20 September 2012
It had been hours since Ethan had woken up from his coma. That was the official term that Doc had given it. Ethan still preferred to call it the 'fog' because he had felt alive in there, to him, he hadn't been asleep. He had kept quiet while his mum had hugged him within an each of his life, her soft tears had reminded him that time hadn't stopped for her. She had been sure she had lost him forever.
"Mum I'm fine. Go home, get some sleep, I'll see you tomorrow" he sighed as she hugged him again.
"I know, just one more and I'll leave. I'll call your father and let him know" she said as she pulled back from him.
"Why bother, he won't come" Ethan said as he looked at her. He would always be grateful that while he looked like his father, he had his mother's personality. His own brown eyes seemed to reflect back from her face and he noted how exhausted she looked.
"He still has to know Ethan, regardless of anything he is still-" explained his mother. "My father, yeah I know that sadly" he said with a huff as he finished the sentence for her. Most kids wished for a new set of parents, he just wanted a new dad.
"I have you, I don't need him" Ethan said to her with a small smile. Those few words lit up her face as she smiled back at him. "Now please go home, I'll see you tomorrow" he ended with a wave to the door. Leaning in for one last hug, his mother kissed his cheek before gathering her coat. "I'll see you tomorrow babyboy" she whispered before walking to the door. Even with the exhaustion etched on her face, she was still beautiful. Grey streaks now showed her age in her hair but she was proud of them, her 'badge of honour' for living a good life. He always smiled at her when she said that, but the reality was far harsher. His father, the big shot lawyer had preferred his job to his family, his secretary to his wife and his clients to his son. It was far easier to forget than to try to heal the riff that Anthony Scott had created.
Ethan leaned back into the pillows and tried to get comfortable. It had been a weird day, he thought. Waking up from the 'fog' or coma as the doctors liked to call it, remembering his life, Maddison...fuck Maddison. After the orderly had gotten him on the bed again, his mum and Doc had rushed in and calmed him down. When Ethan had asked for Maddison, his mother had burst into fresh tears and the brutal realisation that the search for Maddison had stopped was too much for him to hear.
"Hello Ethan, how are you feeling?" Doc asked as he walked into his room.
"Same as I was an hour ago, mentally tired but fine. It's not every day you get to wake up from a coma" Ethan answered as Doc checked his chart.
"I know but you're a breakthrough for my research. You were the first responsive coma patient to mental communication" Doc said in a rush. Ethan had already heard this speech before, and he still wasn't sold on it. There had too much information to process about Maddison let alone about a machine that gave Doc neurone pathway access to his brain. Science had never been his strongest subject anyway so he had tuned out.
"All I wanna know is when I can go home" Ethan said, changing topics before Doc zoned out into geek mode again.
"Oh...in a week probably. There's tests to be done, we have to ensure there's no lasting damage from the brain injury you suffered, the coma or the experiment" Doc answered, immediately crushing Ethan's hope for starting his search to find clues to Maddison's disappearance. He kept his face calm and blank, his determination to find Maddie would only delay things with Doc and the hospital.
"Anyway I shouldn't keep you, you could use some rest. I'll see you in the morning Ethan" Doc said as he put his chart back down.
"Night Doc" Ethan said, waiting until Doc closed the door before flicking the tv on. The news hadn't mentioned anything about Maddison or himself, so he could only assume they too had stopped looking for the answers of that fateful day. With a heavy sigh, he turned the tv off before getting up to shuffle to the window. Ethan was surprised at how tiring it was just to take a few steps to the end of the room. His legs really had forgotten how to walk. The darkness of the sky gave way to view the bright stars of Maine in a cloudless sky.
"If there's a God out there, I need Maddison to be safe. I need to find her" Ethan uttered a small prayer as he leaned his head against the window. He would play along with everyone, let the doctors run their tests and he could pretend to be the grieving lover. The moment he was free, he would retrace his steps and find answers. Maddison had to be alive, because without her then he would be alone again. She had nurtured him, looked after him like he was a wounded puppy and made him fall in love with her. You only got a chance at love like that once in a lifetime...without her, the darkness would close in again on him.
As Ethan shuffled back to his bed, his phone vibrated on the table next to him. He had messages from guys he sorta hanged with to people he didn't even know wishing him a 'safe recovery' and a few dicks had thought it funny to send a 'welcome to recall' video clip. He was only in coma for three months, not 3 years. Nothing had changed in the time he had been gone.
Sitting on the bed and catching his breath, Ethan leaned over and picked up the phone. Tapping his iPhone's home button, he read the name of the sender before his heart dropped to his stomach.
Maddison Clark iMessage
Righteous III • Opuss № I