head.

"I know she just woke up but is it possible for me to see her right now? I've had a really terrible evening and seeing her will help cheer me up"

"I don't think that should be a problem but I'll have to talk to—" Nurse Victoria said but she was suddenly distracted by something happening in the distance.

"Nurse Victoria? What is it?" Jeremiah asked then turned around to look at what the nurse was staring at.

"That's Doctor Gabriel, the doctor in charge of your mother's care"

Jeremiah grimaced and said, "Okay, then where is he running to? Also, why does he look so panicked?"

Confused, Nurse Victoria said "I don't know but from the direction he’s running in, I think he’s going to the Intensive Care Unit which is where your mother is"

Jeremiah's eyes widened in shock.

“My mom? Do you think something happened to her?!” Jeremiah asked the nurse desperately.

“I don’t know, but I’ll go check. Please wait for me in the waiting area”

Hesitant about doing what the nurse asked, Jeremiah agreed and went to wait for her in the waiting area while she went to find out why Doctor Gabriel was in such a hurry.

While in the waiting area, Jeremiah’s heart pounded in his chest and he prayed that his mother was okay. He just got her back and it’ll be terrible if he lost her again.

A couple of minutes later, Nurse Victoria came to find him in the waiting area and when he saw her, he rushed to his feet.

"So what did you find out? Did it have anything to do with my mom?” Jeremiah asked and Nurse Victoria nodded.

Jeremiah grimaced in confusion.

“Wait, I thought she had just woken up from her coma and was okay enough to have visitors so what happened all of a sudden?" Jeremiah asked hurriedly.

Nurse Victoria had a guilty expression on her face.

“Nurse Victoria, what aren’t you telling me?” Jeremiah frowned.

"Your mother was okay when I called you to come to the hospital but not long after you arrived, she went into cardiac arrest.”

“Cardiac arrest?!” Jeremiah jolted “As in a heart attack?!”

“That’s right. Doctor Gabriel and the nurses are trying their best to make sure she's okay but there's no update as of yet. I'll go back and find out more information about what's happened since then, so please just sit down and—" Nurse Victoria said but stopped mid-sentence when she saw Doctor Gabriel walking up to her and Jeremiah.

"Doctor?" She grimaced.

Doctor Gabriel looked at Jeremiah and said "You are Missus Lauretta's son, right?"

Jeremiah nodded.

"That's right. My name is Jeremiah Garrick and I'm registered as her guardian, so please tell me what happened to my mom, doctor?"

The doctor cleared his throat and then gulped.

"We tried all we could, but despite our best efforts, we weren't able to save Missus Lauretta. Her body was so weak from all the years she was in the coma that the strain of a heart attack was just too much for her to handle. I'd like to offer my sincerest condolences for your loss" Doctor Gabriel said and Jeremiah’s heart sank into his stomach.