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I watched her for a minute. Listening to her heartbeat and feeling mine beat in rhythm with it. The longer I watched her, the greater my fear grew. The more I worried I wouldn’t be able to protect her. How could I protect her in limbo like this? How long could she stay like this before more doctors came? Before her mother ran out of money and came back again.
My fear grew to the point where I was acting before I realized it. Closing the blinds that looked out into the hall, I pushed the couch and the chair I’d been using in front of the door. I used anything that wasn’t bolted down or being used to monitor her for my barricade.
“No!”
“Ms. Noëlle…” Maya tried to speak calmly, however, her voice was still loud enough that I could hear from behind the door. “Let’s speak somewhere privately—”
“I do not need private!” Her shrieking began.
“Ms. Noëlle, I have every specialist on your daughter’s case,” Dr. Neecey said. “No one has seen this before and no one has a treatment plan. Moving Esther now is dangerous—”
“THAT IS MY DAUGHTER!”
“We understand—”
“THEN MOVE!” she yelled, and they must have because the next thing I heard was the doorknob jiggling. “What the…”
BANG!
BANG!
“Open the door!”
“Mr. Lord? Mr. Lord, this is dangerous. Open the door. Okay?” Dr. Neecey said gently but I still didn’t move.
Maybe I’d gone mad. Maybe I was at the pinnacle of my own desperation, but I wasn’t going to let a single person in. No more doctors. No more people. Just us. Sitting on the edge of her bed I reached into the basket Maya had brought. I picked up an apple and took a bite, as they continued yelling.
“That money you tried to bribe us with is my money!” Diana kicked the door.
“Ms. Noëlle, please calm down. Esther is still inside—”
“DON’T TELL ME TO RELAX! That is my daughter! You all think he’s such a hero! Look! He’s kidnapping my daughter!” She kicked the doors again. “Let’s see how a judge reacts to this. You aren’t doing this because you care about her. I’m sure you’re scared your meal ticket is going to slip right out of your hands!”
“Diana, the courts are closed today, but tomorrow…tomorrow we will be back, Mr. Lord! And this door must be open.”
Must it? I thought as I took another bite.
Knock. “Malachi?” Knock. “Malachi I know it’s been hard on you for the last few days but this isn’t the way, okay? This only makes everything harder.”
Finishing the apple, I threw it into the wastebasket near the door and shifted to lay on the edge of the bed beside her. I rested my head on my right arm and placed my left arm over her. I watched her, listening to her heartbeat steadily before my eyes closed.
DAY EIGHTEEN
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
“MALACHI, OPEN THE DOOR!” Dr. Neecey panicked as the machines went off like they normally did. Getting off the bed I walked over and turned off the machine completely. It was useless and only ended up giving us all anxiety. Turning around I placed my hands on Esther’s wrist and checked for a pulse just to make sure that she was there. Her breathing relaxed again.
“Malachi, is she alright?” she asked and I still couldn’t find the words. Part of me felt like I was stuck autopilot: aware, but unable to control myself. I didn’t want anything other than to keep her safe, to give her time to come back…
Knock.
“Malachi? It’s me, Maya,” I knew who she was, her voice hadn’t changed. “Esther never filed a power of guardianship, even though that went against her lawyer’s advice. She simply stated that should she die her personal assets would go to varies charities. She did however leave the company to you should she pass! Since she’s in a coma, her mother still retains legal guardianship over her. But, we can fight this, I can argue Esther would have wanted you to be her guardian since she left her company to you, but you’re making things worse by locking yourself inside.”
