So the day wasn’t a complete loss, we decided to scrap our plans of heading back to the Boardwalk and go to my house instead to surf the web.

My mom came out of her studio as we all stampeded into the house.

“Is it okay if we do some research up in my sitting room?” I asked.

“Sure, I’m finishing up my project. Why don’t you guy’s grab a snack and I’ll grab a couple buckets of chicken later for dinner. I’m assuming all of you want to eat dinner together?”

“That would be great,” we all seemed to say in unison.

“But I can go get it,” Mark volunteered.

“That’s okay. I have a couple of other errands to run anyway,” she said as she headed back to her studio.

Mark and I grabbed chips and salsa while Sam and Shawn grabbed sodas for everyone. I snagged a handful of wrapped chocolates out of the dish on the counter on our way out of the kitchen. Mark smiled when he saw me pocketing the candies.

I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t get my candy fix at school anymore. I have to take the chocolate where I can get it,” I said.

We spent the afternoon searching the web. It was tedious work to go from one site to the next. Without knowing where the last two kids had been abandoned, it was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

The afternoon slipped away and soon my mom called up the stairs to tell us that she was on her way out. We continued to search for a while longer and I soon got sick of following endless rabbit trails that led to nothing. I switched off the computer feeling a little frustrated.

I stood up and turned on the stereo. I cranked the volume up when I heard the new Katy Perry song playing.

Mark pulled me to my feet and took me in his arms. You couldn’t call what we were doing dancing, but more like swaying to the music. Whatever it was, it was enough for me. I loved every moment that I was in his arms. I knew that it was important that we find the others, but at times I wished we could be like any other ordinary couple. I rested my head on his shoulder as we danced to the music.

I forgot and lost all meaning of time until my phone rang.

I looked at my watch as I searched for the phone. My mom had been gone a long time, where was she? I found the phone under the Lazy Boy. It stopped ringing by the time I reached it. I checked the caller ID and saw a number I didn’t recognize. I punched the number in and waited for someone to pick up on the other end.

“Memorial Hospital how can I direct your call?” A chipper voice asked.

I felt a sinking feeling “I’m not sure, I just missed a call from this number.”

“Do you know anyone who may be at the hospital?” the voice asked.

Had something happened to my mom? “Um, can you look up the name Cindy Miller?” I asked as my heart sank.

“Hold please.”

Mark came up behind me and set his hands on my shoulders. I looked up to see Mark and Shawn standing by me while Sam turned the music down.

The voice came back on the line. “A Cindy Miller was just brought in an hour ago. She’s in the ICU.”

I thanked her and hung up the phone.

Before the emotions could attack me and incapacitate me, I held my breath and smothered them out before they could even start. I was not going to get sick when my mom needed me.

“My mom was in an accident, we need to get to the hospital now.”

Sam grabbed our purses and we all barreled down the stairs.

Mark reached for my hand as he drove. I was grateful for his touch, the breathing technique helped, but his touch kept my emotions from getting out of control. The drive was silent as the others sensed that I needed the time to think.

Mark pulled up in front of the emergency room. Sam and I jumped out while Mark and Shawn went to park the car.

I hurried toward the admissions desk.

“My mom was brought in a little while ago, can you tell me where I can find her?” I asked with a small quiver in my voice.

“Her name dear?” The woman asked.

“Cindy Miller.”

The women typed her name in the computer and scrolled down.

“She’s in the ICU, which is on the second floor. If you follow the signs it will lead you up there,” she said handing Sam and I a badge.

I thanked her and turned to Sam. Sam knew what I needed. “I’ll wait here for the guys. You go check on your mom. We’ll meet there.”

I walked down the hall and took the elevator up to the second floor. I felt a strange sense of déjà- vu. I was reminded of when my mom and I had made a similar journey when we arrived at the hospital after my dad’s heart attack. I felt the emotions approach, but once again I fought them back, at least I was getting stronger at doing that.

I showed my badge to the woman at the desk in the ICU. She typed my mom’s name into the computer.

“Okay dear, your mom is being checked over by her doctors right now, as soon as they know something they will come out to see you. You can wait in the ICU waiting lounge which is two doors down on the left.”

