Oh Zoe

09 | DAMAGED

Zoe was swept away for examination as soon as the gurney supporting her passed through the emergency doors. Hollie was confronted by a young doctor who was assessing the situation and replaying it back to her.

Zoe was alive.

Her brain had lost its supply of oxygen for 4 minutes.

She would most likely have some form of brain injury.

Hollie wasn't a doctor, she didn't understand anything about the brain, but she knew in that moment that her little sister wasn't going to be the same.

A swarm of nurses and doctors wheeled Zoe away into a confined room to continue their analysis. Words like internal bleed and discolouration were being thrown from doctor to doctor as they disappeared behind a curtain.

Hollie trailed along behind, confused and terrified. She hadn't let go of Zoe's hand since she was put in the ambulance and she wasn't about to change that. Hollie had no clue if Zoe could feel her touch or was even conscious, so her fierce grip was actually comforting Hollie more than her sister.

All too soon, Hollie was asked to stay in the waiting room while they ran a MRI scan to check the damage to Zoe's brain. Hollie was reluctant at first but didn't have the will or energy to cause a scene.

So she went to the cold, plain waiting room and sat on a chair against the wall. Once she was settled, the recent events came tumbling back and it was a struggle to keep all her emotions at bay.

To distract herself, she rang Elliot.

"Hollie, how is she?" Elliot immediately demanded when he picked up on the second ring.

Hollie didn't know what to tell him; she didn't know too much herself. So she avoided it altogether.

"How long until you get here? Have you called everyone else?" Hollie asked instead.

"I'm about 10 minutes out and I've got Bella and Bea with me. Everyone else is behind us in mum and Ava's car."

Hollie sniffled and nodded.

Elliot had made a quick stop at home first to pick up his girlfriend. Bea was a lovely girl who the family had accepted years earlier and was now apart and present for all the Taylor's family events, just like Elliot was.

"Be quick," Hollie croaked into the phone, then quickly hung up before he could ask any more questions she couldn't answer.

Hollie was left alone and tearful in the waiting room until the rest of the family came. It was 20 minutes before they entered the hospital, each second agonisingly long in Hollies eyes.

Hollie was slumped over in her chair – elbows on knees and head in hands – so they didn't recognise her straight away. But when they did, it was like Hollie was the honey and her family were the bees.

"Oh sweetheart," their mother cried as she approached Hollie. Hollie pulled her mother into a tight hug and finally let the tears slip.

"I'm so sorry, mum. I'm so sorry," she sobbed into her mother's shoulder.

"No, baby, it wasn't your fault. It's not your fault," Mari was reassuring but it did nothing to calm Hollie down.

Ava walked over and pried Hollie off her mother. Her face was just as red as Hollie's. "Come on, let's go for a walk."

Ava guided Hollie out of the emergency department and onto the street while the others tried to remain collected.

Bea and Elliot engaged themselves in a quiet conversation with each other, Bea comforting Elliot more than the other way around.