CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE: AUSTIN

Before we left Athena's apartment, I considered stopping by my house to get more clothes for school when we arrived at the apartment complex rather than waiting until tomorrow.

By the time we got to the house, Shane was already asleep, so we put him to bed first. Then we both went into the sitting room, and since I didn't want to worry him if he woke up and didn't see me around, I decided it was best to tell him I was going home to get some things.

"Hey Leo, I'd like to go get some stuff from home, since I'm basically living here already," I explained.

"Do you want me to drop you off? It won't be a problem." Leo said as he removed his tie and collapsed on the couch looking exhausted, I couldn't make him drive me in his tired state; that would be selfish of me, even if he says it's okay.

"It's all right, bro, I can walk; I need the exercise after eating so much at Athena's apartment."

"Are you sure? I can change and we can leave in a minute."

"I'm sure, get some rest, and if I need you, I'll call you." I said this in the hope that it would reassure him that I was perfectly fine with walking because when Leo sets his mind to something, it is hard to change his mind.

"If you're sure, but don't hesitate to call me if you need a ride back"

"No problem bro," I said as I turned to walk towards the door, but I stopped when Leo called my name.

"Austin?"

"Yes, Mother," I joked, but the look on his face was anything but playful.

"If that jerk is home, call me, don't face him alone," Leo said, concern and anger evident in his tone

"Leo, i-"

"Swear that you will call me Austin, I'm not joking, I need to know you will call me if he is there," Leo said.

I knew he was just trying to protect me, and I appreciated it, but it was still foreign to have someone care so much about me, especially since my mother never cared about me when I was growing up.

"I swear to you, Leo, I'll call you if that douchebag is at home."

"Okay then, stay safe bro."

"I will, see you later, mother."

"Idiot," Leo yelled, followed by a short laugh as he lay down on the couch and watched me walk towards the door.

"You love me anyway," I said as I walked to the door, causing him to laugh. With one last wave in his direction, I exited the apartment and headed for my house.

When I arrived at the house, the front door was left open, which looked extremely suspicious. As I pushed the door open, I saw my mother laying on the floor in a pool of her own blood. I dashed towards her, placing my finger on her neck to check for a pulse. It was there, but it was faint. So I pulled out my phone and dialed 911.

"911, how may I help you?"

"My mother has been shot, she needs an ambulance, she looks pale, and she has lost a lot of blood."

"Where do you live, Sir?"

"4691 Rockwell Lane"

"All right, help is on the way, is anyone else hurt?"

"No, she was the only one here, her husband wasn't at home when I got here." I said, terrified because there was blood everywhere and she was unconscious, "Please hurry, my mum doesn't look so good,"

"Alright, take a deep breath, everything will be fine."

When I heard sirens in the distance, I dashed out the door to direct the ambulance to our house. When the two paramedics rushed in, I trailed behind them and watched as they went to kneel beside her.

"How long has she been unresponsive?" the female paramedics asked.

"I just got here a few minutes ago, I was staying with a friend,"

"Who was with her?"

"Probably her new husband, but he was gone when I arrived, as I told the lady who called you guys."

"She's already in shock and has lost a lot of blood; we need to get her to the hospital," the male paramedic said as he stopped the bleeding from her wound, then proceeded to put an oxygen mask on her, with my assistance they placed her on the gurney and carried her to the ambulance, and they allowed me to ride in the back as we drove to the hospital.

I was losing it and couldn't think straight, so I took out my phone and dialed Leo's number because he was the first person who came to mind after all he said I should call him if I needed help. The phone rang for a few minutes before he answered it.

"Hey bro, what's up? Need a ride?" Leo asked.

"Leo, my mother was shot, I found her almost dead in the house, I don't know what to do, I'm losing it man," I explained while also trying to keep my emotions in check, but I wasn't doing so well.

"What! Austin, calm down, where are you now?" he said, his concern evident in his tone.

"We're going to the hospital, I can't lose her, Leo," I answered, almost in tears when I said this.

"Austin I'll be right there; don't worry, she'll be fine " Leo said before the line went dead and I was left alone with my raging thoughts.

The ambulance arrived at the hospital a few minutes later, and paramedics carried her out on the gurney.

"We have an emergency, gunshot wound, adult female, unresponsive," the male paramedic yelled, and it didn't take long before we were surrounded by nurses.