“Thanks,” I mumbled heading out the door.

The ICU lounge was empty except for one elderly woman who sat in the corner silently crying while she shredded a tissue in her wrinkled hands. She wore a flowered housedress and bright pink Crocs. Her gray hair was gathered at the nape of her neck in a tight bun. I felt instantly bad for her and wanted to offer some kind of comfort, but I felt my own sanity was hanging by a thread.

Mark, Shawn, and Sam found me five minutes later sitting on the edge of one of the cushioned seats.

“They haven’t told me anything,” I said before they could ask. “The doctor is supposed to come out when they’re done with her.”

Mark and Sam sat at my sides holding my hands. Shawn paced back and forth while we waited. If I wasn’t so anxious I would have been touched at his brotherly attitude.

The waiting room door opened and we all looked up to see a harassed looking doctor enter. “Ms. Miller?” He asked glancing at Sam and me.

“That’s me,” I said standing up. Mark and Sam followed lending their silent support.

“Your mom was brought in at approximately 7:20 pm, tonight with multiple injuries. She is in surgery right now; we had to rush her in to remove her spleen. Our best surgeon is with her now. She broke her leg and multiple ribs on the left side of her body. One of the jagged edges of the rib bone pierced her spleen, which is why we had to remove it. She also suffered a concussion and was unconscious when she was brought in. As soon as we know more we will let you know,” he said, edging out the door before I could even get a word in.

“Wait,” I said.

He paused in the doorway. “How did it happen?”

“We heard it was a hit and run. Whoever hit her rammed into the driver’s side and then fled the scene. The police will be in soon to talk to you,” he said sympathetically as he left the room.

I sunk into the seat and felt my emotions beginning to take over.

“Krista, don’t let them do it,” I heard Sam say from far off.

The waves were building momentum.

“Mark you have to help her. She needs to be here for her mom.”

“Krista, you have to fight it,” Sam begged me as Mark rained kisses all over my face and rubbed my back.

I swallowed back bile as I fought with the nausea and focused my breathing. The roaring of the waves in my ears was painful. I can’t do it, I thought helplessly.

“You can do it,” Sam said as if she could read my inner turmoil. She tightly gripped my hand as Mark continued to sooth me.

Mark finally took matters into his own hands and leaned in to kiss me on the lips.

I tried to pull back; I didn’t want to make matters worse by being sick all over us.

Mark was having none of that running his hand up firmly behind my head and fastened his lips on mine. The effect was instantaneous, like the lull before a storm, yet the storm seemed to be gone as his kiss worked its magic throughout my body. Who needed breathing tricks when you had kisses like this?

My eyes fluttered open as Mark pulled back. He looked smug and knew that his kiss had worked.

“Well that worked,” Sam muttered dryly next to me.

Shawn stifled a chuckle.

I felt my senses returning, I may not have stopped it the way I was supposed to, but we had fought the storm together and won. I felt slightly off. Instead of the lethargic feeling I was used to, I felt oddly strong like I was riding an adrenaline wave. I looked around and would have chuckled at the old woman’s face if it were different circumstance. I could only guess at what she was thinking about the way we seemed to handle our grief.

“I’m better,” I said meeting the concerned eyes of my friends. “I’m worried about my mom, but I feel much better,” I continued quietly keeping my voice down.

We were interrupted when two policemen walked into the room. Neither of them could give us any new information. It seemed like no one had seen anything. The only lead they had was the paint scrapings on the side of my mom’s focus.

I thanked them for their help and sat back down when they left.

“I’m going to stay here at the hospital tonight.”

“I’m staying with you,” Mark said putting his arm around me.

“I can stay too,” Sam said.

“No, there’s no need for all of us to stay, but you and Shawn can crash at my house,” Mark told her. “Maybe you can stop off at Krista’s and pick up a change of clothes for her.”

“Can you feed my cat too?” I asked.

Sam and Shawn hugged me goodbye and headed out. I was amazed when I looked at my watch and discovered it was almost midnight. I felt bad that Mark was stuck in a waiting room all night, but I was grateful to have him with me.

