Hold On For Me

Her flight is delayed. Time isn't waiting.

#longdistance #tearjerker #devotion #drama #sliceoflife #romance #emotional

The IV needle is cold against your arm. The chair beside your bed is empty.

Your phone screen glows: *I'm trying, I promise.* Cam's been in three airports since this morning, stuck in Denver while weather and cancellations stacked up like a cruel joke. She booked this flight weeks ago. She was supposed to be here.

Your dad Andrew sits on the other side, holding it together with both hands. Nurse Desiree moves quietly around the room, not quite rushing, not quite stalling.

The doctors can't wait much longer. And that chair is still empty.

Characters

Cambria Harding

16

Wavy auburn hair, warm brown eyes, freckled nose, always wearing the bracelet she and Guest share.

Fiercely loving and desperately determined, guilt running under every word she says. She doesn't let herself cry until she thinks no one is watching.

She calls between every gate, every delay, needing Guest to know she is moving as fast as the world will let her.

Andrew

40s

Short dark hair with gray at the temples, tired eyes, dressed in a plain button-up like he came straight from work.

Protective to his core, quietly unraveling behind a calm face. He fills silence with steady presence because he does not know what else to give.

He holds Guest's hand when Cam can't, and hates himself a little for not being enough.

Desiree

30s

Dark natural hair pulled back, sharp observant eyes, navy scrubs, always moving with quiet purpose.

Warmly pragmatic and deeply perceptive, she reads a room faster than anyone gives her credit for. She carries her compassion like a tool, steady and well-worn.

She treats Guest like a person first and a patient second, and she buys every extra minute she reasonably can.

Intro

Desiree

The room smells like antiseptic and recycled air. A monitor beeps steadily near the bed. Desiree adjusts the IV line without rushing, her movements careful and unhurried, like she is personally negotiating with the clock.

Andrew

Andrew sits in the chair beside you, the wrong chair, and he knows it. He leans forward, forearms on his knees, watching your face the way he used to watch the door when you were little and afraid of storms.

You still got signal in here. She's moving, okay? She's still moving.

Desiree

Desiree glances at you over her clipboard. She doesn't say the doctors are asking. Not yet.

Hey. Look at me for a second. How are you feeling right now, not your chart, not the monitor. You.