NovelEnglishChapter 38 I can't tear my gaze away either. The paramedics are a flurry of action, their defibrillator pads and IV lines weapons working against the silent thief that is death. But even as they work, the leaden feeling in my chest tellsit's a battle already lost and they know it too, they are just trying for Max's sake.
mmand cuts through the tense air, "Clear!" The sharp followed by the harsh zap of electricity. Granny's body jerks, a grotesque jolt of life, but her chest remains still. Again and again, they try, each attempt a glimmer of hope that dies as quickly as it sparks.
"Let's move!" One paramedic calls out, they scoop Granny onto a gurney. They're rushing out the door, and I'm right on their heels.
"Shit... Max!" The reminder hitslike a physical blow. I can't leave him; he's my responsibility. I whirl around, spotting his small frrooted to the spot, terror etched into every line of his face where Granny just lay.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"She didn't wake up," he tells me. I blink at him and swallow the lump forming in my throat. I don't know how to reassure him when I can barely gather my own sense right now.
"Con, buddy, we've got to go to the hospital." My voice is steady, but inside, I'm shattering. When he doesn't move, I scoop him up in my arms, his little body clinging to mine.
We race to the ambulance, its doors gaping open like a portal 0.00% ::: ☐ +x+ KIKA ||| O < 288 Vouchers to another world-one that is a living nightmare. Max buries his face in my neck, his breath hitching in quiet sobs. "Everything will be alright," I don't know if I am lying to him or myself, but what else can I do? I can't let him see the dread that coils in my stomach, the betrayal I feel at the universe for allowing this to happen.
The ride is a blur, the sirens a wailing lament that seems to resonate with the turmoil in my soul. When we arrive, Granny is whisked away from us, disappearing behind sterile doors that separate the living from those who teeter on the brink.
"Granny will be okay," Max says, more to himself than to me, his words a thin veil over the gaping wound in our hearts. I nod, unable to trust my voice, my throat tight with unshed tears knowing shehe.
I clutch Max's small hand, the tiny bones fragile within my own. We sit in the sterile expanse of the hospital waiting room, surrounded by a stench that is both clean and repugnant-the antiseptic tang wrestling with the odor of stale coffee. It's an unnerving aroma.
Max swings his legs back and forth, the sound of his shoes scuffing lightly against the linoleum floor. He's oblivious to the gravity of the situation. My heart pounds against my ribcage, a relentless drumbeat marking each second of suspense. It's too loud in the hush of the room, remindingthat I am very much alive while Granny...
The thought trails off into darkness, a path I'm not ready to tread.
Before I can respond, the soft tread of footsteps signals an approach. My gaze snaps up, locking onto the nurse who's CA ||| o Chapter 38 18 228 Nouchers cto deliver news I already know in my marrow. Her expression is gentle, apologetic, the bearer of doom wrapped in pastel colored scrubs.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm
"I'm sorry, but your grandmother didn't make it," she murmurs, her voice barely rising above the ambient sounds of beeping monitors and distant pages. "We were hoping the king would cto pick up his son co before we delivered the news, but we must move her." the nurse whispers. I already knew this by the looks on the paramedics faces when they got to her, by the deathly pallor of her skin, yet officially hearing, having it confirmed, breaks something inside me. The words slice through me.
"Thank you," I manage to choke out, though gratitude is the furthest thing from my heart as I peer back at Max sitting waiting.
"The king is on the way, we have notified him,” she tells me. I nod slowly, turning to look at Max.
"Can we see her?" Max asks.
"Not right now," my voice breaks on the answer, "she is sleeping."
I stagger, the ground beneathunsteady as if the earth itself mourns with me. The hospital's sterile walls close in a blur of white that swallows my senses. Max's small hand finds mine, his grip firm and searching. "Brielle, are you okay?” His voice is a whisper lost in the storm inside me.
I can't speak. I look down into Max's upturned face, his eyes brimming with worry for me. He is too young to understand the finality of death, yet old enough to sense its shadow. 67.21% CIKA
Visit our social media platform to read fascinating stories every day and connect with the community!
