Abel Ladd - The Crying Child | Day 11 : 822 words

The next morning she carried Abel with her back to the hospital and they were soon back at Neal’s bedside. His position was unchanged and the only difference was a slightly ashen tone to his skin. The ventilator breathed in and out and Neal’s chest raised to the rhythm as the displays beeped with the regular update of vital signs. Esme rocked Abel in her arms as she sat next to the still form and she hoped that maybe he was still there and could hear her words and sense their presence.
“Neal, we’re here. Oh please don’t.” Esme broke down into sobs and and waves of intense crying. Her hand was on Neal’s arm and she felt him twitch a few muscles and her mind leaped at the possibility. But then as she watched his form it remained still and lifeless save the mechanical breath.
The door to the room opened and in walked an older gray haired woman dressed in a pant suit. She quickly glanced over Neal then stood and took in the sight of Esme and Abel. Her arms opened and she walked forward towards them and soon her arms were around the both of them and she said calmly, “it’s okay. You are protected and there will be no harm done to you. You are in a safe space here.”
Esme’s face turned towards the woman and she instinctively pulled Abel around to her side away from the incoming arms of the woman. Behind the woman Doctor Rowland entered the room and upon seeing Esme’s reaction she quickly tried to deflate the situation. “Madame Talia, I think we are good for now,” she said as she motioned to the door with her head.
It was a quick turn around as Madame Talia quickly made an exit from the room. The doctor closed the door behind Talia and then pulled the spare chair up next to Esme and sat down. Her pda was out and she was hastily tapping away at it for what seemed like an eternity before she put it away and turned her attention to Esme. “I’m sorry for that. She has a good track record with our other patients but then again, they weren’t you or your son,” she said.
Esme found herself bristling at the idea that they had been trying to placate her and she found a sudden burst of fieriness that she couldn’t stop. “I don’t need to hear all these excuses and ‘oh I can’t do that’ or ‘the system won’t allow that’, I just want him fixed and this isn’t doing that.”
“I understand but you must realize there is little to do other than keep him sedated and out of pain. There have been consultations with numerous agencies around the country in hopes of there being a possible solution but we got the same response from each.” The doctor explained in her gentlest tone she could muster trying not to be overly aggressive, but she needed Esme to understand the gravity of the situation.
Esme’s gaze landed on Neal and she made herself look at the eye patches and the intubation tubes in detail. She saw them for the stents that they were but she knew there had to be something more. Her gaze turned back to Doctor Rowland and she calmly said, “I am going to get a second opinion.” The sudden dour change in the Doctor’s demeanor told Esme all she needed and she quickly made up her mind.
Straightening her back and sitting upright Esme tried to gain a sense of poise before she spoke. When she felt ready her words still came out slightly stuttered and unsure but she plowed forward. Once an object is in motion.
“I, I don’t care what you think of it but I’m going to find someone who’ll help Neal. He’s sedated and essentially in stasis so there’s no rush to remove him right?” Esme asked as she stared into the Doctor’s eyes.
The Doctor coughed slightly to cover her muffled “fuck yourself” that happened to leak from her lips. She caught herself after it had slid out and her eyes watched cautiously in case Esme had heard her then said gruffly, “that’s up to you but there is no guarantee of how long he’ll remain stable.”
Esme’s eyes narrowed at the tone of the Doctor’s voice and she felt her resolve becoming stronger. She stood from the chair and shifted Abel in her arms then leaned over and kissed Neal on the forehead. “I love you,” she whispered to him before standing and turning to Doctor Rowland. “I’m going to find someone who can help him.”
Doctor Rowland shook her head slightly and said, “that’s your decision. I wouldn’t get my hopes up if I were you though.”
Esme glared at Doctor Rowland then turned and stalked out of the room with Abel babbling gently in her arms.