25. SLEEPING BEAUTY AND THE MANY BEASTS
MALACHI
DAY SEVENTEEN
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
“She’s crashing!” One of the nurses yelled.
“Again?” Dr. Neecey rushed into the room, the same thing she’d done more than five times over the course of the last two, almost three, weeks. I watched paralyzed in horror as Esther shook on top of the bed, her machines telling me, telling us all that she was dying once again. And just like the five other times, she went limp for a few seconds before her heart restarted on its own.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Dr. Neecey gasped. She, like all the others in the room, was emotionally drained and I said nothing to any of them. Taking the washcloth and the warm bowl of water I brought it closer to her and gently wiped her forehead. Quietly, they all left again one by one.
“Beloved…” Placing my hand over her cheek, I bent over, my face hovering over hers. I had so much to say and yet the only words that crossed my lips were, “Come back, please.”
I was at a loss. Less so than the doctors who had done scans and checked every inch of her, yet she still wasn’t waking up. I was sure now, more than ever, there was nothing they could do and I couldn’t tell them that she was lost in the memories of our past lives. I knew it, I wasn’t sure how I knew it, but something told me she was caught in her own memories. Living and dying over and over again and again. I didn’t know how to bring her back. How to wake up her up. I knew she couldn’t stay here. There was only so much before the doctors would start treating her like a guinea pig.
Maybe she needed to relive all nine hundred and ninety-nine lives before this one? But why? This had never happened before and why just her? What kind of torture was this?
“How long have you been torturing my baby?”
I turned around at the voice, one I wasn’t expecting nor needed to ever hear again. And yet she spoke again, “Esther, sweetheart? It’s mommy.”
Her heels clicked on the ground as she came over to stand at Esther’s bedside. She reached down to touch her but I grabbed her wrist.
“Do not touch her,” I said through my teeth.
“How dare you! Let go!” She screamed at me as she tried to pull her arm away causing all the bangles on her wrist to jingle. Doing as she asked I released her. Putting the washcloth and bin back down on the side table I got up.
“I’m going to say it once: Get out, Diana!”
“You must be mistaken, Mr. Lord,” a bald white man with a gray-white mustache dressed in a three-piece suit said as he walked up beside Diana who smirked and crossed her hands under her fur jacket, as he went continued talking. “I’m not sure what kind of hick hospital this is, but only family should be allowed inside. Are you family, Mr. Lord? Because Diana here is Esther’s mother.”
“Really? When did she decide to be that? It couldn’t have been when she abandoned her daughter as an infant in the dead of winter? Or when she tried to kill her as a toddler or rob her as an adult!”
“YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT ME!”
“LIKE YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT HER!” I couldn’t help but holler at her.
“Neither of that is important!” The cretin beside her squeezed her arm. “Right now, Esther needs to be near family—”
“I AM HER FAMILY.”
“Legally you are not. Unless you both are married and we don’t know it—”
“Excuse me!” Dr. Neecey angrily marched back into the room. “Whatever is going on here should not be happening in front of my patient. Everyone out, now!”
She even looked to me. Biting the inside of my cheek I walked out the room after them and followed them into the hall. Dr. Neecey closed the door behind her as she came out and looked directly at Diana. “And who are you?”
“Diana Noëlle. Esther’s mother, you called me…”
“Seventeen days ago.” Dr. Neecey cut in.
“And yesterday,” the snake of a man beside her added. “You requested her family history. Ms. Noëlle wasn’t aware that her daughter’s case was so serious.”
“Yes,” I added eyeing him carefully. “So serious she brought her lawyer?”
Who knew snakes could smile, but he did as he nodded. “I’m an old friend and yes, a lawyer, here in my friend’s time of need—”
“Bullshit.” I shook my head, looking down at the woman who was now calling herself Esther’s mother. “This has to do with money, right? You came to see if she was dying, not because you cared, not because you have ever cared, but because of her money!”
“My daughter is fighting for her life! And you didn’t even have the wisdom to send her to a better hospital,” she snapped at me and I never wanted to smack a woman so hard in my life.
“Ms. Noëlle, I assure we are a very capable hospital—”
“I want my daughter back in New York where she won’t just be in a capable hospital but the BEST hospital!” She shrieked with tears in her eyes.
I clapped for her, it was the best I could do with my hands. “You’re really working for that Oscar, Diana!”
“Mr. Lord!” Dr. Neecey took a deep breath to calm herself down before she placed her hand on my shoulder. “I understand you are tired, you’ve been at her side every moment since saving her life, but please hold back.”
I glanced at her and she gave me a look, begging me to calm down.
“And we thank you, Mr. Lord,” the snake said with the same level of fake sincerity as Diana. “But as Esther’s family, Diana has the right to make the best medical decision for her daughter. Doctor, has Esther improved at all?”
“Her condition is sensitive,” she forced herself to say.
“A condition you reportedly have no idea how to treat.”
“Are you asking as a friend of the family or as a lawyer, Mr.…?”
“Cain Pembroke,” he replied. “And I’m asking as a friend for now. As Mrs. Noëlle asked, she’d like her daughter transferred to NYU—”
“If you think for one moment…” The rage that rose in my body barely allowed me to speak. My hands balled into fists as I glared at them both. “…that I’ll allow you to make decisions on her behalf, to allow you to take her anywhere, you’ve never met a man who’s willing to give up any and everything before.” Looking directly at the scum of a human in front me I said, “I pray you are a better lawyer than you are a family friend, because I will fight you until she wakes up and exposes you both.”
Turning away from the both of them, I grabbed on to the handle of her door when he spoke out again.
“We can get a court order, Mr. Lord.”
