“How is she?” Molly asked, her eyes searching Dr. Rodriguez’s for a glimmer of hope.

            “It was a bad accident. She sustained major head trauma.” The force of these words struck Molly like a bolt of lightning. She was unable to move or say anything. She just stood in her spot and stared at the doctor. “We need to take her to surgery. Do we have your consent?”

            Molly, still in shock, imperceptively nodded as the doctor handed her the release form, which she took and signed, her hand shaking the whole time. “Can I see her?” she managed to say.

            “Yes, but only for a moment. But be prepared. She’s not responding and she’s in rough shape,” he warned.

He held the door open for her to walk through and as she did, she turned back to Alice, looking for support. Alice just nodded and mouthed, “She’s a fighter.” Molly nodded back and continued through the hall to Shane’s room.

            As they approached, Molly felt her step slow, as though she was walking through mud. With each step, it became harder to move. Though she longed to see Shane, the thought of seeing her in this condition shook Molly to her core. But she knew that she had to see her. She had to tell her that she loved her. She had to tell her that she would be waiting for her when she woke up. She had to tell her to fight.

            She soon found herself standing outside the glass door to the room Shane was in. She could see her lying on the gurney, tubes coming from her in every direction, doctors and nursing milling about, checking readings and prepping her for surgery. She took a deep breath, placed one hand on the door and pushed. She took one step forward into the room and tears began to stream down her face. She ran to Shane’s side and bent down beside her, resting her head against hers. She ran her hand along her blood stained cheek and pressed her trembling lips to her temple. “Oh God,” she cried out in her head, as the tears rolled down her cheeks onto Shane’s, mixing with her dried blood, and dripped onto the bed sheets, watery pools of reddish-brown. Molly sniffled hard, trying to compose herself, knowing that Shane needed her to be strong, knowing that Shane would want her to be strong for Shay.