Mary sat on the small bed in the quiet apartment Mrs Carter had provided for her and her daughter during the treatment. The night outside was calm, the city lights glowing through the thin curtains.
But she felt restless. Uneasy. As something heavy had passed through her heart and refused to leave.
She placed a protective hand over her stomach. " why do I feel like something is wrong....?" She whispered.
Her phone buzzed softly_ a strange number.
She stared at it, hesitation tightened her chest. No one had this number except the hospital abroad. Who could be calling at this hour.
Her thumb hovered
Her pulse quickened
Finally she answered.
" hello"
The silence on the other end was thick... familiar..... almost terrifying.
" Mary?" Patrick voice came through, low and strained.
Patrick inhaled
There was a pause_ too long. To heavy.
" it's about Daniel."
Mary's hand went cold.
Her world shifted, tilting dangerously.
"What happen to him?" She asked, voice trembling.
Patrick inhaled, as if choosing his words.
" there was.....accident."
Mary's heart dropped
Before she could speak, her daughter monitor beeped softly from across the room_ a remider of the life she was fighting for.... and life she had left behind.
Mary swallowed hard, breath shallow.
" tell me everything, " she whispered
And braced her self_
Deep down, she already knew her world was about to shatter.
Mary had never know silence could could feel so violent.
The moment Patrick mentioned Daniel's name, the world around her blurred_ the dim apartment the walls,the soft hum of the heat, even her daughter peaceful breathing. Everything faded until she could hear was the pounding in her ears and Patrick voice, voice calm, yet strained, echoing through the phone.
" Mary " he said again, as if afraid she hadn't him the first time. " Daniel is in coma."
The word tore through her.
" no" she whispered, almost soundless. Her fingers tightened around the phone." Patrick, please.....please don't say that."
" he is alive" Patrick quickly added, but his tone was heavy almost, sinking but the doctor.... they aren't sure when he will wake up.
Mary pressed a fist against her mouth to keep from screaming.she curl her fingers forward, tears spilling fast dropping onto the thin bed sheets like rain.
Her daughter lay asleep on the small hospital bed across the room, connected to the quiet monitors that keep steady rhythm. Mary's entire life was slip between two heartbeat _ her daughter fragile one and Daniel's now silent one.
Her breath hitched
" I want to come," she whispered." Patrick , I have to come back, I have to see him."
The silence on the other hand told her Patrick already knew what she would say next.
" but you can't " he said softly, " not with your daughter still under going treatment,. The doctors here wouldn't risk moving her , and you can't leave her alone abroad, Mary or I'm sorry."
Her chest burned as though as someone was carving the truth direct to her ribs.
She buried her face in her hands
" I should've been there," she sobbed," I should've..... I should've told him everything before I left."
Patrick didn't respond immediately. When he finally did, his voice was low almost gentle.
" Mary Daniel never hated you. Even after you left he never said a single bad thing, whatever reason you had .... he would have understood. "
Mary shook her head tears dripping from her chin.
" no, he wouldn't . Not if it means.. choosing me between his family."
" his family?" Patrick echoed with confusion.
" Mary... what happened between you and Mrs Carter? Daniel never told me what happened. "
Her throat tighten.
"It's wasn't Mrs Carter," she whispered,. It was complicated."
It's was a lie but Patrick didn't push.
For a moment , neither like, only the soft static on the call,and Mary quiet broken breaths.
Then suddenly
A sharp pain shit through her chest, followed by a wave if dizzness so string she almost drop the phone.
" Mary?" Patrick voice sharpened." Mary_ are you okay? Talk to me_?"
But his voice was fading. Drifting away like its was underwater.
Mary's vision was blurred. Her knees buckle. The room stretched, tilted , and darkened.
The last thing she had was her daughter monitor beeping rapidly, and Patrick shouting her name through the phone before everything collapse into black.
Warmth
Soft sheets
A faint scent disinfect
Mary blinked slowly her lashes, heavy as the world came back into focus. Her body felt weak. As if the ground was still rocking beneath her.
She was in hospital bed.
" Mom?"
Mary's breath caught. She turn her head.
Her daughter sat beside her_ awake,her eyes wide and fell with concern. Her cheeks were still pale from the long treatment , but she look stronger than she did the day before.
" baby ...." Mary whispered, tears forming instantly. She reached and gently cupped her daughter's face. " you're are awake..."
Her daughter nodded
" I woke up and you weren't answering me. The nurse said you fainted.
Mary swallowed hard, fear crashing over her.
But then her daughter's gaze dropped to Mary's stomach_ roundertgan before, under the thin hospital gown.
"Mom," she said softly. " why didn't you tell you are pregnant ?"
The question pierced deeper than anything else.
Mary froze
Her daughter voice trembled as she continue
" I heard the the nursetalking when they check you.they said you fainted because of stress and...and that you're expecting. "
She blinked, hurt flickering across her young face.
" why did you hide from me? Don't... you trust me?"
" no" Mary said quickly, shaking her head, tears spilling. " no baby , it's not that. I trust you more than anything "
" then why didn't you tell me?" She whispered.
Mary's chest tightened painfully.
She took a shaky breath.
" I didn't want you worrying. With your treatment..... with everything happening...I didn't want you to think you were the reason I was stressed."
Her daughter look down.
" I m not the reason, right"
Mary hesitated
Not because she didn't want to answer.
But because she didn't know how to tell a child that the world pulling her in two opposite directions_ between the man she loves slipping into darkness, and the child she needed to keep alive.
" sweetheart " Mary finish whispered, brushing her fingers through her daughter's hair, " you're not a burden, but my strength, you're the reason I keep going."
Her daughter leaned into her touch, but didn't let go of the question that weighted on her.
" And baby.... is it his?"
Mary's breath hitched. She met her daughter's eyes, and for the first time since everything began she saw something there _ maturity, sadness and understanding far beyond her age.
" yes," Mary whispered. " it's Daniel "
Her daughter nodded slowly, as if she had known all along.
" does he know?"
Mary close her eyes, pain gripping her heart
" no, he doesn't."
" will you tell him ?"
The question shattered her.
" I want to." Mary whispered voice trembling.
" you still need treatment, and I need to here you. If I leave this country you treatment stops.... and I can't risk that."
Her daughter took Mary hands gently.
: mom you always choose me, but....who chooses you?"
Mart blinked, Stunned by softeness and depth of questions.
Her daughter continues, voice barely above whisper
" Daniel loves you right? Shouldn't get to know."
Mary pressed her forehead against her daughter's hands, her tears warm and silent.
" I don't know what to do," she whispered.
Her daughter hugged her suddenly, tightly _ but carefully, aware of her mother condition.
Mary cried, silently , helplessly.
Because she knew her daughter was right.
But also knew the chains holding her here were real_ the treatment, the bills, the fragile life attached to tubes and monitors.
Mary held her daughter close, whispering into her hair.
" I will find away I promise."
But deep inside. She wondered. How a single could belong to two worlds at once_ one beating in the rom with her and another lying silent in the hospital thousands of miles away.