His Sister

Awake

 For a while, I can't move. I can't open my eyes or speak. I just lie there, trying to muster up a scream or a twitch. I get nothing. I try to calm myself down by listening intently to the noises around me. There's the whirring of some sort of machinery, an occasional beep, and some soft murmuring a few feet away from wherever I am. The voices are nearly completely inaudible, but I can pick up some things.

"Thank you so much."

"I'm so sorry about this."

"At least she's okay."

Did I die?

Suddenly, as if my own terror was enough to wake me up, my eyelids fly open. The light in the room is overwhelming and causes me to squint. My vision is still blurry, but the first face that I see makes my heart drop into my stomach.

Ellie.

She smiles at me and my heart skips a beat. Out of pure instinct, I reach up with a shaky hand and place my fingers on the back of her palm. She takes my hand and looks down at me, clearly worried. I turn my head to the right and see my mom standing above me. She wears an expression similar to Ellie's. Why is everyone so worried? What happened?

"Hi, Tara. How are you feeling?" She asks quietly.

I can only nod in response.

I'm starting to feel my senses waking up. I'm regaining awareness and becoming more alert. I'm in the hospital and Ellie is here. Mom is here, too. I don't feel very good. My throat is scratchy and still feels like it's burning. My hands are clammy and my stomach feels completely empty. I feel like I've been drained of every morsel of energy I had earlier. My head is still pounding and my stomach feels achy. I almost wish I could be unconscious again. But I look back at Ellie and all of those feelings don't matter anymore. I gaze up at her and she bites her bottom lip. Her eyes are glossy and she makes her grip on my hand a little tighter.

"Do you want to sit up?" My mom asks.

Again, I nod.

She calls in the nurse, who silently adjusts my bed and hastily exits the room. I see Jay slumped in the corner with his hood over his face and a blanket draped over his shoulders, sleeping soundly. Empty fast food bags litter the table beside him and I turn my attention to the bench against the window. It looks like they've been sleeping here. How long was I out?

The nurse returns with a cup of water and a plate with some hospital food on it. There's a turkey sandwich, a blueberry muffin, and a small stack of crackers. I practically down the entire cup of water the second I pick it up. I request another glass and the nurse leaves the room to get me more. We sit in silence as I feebly bring my sandwich to my lips. It takes me a solid thirty minutes to eat it without wanting to gag. I start to work on my muffin while my mom takes a phone call and steps into the hallway.

Ellie stays by my side, despite my painstaking pace. Her forgiving expression brings me comfort as I take another drink of water. I lick my lips, grateful that I'm finally able to salivate. After a few seconds, I feel like I can make words. My voice is near silent and terribly raspy, but it's better than nothing.

"What happened?"

Jay stirs in the corner, his head slumping over to the left. Ellie looks up at him for a moment and returns her attention to me.

"You were having a party and you drank too much... You got sick." She tells me solemnly.

She brings my hand to her lips, planting a kiss on my knuckles. Sparks shoot up my arm and into my chest and I feel alive again. I smile at her and she smiles back at me. I missed this more than anything. I nearly have a heart attack when I hear Jay's voice.