"Can you tell me her vitals?" As he examined my mother's unconscious body, a doctor who came rushing to us asked.

"The patient's initial vital signs were 95/60, 54, and 30/min. O2 saturation was 97% " the female paramedics yelled as they rolled her into the hospital.

"She urgently requires surgery; let's get her to the operating room; she may have a ruptured organ?" The doctor said, and I felt my heart drop at the look of urgency on his face. Is my mother going to die? The thought entered my mind as I watched them try to stable her vitals.

"Will she be all right?" I questioned, and the female nurse smiled reassuringly at me before speaking.

"The doctors will do everything they can," the nurses assured me, easing some of my concerns.

Perhaps she saw my terror on my face and decided to say something to lift me out of my despair, for which I was grateful.

After my mother's vitals stabilized, the doctor and nurse rushed her into the operating room, leaving me terrified in the hallway.

Thirty minutes had passed, and I was still pacing back and forth, waiting for news about my mother's surgery.

"Austin," a familiar voice called out from behind me, and I turned to see Athena,Leo, and Shane standing on the other side of the room, their faces filled with fear and concern.

Athena was the first to run over to me, engulfing me in a hug, and I wrapped my hands around her, holding on to her like my life depended on it because I was so fucking scared.

When Shane and Leo approached us, Shane hugged me as I pulled away from Athena, his worried gaze fixed on me.

"Thank you little man, this means a lot," I said as I returned his hug before turning to face Leo and Athena. "I'm sorry for making you guys rush out at this time of night; I didn't have anyone else to call."

"Why are you apologizing? When you call, no matter what time of day it is, we will always come running "Athena reprimanded, her concerned gaze focused on me.

I turned to look at Leo, who was just standing there staring at me, not moving or saying anything, but I could tell he was worried.

"Hey, dude, you look like shit, and that's saying something coming from me," I joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"You don't have to act tough, Austin; we both know you're hurting; you can be vulnerable when you're with us; we're here for you." Leo said as he approached me, pulling me in for a hug, and I held on to him, letting out the tears I'd been holding back since discovering my mother laying in a pool of her own blood. He gave me one last pat on the back before we all sat in the chair waiting for the doctors to come out of the operating room.

After a few hours, there was still no word from the doctors. Shane dozed off on Athena's lap, while I struggled to stay awake because the adrenaline had worn off and the lack of sleep was already doing shit to my brain.

"Hey, go ahead and take a quick nap; you look awful, man. I'll wake you up if the doctors come out".

"I'm fine, man," he said.

"Austin, you need to rest, you've been awake since morning man, go to sleep, I promise I'll wake you up when the doctors come out," Leo said firmly, leaving no room for argument.

"Okay, man, wake me up when there's news," I said as I laid down on the chair, my tiredness overwhelming me, as I closed my eyes, allowing the darkness to bring me some peace.

When I felt someone tap me on the shoulder, I opened my eyes to see Leo kneeling in front of me. I stood from my chair to see the doctor who had entered the operating room with my mother.

"How is my mother?"

"We were able to stop the bleeding, but due to a lack of oxygen to the brain, she went into a coma, I'm sorry," the doctor explained, and even though he was speaking plain English, my brain refused to accept what he had just said.

"What exactly are you saying?" I asked, my eyes welling up with tears, "She's not going to wake up?"

"We don't know that yet, we'll have to keep her under observation for tonight and hope she survives until tomorrow," the doctor said before walking away.

I just stood there in the hospital waiting room, my heart racing and my palms sweaty. As I looked around at my friends' worried expressions, a wave of nausea washed over me.

"Austin, you don't look so good; why don't you have a seat?" Athena suggested, but my mind was already elsewhere.

I couldn't breathe, so I tried taking deep breaths, but it didn't work. The more I tried to relax, the worse it became. The thought of my mother dying made it hard to shake the feeling that worse things were on the way. I couldn't stand the sense of impending doom that hung in the air around me.

I'd be alone...with no one to give a shit about me. As my breaths became shorter, I felt tears trickle down my cheeks as I slumped to the ground, my mind clouded with negative predictions of my future.

The room grew darker and darker... The light in my eyes was fading quickly! The last image in my mind before I was completely consumed by my pain was the faces of my concerned friends rushing towards me.