Chapter 3
Ten insane hours later, our plane lands in good, old, New Mexico Airport in Sante Fe. I don't think I got a single minute of sleep the entire way here, and even now, as I'm waiting for our bags in front of the luggage carousel, my nerves are buzzing with energy.
Despite all my efforts, being so close to Roswell is bringing back memories...pieces of my past that I thought I had forgotten a long time ago. I've been trying to concentrate on my parents, but somehow my mind continues to wander...like to the time Alex, Maria and I camped out in Alex's backyard in the fourth grade, or the time Kyle mooned the marching band after he scored a touchdown freshman year of high school...or my first kiss with Ma-.
"Have our bags come, yet?" Kevin asks, effectively snapping me out of my daze.
"Wha-Oh, no, not yet." I stammer, slightly flustered from the sudden rush of emotions I just experienced and the fact that I was almost about to think about him. "Did you get everything for the rental car?"
"Yup, it's all set, annddd...," he drawls casually, then grins. "I've got a surprise for you."
"What?" I wonder, spinning around to face him. I'm a sucker, but it's never bothered me before. Right now, I'd do anything to preoccupy my mind.
He waves his hand in the air, as if he were signalling a waiter for the bill and suddenly, I'm bowled over by a five foot four, screaming blonde. "ELIZABETH PARKER-DANIELS!!"
"Maria!" I try to cry out, but it only comes out as a gasp when she slams into me and pulls me into a bone-crunching hug. I swear, she could probably wrestle a bear if it pissed her off enough. No wonder Michael used to be scared of her. "I can't breath," I choke out when I begin to see spots in front of my eyes and she immediately pulls back and holds me at arms-length for a thorough inspection.
It's been nearly two years since I've talked to her, not since she hit it big on American Idol and got a music contract. I'm really surprised, and happy, to see her. Maria's always been someone I could lean on. Just having her here with me, right now, is giving me the boost of strength I need to make it through this hellish ordeal.
"God, how long has it been?" She questions as she continues to look me over. "Girl, you look fantastic."
I laugh at her boisterous attitude. She's always been able to make me smile. "You look great yourself!" I exclaim, which really is the truth. The super-star lifestyle has really agreed with her. She plays the part extremely well, from her highlighted hair, to her french-tipped nails, to her Gucci bell-bottoms. It's a wonder that she hasn't been mobbed in the airport by now. "What are you doing here? How did you know when our flight was landing? How did you get time off?" I ramble continuously.
"Woah-woah, hold that mouth," Maria replies, plastering her hand across my lips to cut off my stream of questions."I'm here for you, mom told me, and I'm really good at dealing with the producer people, so now it's my turn to do the twenty questions."
I giggle beneath her hand. She definitely hasn't changed at all. "I'm so glad you're here," I murmur softly after she removes her palm. "God, Maria, I missed you so much..." I whisper as tears threaten to roll down my cheeks.
We pull each other into a tight hug. "I'm so sorry, Liz," she whispers back to me. "After my mom called me, I couldn't get on a plane fast enough."
"Don't worry about it. I'm just really, really happy you're here." I mumble. There's no point in letting her get upset about anything. If anyone should be talking about regrets, it should be me.
"God, Lizzie, it was like-I just... I thought of him like my own dad," her voice breaks. " And I just can't believe he's gone. And you're mom...she's been in the ICU ever since it happened."
We stand in the middle of the luggage area comforting one another. I can't even begin to describe how much better I feel knowing that Maria's here with me, right now. Even though we haven't seen each othe for a couple years, I know that she's one of the only people who I can truly depend on when I need it.
"Hey, ummm....everything's all packed up in the car," Kevin announces a few minutes later, which surprises me since I didn't even see him grab our luggage, although I was distracted.
I glance over at him, and immediately, I can tell he's feeling a bit awkward about breaking the moment just by the way he stuffs his hands in his pockets and gazes childishly at his shoes. "So, whenever you two are ready..."
"I think we're all set here," Maria chuckles, digging out a package of tissues from her purse and handing one over to me. She attempts to wipe her eyes, carefully avoiding the mascara around the edges. Her nose and cheeks are slightly red from crying, but I probably look a lot worse..
"Yup," I sniffle out as I finish wiping my face and blowing my nose. "I'm ready to get out of here."
Kevin walks over to me and wraps his arm around the small of my back before leading us out into the parking lot.
"Hot Damn!" Maria whistles out when she sees our ride waiting out there for us, a Carrera GT2. "Someone's rolling it in by the shitloads."
Kevin laughs. "Says the singer who has a quadruple-decker trailer."
"It's not quadruple," Maria defends. "It's only a double with a protractable side. It's like the crappiest model out there."
Kevin and I give each other a skeptical look before turning back to her. "Uh-huh," we both say simaltaneously.
"Oh. My. God," Maria groans. "It's like your brains merged into this giant super-brain that's now, like, sending information through both of you so that you can, like, finish each other's sentences and stuff."
I giggle lightly at her weirdness. "Yeah, that's exactly what happened," I smirk. "It must be all that radiation I work around."
"Ugh," she grunts, rolling her eyes in exasperation. "You two are hopeless. You're lucky we all came from such a screwed up town in the first place." She suddenly looks up and glances over my shoulders. "Oh, my limos right there," she points out. "I better get over there before they start billing me for the time. I'll meet you guys back at the Crashdown. Are you going to the hospital first?"
"Yeah," I answer grimly. Kevin gives me a firm, comforting squeeze and I give him a small smile.
"OK, I'm going to go home first and see my mom," Maria explains. "Unless you need me to come with you."
"No, it's fine, Maria." I reply. I can understand why she'd want to see own her mother. It took losing my dad to finally realize how much I loved parents. I just wished I had learned this lesson sooner.
