Falling into Fiction

05 Small Town Crackhead

A deep breath into my lungs shoots my eyes open, but they close just as quickly because of the bright light beaming down at me from the ceiling. I groan and try to roll over, but the IVs in my arm prevent me from doing so. Why am I on liquids right now? I then notice the other thing stopping me from rolling, which is the big sling my right arm is stuck in.

There's no time to process anything though as Kelly Swartz rushes into the room, looking at a clipboard that presumably holds my details. Seeing I'm awake, she gives something like a relieved yet pity-filled smile.

"I'm so glad you're awake. We were starting to wonder if there was something we had missed." She walks up to the edge of my bed and looks down at me.

"I-" the sound comes out like the voice of a thirteen year old boy, so I clear my throat and try again. "I'm okay. Chest is a little sore, but I'm okay."

"Of course." She looks down at the clipboard again, searching for something in particular. "I know this probably isn't what you want to hear, but we're not entirely sure what that man did to you."

I raise an eyebrow, and she continues. "The way your lungs look, you were this close to asphyxiating." She holds her thumb and forefinger up, barely a half inch away from each other. "But there are no, um, marks on your neck that we can see. You do have a bone bruise on your right elbow, but even then, from the fall that Katy says you took, I'm surprised it's not broken."

I look to the empty room around me, and a thought occurs to me, distracting me from the information Kelly throws at me. "Where's my mom?" Surely my mom isn't some deadbeat in this life, right?

Kelly grimaces slightly. "We haven't been able to get a hold of her. We tried your house phone, but Katy said you mentioned that she was out tonight. Her cell phone hasn't picked up so far, either."

A sigh escapes my lips, and I stare up at the ceiling, willing the tears to stay down. "That's okay." I sniff, still looking anywhere but at her. "How long do I have to stay here?"

"Well, that's the good news at least. It seems like everything is okay vital-wise. Since you've already turned eighteen, there's no need for a guardian to be here. I'll just check with Dr. Michaels one more time and give you the all-clear." I can see a smile stretch her lips from the corner of my eye.

I give a shaky smile of my own and nod. "Thank you, Kelly."

"And I'll have Dee and Daemon take you to our house while you wait to hear from your mom. They've been with Katy while we've been waiting for you to wake up. I'd rather you be with someone right now, just in case there's something wrong that we can't see."

"Of course." I finally turn to look at her, the tears caused by the thought that I'm truly alone right now shoved deep enough under the surface to make eye contact. "Thanks again. I really appreciate that."

She nods once and heads out of the room, and two seconds later, Dee walks in. Judging by the look on her face, I must not look to be in a good state. I can't imagine the number of bruises and scrapes on the top half of my body alone.

"Hey!" She's very chipper, more so than I thought she would be considering the circumstances. "Kelly told us to keep watch over you and Katy tonight, said your mom is, uh, out right now."

I sigh at her remark, to which she quickly apologizes. "No, it's okay. Really. She went out with some friends, and I'm sure she didn't think she'd have to stick around her phone to get a call about something like this." I use my good arm to gesture around the room.

She laughs, a sound too pretty to be made in this bleak hospital room. "I get that. You'd think a town the size of ours would be free of crap like this, but sadly, it's not." A distant look fills her eyes before quickly being replaced by that usual sparkle.