Chapter ThirtySeven

Another hour went by until a nurse came out to take them to Bette.

“Hi, I can only take one.” The nurse informs. Tina looks at Maryann and Michael, she knew they had more rights than her to go see Bette.

“Go ahead Tina. We’ll stay here with Evan. Tell her we love her.” Michael says with a warm smile. Tina walks over and gives him a hug.

“I will, thank you.” Tina says as she follows the nurse towards Bette’s room.

They stop outside the door, the nurse turn towards Tina.

“She’s in a coma, the doctor told you that right?” The nurse asks to make sure.

“Yes, he did… Is she… is she hooked up to… a lot of…” Tina gets out with a shaky voice. The nurse replies, understanding what Tina wanted to ask.

“There are some tubes yes. There’s an oxygen tube to her nose, several cables monitoring her heart and blood pressure, but not a respirator or anything. She can breathe on her own, which is good.” The nurse says with a soft smile. “You ready to go in?” She asks.

Tina nods. “How long do I have?” Tina asks softly.

“Just take your time, I’ll come by in a little while.” The nurse says smiling.

Tina takes a deep breath and enters the room with her eyes closed. She slowly opens them once inside and the tears start streaming right away. She walks with shaky legs over to the bed.

“Oh Bette.” She whispers as she takes Bette’s good hand in hers and gently squeezes it. She lifts it up and kisses the back of the hand softly. “I love you, please be okay, please, please be okay.” Tina gets out in between sobs pleadingly.
She leans over and places a soft kiss on Bette’s forehead. “I love you, I love you, I love you. And Evan loves you. He’s asking for his mama.” Tina whispers close to Bette’s ear. “Please wake up soon.” She adds softly.

She let Bette’s hand down briefly while pulling the chair closer to the bed.

“Michael and Maryann are here too. They flew in from Chapel Hill, worried about you. I know they want to see you too, but I want to have you to myself for a few more minutes. She takes her hand again, leaning her head down on it, and let the tears flow freely. She stays like that for another five minutes before she pulls up and wipes her face. She stands up, reaches out her hand and softly strokes Bette’s chin before leaning down and placing a gentle kiss on Bette’s forehead and one softly on her mouth. “Don’t leave me baby. Keep fighting. Me and Evan will be right here waiting for you to wake up. So, don’t take too long okay?” Tina says with a shaky voice. “I love you, I love you, I love you. I’ll be back soon baby.” She whispers before she walks out of the room. On her way out, she meets the nurse.