Not A Small Town Girl (Danielle and David) novel Chapter 20

Chapter 20-1

"Caleb, Alice, it’s me, Audrey. Vivian, Howard, and everyone else are all hoping you’ll wake up soon. Everyone’s been so good to me-Danielle’s been great too. I pray for you both every day. As long as you wake up, I swear I’ll do anything," Audrey sobbed, her voice thick with emotion.

She turned to Vivian and Howard, tears streaming down her face. "I can’t even bring myself to visit Alice and Caleb anymore... I always end up crying, and I’m scared my emotions will just bring them down."

"Honestly, I wish it was me lying there instead of them-I’d take their pain for them if I could," she choked out, her tears flowing like an uncontrollable river.

Vivian and Howard exchanged a look, their eyes red and swollen from crying. "We know you’re just trying to help. Alice and Caleb will pull through," Vivian said gently, pulling Audrey into a tight hug.

Danielle stood quietly, watching the scene unfold. Audrey was crying like she’d already lost her grandparents, her wailing probably disturbing everyone else in the hospital.

Joseph spoke up then and suggested that Vivian and Howard bring Audrey outside so she could get a handle on her emotions.

Danielle gazed at the two elders, intubated and hooked up to ventilators, quietly slumbering. Her grandfather’s face was serious but kind.

Her grandmother had aged gracefully despite spending years lying in a hospital bed. It was easy to tell that she had been beautiful in her youth.

Before Danielle reunited with her family, she had no desire or aspiration for affection or familial love, but now as she stood gazing at her grandparents, she began to feel a longing. She wished to see them awake and well. She wondered if this was the power of family.

Danielle instructed the nurse to bring her their patient records. Looking through them, she noticed that even though the car accident had been serious, it didn’t justify such drastic injuries.

Their prescriptions didn’t seem out of order either, so there was no reason why they both remained in a coma.

Danielle sat between the two hospital beds and placed a hand each on her grandparents. "Grandpa, grandma. Can you hear my voice? It’s Danielle. If you can hear me, try moving your fingers."

There was no reaction whatsoever. Danielle retrieved two pills from her bag and put one each in their mouths.

Danielle’s brothers were surprised to see what their sister was doing. Although David had said that Danielle saved Logan, their grandparents were in a much worse condition than him.

"Danielle, are you trained in traditional medicine as well? What was that pill?" Austin asked curiously. He trusted Danielle implicitly, but hadn’t expected her knowledge to be so vast.

"I know a little. That pill was the Miracle Antidote," Danielle knew Austin was a doctor like her so she gave a straight answer.

Elliot looked at Danielle expectantly and asked, "How are they? Is it possible for them to wake up?"

"According to the records, the accident shouldn’t have reduced them to such a state. Everything seems fine with the doctor’s medication as well. From what I can gather, they are conscious, and they can hear us. It’s just that their physical bodies are in a deep sleep," Danielle explained.

The brothers pondered over their sister’s words when Joseph asked tentatively, "Do you mean... something is keeping their bodies asleep?"

Danielle had her doubts, but the situation seemed to run deeper than it seemed. "The main reason why they remain asleep is that they were deeply hypnotized. Their bodily functions have been declining because they’re being poisoned. I’ve given them each an antidote. It should be enough to neutralize the poison."

The brothers were shocked at Danielle’s words. In a nutshell, there was someone who didn’t want their grandparents to awaken.

"Joseph, what are the backgrounds of the nurses?" Danielle asked. The biggest suspect would be someone close to their grandparents. In this case, that would undoubtedly be the nurses and caregivers.

"They are all the cream of the crop in this hospital.

They have a wealth of experience and excellent reputation," Joseph answered confidently.

"Danielle, are you implying that the problem lies with the caregivers?" Matthew asked thoughtfully.

"I’m going to look for a hypnotist who can undo this," Xavier said as he took his phone out and began to search his contacts.

Danielle was quick to stop him. "That’s not necessary yet. I’ve already weakened the hypnosis they’re under. Once we find out who the culprit is, I’ll release them from the hypnosis completely."

"You’re even skilled at hypnosis? That’s amazing," the brothers murmured as they realized how knowledgable and formidable their younger sister had become. They began to feel somewhat ashamed of themselves.

"Just a little," Danielle replied honestly, but she was on the verge of having her identity revealed.

The Darling brothers believed wholeheartedly in what Danielle was telling them, and seeing how rationally she dealt with the situation, they could hardly imagine what kind of difficulties she had endured over the years.

Joseph instructed his brothers, "Let’s keep this matter under wraps for now. Don’t tell anyone, even our parents."

The attending doctor had just finished surgery and rushed over when he heard that the Darlings had come to visit. He hurried into the ward and greeted them all respectfully.

"Dr. Hawkins. It’s good to see you," Danielle said politely. Then, she got down to business. "It’s just as well that you’re here. That saves me a trip. I’ve prescribed some medication for these two patients. Please follow this prescription from now on."

Just then, Howard, Vivian, and Audrey walked into the ward, catching Danielle just as she was handing the doctor the new prescription.

Audrey immediately rushed over, her voice frantic. "Danielle, I get that you somehow managed to help Logan, but you can’t keep taking these kinds of risks with Alice and Caleb! They’re barely hanging on as it is, and they can’t take any more suffering."

She paused for a breath, but before Danielle could respond, Audrey went on, her tone dripping with self-righteousness. "Even though you haven’t been around, they still talk about you all the time. It’s clear they love you to pieces. But I won’t let you hurt them like this. I can’t!"

Danielle stared at Audrey, utterly bewildered. ’Is she seriously accusing me of trying to harm the two elders? Has Audrey completely lost it?’ she wondered.