Chasing Butterflies by Terri E. Laine

Author:Terri E. Laine [Laine, Terri E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-06-01T22:00:00+00:00

Blinking, my eyes adjusted to the brightness of the room. That was information enough I wasn’t back home or in the room above the garage. For a second, I thought I might be on the pullout in Mom’s room until a figure came into focus.

“There you are. How do you feel, hon?”

I wanted to ask where I was, even knowing the answer. I wanted to know how I got to the hospital. Instead, my voice came out scratchy and incoherent.

Give it a second. She disappeared and returned with a cup that held a straw. “Why don’t you drink something first?”

My throat burned, so I didn’t refuse. The cool water coated my throat, giving me the opportunity to voice my questions.

“You’re in Mid County Hospital. And I think I should contact the doctor.”

“My mom…is she here?”

It was a long shot. Mom barely moved on her own these days.

The older woman patted my hand. “Your mom is here. Let me get the doctor.”

Before I could stretch out my hand to stop her, she was gone. I tried to sit up, but a wave of dizziness flattened me. If Mom was there, I figured she’d be in to check on me soon. Maybe she’d finally given my father the boot.

Only Mom didn’t show. And maybe an hour had passed when a doctor breezed through my door, all busy like with a clipboard in his hand.

“Ah, Mr. Moore, how are you feeling?”

Before I could answer, he flashed a light across my eyes, blinding me.

“Not very talkative,” he said after only a few seconds of silence. “You took quite the fall. Lucky for you, you only bruised a few ribs as we found no fractures. It’s the concussion we’re worried about. Your dad said you fell down a long line of stairs, which explains why you are here.”

So that’s how he played it. I said nothing because I couldn’t. As much as I hated the bastard, Mom loved him for reasons I would never understand. I needed to talk to her before I went spilling my guts.

“Is my dad here?”

I hoped like hell he wasn’t. But I needed to know. Mom wouldn’t speak freely if he were in there. I hadn’t wished for my brother in a while, but in that moment, I longed for his miraculous return.

“He’s with your mother.”

“Are they coming in?”

He sighed heavily, and I didn’t expect his next words.

“Your father has given me permission to speak with you. Your mother has suffered a complication to her illness.”

“She has MS.”

“Yes. But she has the rare form of Multiple Sclerosis called Marburg.”

“She told me, but what does that mean?”

“It’s a rare form of the disease that progresses quite quickly. It’s surprising that your mother was able to get out of bed to try to get to you. But stranger things have happened when mothers are confronted with the desire to save their children.”

That was all good, but I wanted to understand what was going on. “Is she okay?”

He sighed again, only warning me his news wasn’t good.

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