The doctor came in shortly after 1:00 am and told me that my mom had made it through the surgery okay and was resting now. She still hadn’t regained consciousness, but he said rest was the best thing for her body right now anyway.

Mark and I moved to the loveseat in the corner. I snuggled against his side while we watched infomercials on the television that was mounted on the wall. We had the lounge to ourselves. The elderly woman was picked up by her family shortly after Sam and Shawn left. We talked for awhile until I drifted off.

I woke the next morning with a kink in my back and a stiff neck. Mark and the Boardwalk were once again absent from my dreams, but at least I had gotten a little sleep. I missed the dreams, but had more pressing matters on my mind. I was anxious to see my mom and hoped she regained consciousness today.

Mark was still dozing when I sat up straight. I rubbed the back of my neck to help work out the kink and then stood up, my back groaned from the new position. I went searching for a bathroom. I took a mock sponge bath in the sink and scrubbed the last traces of sleep from my face. By the time I made it back to the waiting room with two steaming cups of hot chocolate, Mark was up and alert.

“I was just on my way to look for you.”

“Sorry, I felt so grimy I decided to wash up a little. Here, I brought you a hot chocolate, the breakfast of champions,” I said with a small smile.

Sensing my stress, Mark led me back to the loveseat and draped his arm around me while we watched television. We sat quietly sipping our hot chocolate. His presence once again offered the comfort I needed. When our cups were empty, Mark stood up and tossed them in the recyclable bin.

“I’m going to go check on my mom,” I said standing. “The waiting is killing me.”

Mark snagged my wrist as I was heading out the door. He pulled me gently in his arms and wrapped his hand around the nape of my neck securing it into place. He leaned in and gave me a kiss that would rival the one from the previous night. The warmth of the kiss spread through every limb in my body and made my toes curl in anticipation. I knew I should be worried about morning breath, but I couldn’t seem to be able to pull up one ounce of embarrassment.

Mark pulled back and I took a small stumbling step backward as all my other senses came back into focus.

“Um, Ms. Miller,” An aggravated voice said behind me. I flushed slightly turning around to face my mom’s doctor. I could tell by his expression that it was not the first time he had called my name. I can just imagine what he was thinking. I was some shallow teenager who makes out in a waiting room while her mom is laid up in the hospital.

Instead of being embarrassed, I felt a small surge of anger inside. He had no idea what I have to deal with and he definitely didn’t spend the night on a small uncomfortable sofa.

“Yes,” I said in a defiant voice.

“How is my mom?” I continued on in a softer voice that could not disguise the pain I felt over my mom.

His expression softened at my apparent concern. “She’s better. She is still in a coma, but that is partly due to the medicine we’re giving her. The less she moves as her injuries heal the better chance she will have of recovering. We’re going to be moving her out of ICU and into a regular room later today. We need to run a number of tests on her this morning, so why don’t you go a home for a little while and get some rest.”

“Can’t I see her now?” I asked in a pleading voice.

“She’s having a CT done now and after that we’re going to do an MRI. Come back after 3:00, she will be in a room and visiting hours are lot more lenient,” he said leaving the room.

“He’s right, let’s go home and get refreshed. That way if your mom does wake up, she won’t stress because you look worn out.”

“It’s too early to call Sam and Shawn to come get us,” I said glancing at my watch, trying to come up with a valid reason to stay.

“They dropped the car off last night after you fell asleep. Shawn didn’t feel comfortable leaving us stranded. Come on, we will go home for a little while and be back before you know it; I promise,” he said, gently leading me toward the bank of elevators.

I followed along reluctantly, glancing back at the double doors to the ICU ward one last time before the heavy elevator doors closed.

Shawn had parked Mark’s SUV on the second level in the parking garage. Mark was helping me into the vehicle when an industrial van with tinted windows pulled up behind his car.

The passenger door opened and a distinguished gentleman stepped out. He looked vaguely familiar and I tried to place him.

“Dad, what are you doing here?” Mark asked beside me, clearly confused.

At his words, it came to me how I knew him. He was much younger in the picture that I had seen, but I could now clearly tell it was him under the wrinkles and gray hair. I turned to look at Mark questioningly who was also confused and saw a hulking shape coming up behind Mark.