“Then do it, Mr. Pembroke.”
I hadn’t said it. Instead, the words had come from Maya Yamauchi who was coming towards me with her mother’s daily lunch basket. “But do know that I am a better lawyer than family friend, and I’ll contest it. I’ll make it bigger than the Terri Schiavo case.”
I didn’t want to hear anymore. She wasn’t a case. This wasn’t a case. It was just Esther. I just wanted her.
“You need to let them move her.” Maya came in a few seconds after me and placed the basket on the bedside table. Then she took out her phone and started taking pictures as she spoke. “Let them move her to a bigger hospital where she’ll have all the care she needs. That way they can’t say you aren’t providing the best care for her. From there on we can argue that her mother does not have the right to make a legal—”
“If they move her she’ll die,” I whispered as I headed to her bedside and picked up the washcloth, however, the water was cold. Turning on the kettle, I waited for the water to heat up.
“What?” Maya slowly lowered the camera. “What do you mean she’ll die?”
“I mean somehow, someway, that woman will kill her. It doesn’t matter if I take Esther to the best doctors in the world, that woman, that lawyer, they will pretend they care and the first chance they get they’ll kill her. It is not a joke, it is not a hyperbole, it is a fact. I do not trust them! Esther and I… Esther and I are holding by a thread, Maya!” My chest ached but I ignored it as I took the kettle and poured it into the bin. “I said I was willing to give up any and everything before, I meant it. I’m not getting wrapped up in their scheme. I’m not going to give them any room to make any choice for her.”
“I don’t understand—”
“They want her money, Maya! So I’ll give them money!” It was all they cared about. It was why they were really here.
“Bribery is only going to—”
“I don’t care!” I snapped looking down at Esther as she slept. I hated what I’d have to do but there wasn’t any other way. “Her grandfather, Alfred, he left me much more than I deserved in his will. Tell her mother I’ll give up all of it as long as she leaves Esther in peace.”
“Malachi!”
“I’m fighting for her! Not money! But her life! What is money? I don’t need it. I need them gone! Can you do that? If you want to help me can you do that!?!”
She looked between us, speechless. Even though Maya, who was still mourning the loss of her father, was usually quiet, she became exceptionally animated as she looked at me.
“Okay. I’ll get in contact with Esther’s lawyer. I’m sure, they must have something in place, especially considering—”
“Just do it. Do anything,” I said as I sat back down beside Esther and picked up where I’d left off with wiping down her skin. I didn’t care about the how, I just wanted it handled. When she left, the door closed gently behind her and I exhaled and looked down at Esther. “I need you here, now. I need you.”
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.”
“Malachi? It’s Officer Richards. David. We know you’re just looking out for her but we’ve got a job to do, man—”
“Why is everyone acting as if this man is sane? He’s obviously not okay and he has my daughter in there!” The screeching began.
“Ma’am, with all due respect he is the one who jumped into a frozen lake to save your daughter!” David snapped ironically, not sounding even a little bit respectful.
“You all are—just open the door!” Diana hollered at them.
“The doors open inwards, and he’s barricaded—”
“Break it open!”
“Excuse me, this is a hospital! We can’t have people breaking down doors!” Dr. Neecey yelled back.
“Open it or we’ll find someone who can,” the snake finally spoke up. “Officer Richards, we called because Mr. Lord is currently breaking the law. Yet all of you are standing here defending him. If anything happens to Esther, I’ll make sure to sue you all to kingdom come.”
“You keep throwing your weight around as though you’re the only one with a law degree, Mr. Pembroke,” Maya, no longer quiet or shy, retorted.
“I am the only one following the law!”
They went on like this while I simply turned to Esther and brushed the curls off her face. I kissed her forehead and then her lips. It was the only thing I could think to do.
BANG!
My head turned to the door as one of the chairs on top of the couch fell down from the force in which they pounded against the doors. They were really putting their bodies into it. Taking a deep breath, I faced her again and placed my forehead on hers. Taking her hands, I held them between us.
“Beloved…”
BANG!
“If you’re going…then go…”
BANG!
“…you know I’ll follow.”
BANG!
“But if you’re here… Baby, if you’re here, if you want this life to be our last…”
BANG!
“Then I need you to wake up. Come back to me.”
Just as the doors opened wide enough for them to get through I felt her hand squeeze mine.
“Esther?”
“Get him away from her!”
“ESTHER!” Before I could feel her squeeze again they pulled me away from her and Dr. Neecey ran to Esther’s side and turned back on the machines. “NO! SHE’S WAKING UP! SHE’S WAKING UP! ESTHER!”
“I want him out!” Diana yelled in my face as she rushed in front of me.
“Malachi, calm down!”
But I couldn’t. Seeing them walking towards her. Knowing they’d hurt her… I could see it in their eyes, like all those who’d hurt us in the past, their selfishness was as clear as day.
“GET AWAY FROM HER!”
“GET OUT!”
Beep.
Beep.
Beeppppppppppppppp…
“GET THE CRASH CART!”
Breaking free of their arms, I tried to reach her. It was like déjà vu, watching as they ripped open her shirt and charged the defibrillator once more. David and another officer pulled me away from her.
“ESTHER!”
“Clear!” Dr. Neecey said and once again, just like last time, it felt as if the electricity had been applied directly to me. The shock was so piercing, so excruciating, my knees buckled underneath me. This was the answer. We were going. Right now. Right here. I’d had a feeling but…
“Malachi? Malachi?! Doctor!”
Laying on my side I looked up at her bed, at her. “…Esther…”
As my vision began to tunnel, I could only make the same promise over again.
I’ll find you. I’ll love you. I swear it.