Simply Gone

Lauren rests her head on her hand, elbow slouched on the armrest of the chair and eyelids sloppily closed from yesterday’s long hours. Her blonde hair rests in a messy bun that squashes against the chair’s cushion. The hand of the clock slowly ticks in a menacing manner, as minutes of peaceful sleep goes by. The steady hum of the machinery plays in the background of the calm scene and the beat of Miranda’s heart rate continues with it. 

Miranda lay with her eyes closed on the hospital bed but not quite asleep. Her blonde hair sprawls out along the white pillow and the white sheets wrap around her body with comfort. The relaxing moment is soon ruined by the regular double knock and slow opening of the creaking door. A short and stubby lady with long, dark curls walks in with a clipboard and pen. She has solid brown eyes with rosy cheeks and glasses that grip the edge of her small nose.

The two resting girls awake with blurry vision and droopy eyelids. Lauren shifts uncomfortably on the small chair, finding another position fit for another nap. Miranda shifts her pillows and sits up against them, placing her legs in criss-cross formation. 

“Hey dears,” said nurse Elizabeth. “I’m just taking rounds, then you can go back to your beauty sleep.” Miranda smiles while Lauren nods and takes out her phone. Elizabeth scribbles on the paper notoriously while observing the screen on Miranda’s monitor. 

“You're looking good, as always,” she smirks. “Now let me do the physical check-up.” She listens to her heartbeat and nods with acceptance. She takes her temperature and looks at it with confusion. “You look like you have a small fever, but nothing some medicine can’t fix.”    

Miranda nods and stands up from her bed, facing away from Elizabeth. The nurse lifts her shirt and raises her eyebrows at her questionable back. “It looks like you have some bruising, we might need to run some tests,” she concluded. Lauren’s eyes peer up from her phone as she observes the back of her older sister. “Nothing too major,” Elizabeth says with assurance. 

She leaves with her clipboard and Miranda lays back on her bed. “You can leave if you want to, Lauren,” Miranda beams. “Breakfast should be coming soon, and I have Netflix,” she says, lifting the remote and shaking it delicately in her hand. 

“Kicking me out so early! You must be due for a visit from Nathan,” Lauren jokes, teasing her sister about her boyfriend. Miranda blushes with a cheeky smile and notions for her sister to leave with the snap of her neck.

“Okay, okay. I’ll go,” said Lauren. “Just text me the results from the test later. I’ll let mom and dad know.” 

“Thanks, sis. I’ll call you.”

*****

Lauren pulls up in the driveway of her home, unbuckling her seatbelt and leaving the small car. She unlocks the front door with her key and is greeted by her chocolate lab. He jumps excitedly onto her torso as she scratches under his floppy ears. Once he is satisfied, he gets down and goes to lay on his bed with content.

Lauren hangs her keys up on the wall and walks into the living room to meet her parents. “Hi honey, how is Miranda?” her mother asks with a keen smile. “She is all good, Elizabeth noticed some minor bruising this morning on her back, so she is running some tests. It shouldn’t be that bad, just a normal symptom from Leukemia.”

“Okay, good,” her dad responds. They go back to their regular morning activities, reading a book or browsing social media while Lauren goes outside to the back porch. The fresh air and kind breeze felt quite nice today, and the temperature added to the refreshing mood. She opened her phone and texted Cass, her best friend, asking what she was up to.

They chatted for a few minutes, enjoying each other's presence on the phone. The conversation ended when Cass decided for herself to come over to Lauren’s house for a casual hangout, like always. When they were small children, they created such a loving platonic relationship this way that lasted for more than ten years. They were quite the opposite of the other, and that just connected them even more. Whenever one needed comfort, the other was always there with a blanket and a box of tissues. They could count on eachother, no matter what.

*****

“No, no, no, no. This can’t be happening. It just can’t,” Lauren said in the hospital waiting room. The doctor which came out from the surgery walks down the hallway with his head down. Lauren’s breathing staggers as her head goes dizzy and vision goes blurry. When he arrives at the nervous family, he looks up with visible sorrow in his eyes. “Please, have a seat.”

The shaking three take individual seats, grasping the armrests with fear. “Mr. and Mrs. Rosen, I cannot hide the truth from you behind simple words or sugarcoat the truth in lies. I also can’t imagine what it must feel like with no control in a situation like this, but Miranda did not make it through the surgery,” the doctor says, trying to keep a serious face.

Lauren covers her mouth with her hand in shock as she loses any sense of feeling. “What?” is the only word she can make out of her quivering lips. She stands up and leaves the hospital, walking away from her sobbing parents with tears balled up in her eyes. She sits in her car and texts Cass, because that is the only person who could even try to comfort her in this devastating time. In a few minutes, Cass pulls up next to Lauren’s car and opens the passenger seat door. She has her brown hair pulled up in a low pony and looks at Lauren with stunning green eyes as she sits in the adjacent seat. 

“Hey Lauren,” is all she says with a loss of words. “I- I don’t know what happened,” Lauren mumbles and sniffs. Cass reaches over the center console to embrace her friend in a hug, rubbing her back in a calming manner. “Hey, it’s okay,” she assures. “No, it’s not! It isn’t okay. She was fine a week ago, and now she is dead. Dead! How is that okay?” she sobs into Cass’s shoulder, and Cass lets her.

They stay like this for a while, a friend comforting a friend when she needs her. The most purest time of friendship with such a cost. 

“She’s gone, Cass. She’s simply gone.”