{"id":24584,"date":"2025-12-18T00:05:19","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T00:05:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/readmore.cx\/?p=24584"},"modified":"2025-12-18T00:05:19","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T00:05:19","slug":"24584","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/readmore.cx\/?p=24584","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cTell me,\u201d she said. Her voice was flat, devoid of the panic from earlier.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s in a coma,\u201d Dr. Evans said, leading her to a chair. \u201cThe trauma to the skull is severe. There is significant swelling in the brain. We\u2019ve had to drill to relieve pressure, but\u2026\u201d He hesitated. \u201cThere\u2019s internal bleeding. Her spleen is ruptured. Four ribs are broken. Her tibia is shattered.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWill she wake up?\u201d Margaret asked.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Evans looked at the floor, then back at Margaret. \u201cI need to be honest with you. The Glasgow Coma Scale score is three. That is the lowest possible score. The brain damage\u2026 it\u2019s catastrophic. Even if her body heals, the Emily you knew\u2026\u201d He took a deep breath. \u201cYou should prepare for the worst. You should say your goodbyes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The words hit Margaret like physical blows.\u00a0<\/span>Say your goodbyes.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCan I see her?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBriefly. She\u2019s in the ICU.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Margaret walked into the room. The machinery was deafening\u2014a symphony of beeps and hisses keeping a corpse alive. Emily was unrecognizable beneath the tubes and bandages. She looked small. So incredibly small.<\/span><\/p>\n

Margaret pulled a chair up to the bedside. She took Emily\u2019s hand\u2014the only part of her that wasn\u2019t bandaged. It was cold.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI remember when you were five,\u201d Margaret whispered, stroking the pale skin. \u201cYou fell off the swing set and scraped your knee. You cried so hard. I put a band-aid on it and kissed it, and you asked for ice cream. And it was all better.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

She leaned her forehead against the metal rail of the bed.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t kiss this better, baby.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

She sat there for an hour, watching the heart rate monitor. Every beep was a second stolen from the reaper.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then, her mind drifted. She thought of the Gable estate. It was a massive Georgian mansion on a hill, surrounded by iron gates. It was probably warm inside. They probably had the fireplace going.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cTell me,\u201d she said. Her voice was flat, devoid of the panic from earlier. \u201cShe\u2019s in a coma,\u201d Dr. Evans said, leading her to a chair. \u201cThe trauma to the skull is severe. There is significant swelling in the brain. We\u2019ve had to drill to relieve pressure, but\u2026\u201d He hesitated. \u201cThere\u2019s internal bleeding. Her spleen…<\/p>\n

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