She gives me a soft look before pulling me into another hug. After we pull apart she gives me a small peck on the cheek and a few reassuring words before giving me back to Kev and walking towards her car.
We both turn around to watch her go, but are suddenly dumb-strucked by the sight of a pink, stretch-Jaguar parked next to the terminal curb. "Oh. My. God," I murmur at the same time as Kevin. "And she thought our car was crazy?" I stammer out, still shocked by the sudden blinding burst of color before my eyes.
"We need to get one of those," Kev remarks with a mischievous grin that makes me a little nervous. It wouldn't be the first time he got a really insane idea. At least this one wouldn't land him in jail like the last one...well, hopefully it won't.
I cut off his thought before he has any more time to take it any further. "If you get that, then I get to redecorate your office," I smirk, knowing that there was no way in hell he'd let me touch his manly domain.
He cringes next to me. "Fine, you win," he pouts.
****************
It takes us another two hour drive to reach town, even without the hassle of traffic like in the Northeast. At home in Boston, it takes at least an hour to get anywhere, regardless of how far the destination. I think everyone times their travel at exactly the same time as everyone else in the state just so that they can create a jam. It wouldn't be Boston without the road-rage.
When we get into the main streets of Roswell, I feel like I'm looking at a ghost. Not many things have changed since I last lived here. The parks I use to play in as a kid, the old movie theater where I went to on dates with Kev, even the high school, all look untouched. It's an unusally cool day for the middle of September, which seems to have effectively kept everyone in doors, making the town seem extra empty.
It's funny how drastic my perceptions of hot and cold have changed. Now, whenever someone says winter, I automatically think of three feet of Nor'easter snow dropping from the sky in heavy sheets. Compared to that, this weather is basically spring-like.
The hospital looks the same as it did ten years ago, which is a bit disconcerting when I think about the fact that it hasn't undergone any major renovations over the last decade. It sits in the middle of town about ten minutes from the Crashdown itself. It's one of the benefits of living in such a small community; everything important is usually within walking distance of each other.
After parking the car, we head inside to the front desk. There aren't too many people in the waiting area, just a couple of patients hoping to see specialists or to get a check-up, and only a few doctors and nurses are roaming the halls. It feels strange to see a hospital so...what's the word, calm. I'm not used to it being so quiet. Most of the metropolitan hospitals that I've worked at are packed full of people twenty-four hours a day. Even the oncology ward, where I'm currently practicing, at Mass General in Boston usually has a steady stream of patients coming in and out all throughout the day.
The receptionist at the front is an elderly lady with huge, binocular-sized glasses. She sits and types slowly on the computer in front of her. I'm actually pretty surprised that she even knows that it's a computer she's tapping and not a microwave or something. She glances up at us as we approach, looking very similar to an owl with dialated eyes.
"Can I help you?" She asks in a deep, sandpaper-dry voice, when we finally reach the desk.
"Yes," I nod. "Could you please tell me which room Nancy Parker is staying in? She's my mother."
She types awkwardly on the keyboard with her two index fingers like a pair of chopsticks. I almost scream, "Get out and let me do it!", but I somehow find the self-control to hold myself from launching over the desk.
It was probably only a few minutes, but just watching this woman poke in one letter a minute made it feel like an eternity. "She's on the second floor in the ICU. Just sign in here before you head up," she explains and hands me a pen and a large time chart to write my information on.
After I hand everything back, Kevin and I head up in the elevator. As the doors open, I'm suddenly struck by how different the hospital seems to me right now. I've worked in one for the last three years, but the feel changes so much when there's someone you love suffering in one of these white-washed rooms. It makes me feel so claustrophobic as I walk towards Intensive Care.
As we round the corner, I see the ward immediately; it's the only one with large glass windows so that on-duty nurses and doctors can peek in and make sure everyone's still alive.
I pick up my step and walk straight to the window to look inside. My eye falls directly on my mother's limp form lying in the second bed from the glass. She's hooked up to dozens of wires and tubes which run into about a dozen other machines surrounding her. Her chest rises and falls with the help of the respirator while a small EKG monitors her heart-rate above her bed.
I lean my head against the window. God, I can't believe this actually happened. I can feel my emotions forcing themselves up and I do my best to try and suppress them, but it's pointless. A small sob bubbles up from my throat. I place my hand over my lips as tears begin to cascade down my cheeks. I can't believe my mom is in here...she looks so helpless.
A gentle hands rests against my shoulder and I spin around into Kev's waiting arms. He tucks me beneath his chin and holds me against his strong body, nestling me against his chest as I continue to cry. "God, she looks like she's...like she's..." I can't even finish the sentence.
"Sshh.." he murmurs softly into the top of my head. "She's going to be fine, Liz."
"I just - I....I can't lose her, too," I sob fiercely into his shirt. I just can't lose my mom. Not when I've already lost my father. No matter how much I want to think that I've grown up and moved on with my own life, I still need my parents...I still need someone to treat me like a little girl, to chase away the monsters when I'm too scared to...to always be there when no one else is.
"I know," he whispers, placing a small kiss on my forehead and then lifting my chin up to so that he can meet my eyes. He wipes my cheek with his thumb, gently caressing my damp skin. "You just have to believe that she'll be alright. Don't give up on that."
I nod slightly, feeling better after hearing his stern reassurance. "Thanks," I croak, my face still buried in his shirt.
He smiles lightly and leans down to brush his lips against mine. "No problem," he replies after he breaks away. "Now let's go inside and see your mom."
_____________________________________________________________
I made this part a little longer to make up for the last one. Answers will be coming soon. 
Any good? Continue?[/i]
. Anyway, just wanted to let everyone know that I'm not abandonning anything! Hahaha. Hope people are still willing to read!