Tired and Exhausted

The man looked at her wife tiredly. The once prominent and dashing presence he had, now vanished at the sight in front of him. It was replaced with an image of a depressed man, not a successful businessman.

"How is she?"

"She's fine."

Ashley's mom was seated beside the bed she occupied. She looked exhausted and dark circles formed down her eyes. Her complexion wasn't so good and it looked like she aged a decade. Her once fair and smooth skin, was now covered with wrinkles and blemishes because she didn't have time for skin care like she used to. She was anemic and clearly not in good shape.

Ever since the incident happened two months ago, she couldn't risk taking her eyes off her daughter. She couldn't even have proper sleep because she was afraid that the same incident would reoccur. She would only leave her if she would go to the bathroom or it was really necessary and someone would watch out for her.

She even quit her job at the law firm. She just spent her whole day holding her daughter's hand and staring at her unconscious figure.

From time to time, her husband would come to the hospital to check on them. But now, it started to become lesser. He was currently facing an unpleasant predicament. Their business was starting to go under the rocks. There were a lot of things happening and on of those reasons is because of Ashley. Their company was now facing a problem about its's reputation. Especially that Rebecca, who was caught in the accident, was the daughter of an important shareholder in the company. Her father managed to convince other shareholders to pull out their shares off the company. They started to publicise rumours about the owner's daughter saying that she was a murderer and a delinquent; an immoral young lady.

They based off these gossips from one of Ashley's friends who was found dead in her mansion from drug overdose just months ago. It was Samantha Peirce, an heiress of a well known conglomerate. It was also the person who threw the party which Ashley attended before the party. The police looked into different angles and suspected if it was suicide or if she just had an overdose.

They also looked into the possibility that Ashley was also taking drugs but the drug test denied this. The company was now trying to cope up with the sudden change of tides as well as fixing it's crumbling image.

Her father was worn out for months until now. He was aggrieved by how fast the company, he built with his own hands, was falling apart. However, that couldn't compare to the pain he is feeling when it came to his daughter. Her Perfect smile which gave warmth to his heart was gone. The image that she effortlessly built because of her friendly and cheerful personality disappeared like smoke. It was replaced with the words 'murderer', 'shameful example' and 'good for nothing'. It pains him so.

He knew his princess. She wasn't like that. She was an angel. The best daughter he could ever have.

His wife gently touched his shoulders as she saw his change in expression.

"Are you alright?"

He cleared his throat and looked at her reassuringly. He reached out to touch her hands and intertwined their fingers.

"Yes, I'm alright. I was just... worried about Ashley."

"Are you sure? You don't look so good."

He squeezed her hand and just avoided her eyes. He wouldn't want to add another baggage to her problems. He was also worried about his wife. Her mental health was deteriorating. She seemed to be paranoid about everything. She needed to see a therapist and go check on her health too. He wouldn't take it if he lost both the most important people in his life.

Looking at her husband who shunned from her gaze, she decided to let the matter go. It would not be good to force someone who obviously doesn't want to show their vulnerability especially at times like this. She understood. He was the big guy in the family. It was best that he remained strong.

'Knock. Knock

They were both alerted by the knock on the door. Ashley's father immediately stood up to get it and find out who the person was.

It was the doctor. He was scheduled to have another check-up on Ashley's condition.

"Good afternoon Mr. And Mrs. Clare"

"Ronald is fine."

"Yes, Mr. Ronald ", the doctor said and looked at the patient.

Ronald immediately moved to the side, his wife also stood up to get away from their daughter. She approached her husband and stood next to him.

"Cyndy. I hope she's alright now."

"I hope for that too."

She was nervous with the results. She wished that her daughter would start to recover as soon as possible.

While the doctor was busy examining Ashley,she was also lamenting for her situation. She was very sad to know the death of her friend until now despite hearing it the next day she woke up. She was worried about her friend. She wasn't a drug addict, she would never take drugs... She promised her that.

She was also blaming herself for the state their company was in. How can she be so irresponsible and drive out drunk. She was horrified to discover that she actually killed not one but two people. Though unintentional, she still killed them.

Eternal guilt was etched in her heart. She couldn't live with herself. How one stupid mistake of hers, ruined everything. She was a good for nothing daughter. This wasn't the person she wanted to be. This wasn't the future she envisioned.

Another depressing thing about her is the fact that she was fully aware of what's happening around her. She knew and heard what everyone around her said both the good things and bad. Some would say words of pity while some would only ridicule her. They took advantage of the situation that she was currently in.

Even her friends, they were already leaving her one by one. The others were sincere and were only stopped on visiting her because they were reprimanded by their parents but some of them...

They never really thought of her as their friend. They were just riding on her tail because she was popular and they wanted some of the clout.

It pained her when she learned that her perfect life was actually full of holes and now it's all collapsing. She was also hurt when Jaime would make time to visit her and watch over her. He was working. It was hard for him to do all that.

He might even lose his job which helped in school. She started to understand why he seldom visits her anymore this month. He needed time for himself. His world didn't have to revolve around her.

She just wanted to get off this condition she was in. She wanted to tell them she was fine. She was awake. She would be okay soon. But that desire was crushed by the doctor's statement after he examined her.

The doctor stopped writing and turned to approach her parents. He revealed a comforting expression before speaking seriously.

"Mr. and Mrs. Clare, so far there has been no improvement to your daughters condition." he said and fixed his glasses. He looked at his report. "I can't say that she will recover from the coma but the coming months will tell. If not, she could be in a vegetative state. Meaning she's still unaware and there is no brain activity present. I'm sorry that's all I can say from my findings."

"Wait for further results after we conduct another set of tests for the following months."

"Are you sure?... Maybe there's—"

"Cyndy, the doctor knows what he is doing. Just trust his words." he said, cutting her off.

Cyndy closed her mouth and suddenly grew ashamed. She found herself overreacting. She just let the doctor pass them by and leave the room. She looked at her husband with a downcast expression. He comforted her by his embrace and they both watched over their daughter with pained expression.

Ashley was devastated. She was alive! She was conscious! Why can't they see that!

'Mom! Dad! I'm here!' she shouted in her mind.