With Janelle having the shitty luck she believed she usually had, she didn't get the chance to ignore the door because the police happened to come around to question her again regarding Stephanie's attack when her husband was home and went to let them in.
First she was woken up, and now she was interrupted from taking a swim in the pool. This time, Janelle didn't mind letting her irritation show. "Look,” she finally said, "I know it's important to catch who did this, but I don't see what I can tell you that I haven't already told you."
The police would always bring up the fact that they didn't get along whenever they questioned her.
“Regardless of that, my relationship with Stephanie is no more or less different than what any other family experiences from time to time.”
Then one day, Janelle was surprised when Steven suggested they go to the hospital to see the comatose girl.
"Sure, I could go,” she said. “But if she's still in a coma, what's the point?"
He shrugged and said, “Just thought you might be interested in going along with me and Mary to the hospital."
“Yeah, I can do that."
When Janelle and Steven met with Deanna and Spencer in the hospital waiting room, Janelle sensed right away that they were suspicious of her. Especially with the way Deanna ignored her and didn't even ask how she’d been or anything like that. It was Spencer who asked how she'd been.
“I've been okay. It's too bad what happened to Stephanie."
"Yeah, it is. But the more people that visit, the more it can hopefully help her come out of her coma since it's been said that those in comas are often aware of their surroundings and able to hear things around them."
"Not sure she would like hearing from me since she never seemed to like me but if it will help, why not?"
Without a word, the foursome headed into Stephanie's room. Janelle studied the lifeless girl before her. It gave her a sense of power to know that she was the one responsible for putting the bitch there. She deserved worse than a coma and dreaded the thought of her waking up. All Janelle could do was hope to hell she didn’t remember anything if she did wake up.
Stephanie was pale and as still as a log. All kinds of tubes and wires were connected to her while monitors blinked and beeped softly in the background.
She was in the room by herself. The lighting was harsh, especially with the drapes of the large windows pulled wide open as they were.
Janelle didn't fail to notice that the others were anxious for her to be the first one to start talking. “What do I say?"
"Just say hello and talk as you normally would," Steven said.
Janelle and Spencer stood at the right side of Stephanie's bed while Deanna, who didn't seem to want to get anywhere near Janelle, stood on the opposite side of the bed with Steven at the foot.
Janelle cleared her throat and in her hoarse smoker’s voice, she said, “Hi, Stephanie. It's me, Janelle. I hope you get better soon."
Janelle didn't fail to notice that Deanna bent over and strained to see the monitors. They were on the opposite side of the bed towards Stephanie's head. Janelle then made a point of speaking some more and looking at the monitors as well, copying Deanna as if they all should do this no matter who was speaking. It was to hide that yes, she had taken it personally and knew they were onto her.
“What are we looking for?” Janelle asked playing dumb.
“Just any changes that may occur,” Spencer said.
After she spoke about the weather being nice, silence filled the room except for the beeping monitors. "Isn't anyone else going to talk to her?" Janelle finally asked.
“Yeah,” said Spencer, "we've been in and out chatting with her for a couple of hours or so."
“What are all the monitors for besides her heartbeat and blood pressure and things like that?"
“Well, oxygen and a few other things,” Spencer said as Janelle tried not to notice Deanna being so intent on looking for any change on the monitors due to the sound of her voice.
She went silent to see how long it would be before someone else spoke.
Eventually, the others began to make small talk amongst themselves, mostly discussing how other family members were holding up, including Stephanie's fiancé.
“Well,” Steven said as they went to leave Stephanie's room, "hopefully the police will take care of whoever's responsible soon enough.”
“Yes,” said Deanna. "I'm sure they will very soon."
Janelle pretended not to notice that Deanna looked right at her when she said that and said, “Let’s hope so.”
After another moment of silence as they moved down the corridor, Janelle asked Deanna, "Is there anything else we can do?"
"No, I think you've done enough," Deanna said.
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