Trustfall

Chapter 21 - Caught & Sunrise

I slowly open my eyes, everything is blurred, unable to see where I am. The annoying constant beeping reaches my ear. The hospital.

My view starts to clear. A Chinese American nurse with straight black hair in a high ponytail is standing with her back towards me doing something.

She turns around and looks straight into my eyes.

"Oh, great you're awake... how are you feeling, sweetheart," her sweet voice sounds and a smile forms on her lips. I start to wake up a little more and suddenly I remember what had happened.

"Is everyone okay?" I ask, ignoring her question.

To my surprise she begins to chuckle, I frown. What's so funny?

"Why don't you ask yourself?" she says and gestures to me to look to my left, I do.

Down the much larger room than I first thought is 10 guest beds in two rows each with a sleeping family member on.

I admire the view of my family being right beside me.

"They never left your side," the nurse tells me, and I let out a light chuckle. Robin, who is lying closest to me, slowly wakes up and looks at me. Two seconds pass before he realizes what is happening and he jumps up and yells out my name.

The other wakes up, high alerted, thinking something is happening.

I giggle when Robin wraps his arms on each of my sides and hugs me, taking in the pain that forms in every inch of my body.

Not even five seconds later I'm surrounded by 20 people, everyone with such a soft expression.

"Hey sweetheart, how are you feeling, are you okay?" Dad asks me and puts a strand of my hair behind my ear.

"Is everyone okay?" I ask, I keep ignoring the question, I'm not okay before I know everyone else is.

"Sweetheart, can you please just worry about yourself right now... are you okay?" he asks me again.

I take a deep breath. "I'm not okay, if I don't know if everyone else is okay," I say avoiding eye contact, knowing they won't like my answer.

"Everyone is okay," Alexander reassures me.

"I saw somebody getting shot, I don't remember who," I mumble.

"Some of us got hurt but everyone is alive, none of it was too critical," grandpa says, and I nod.

"Now are you okay?" Dad asks me for the third time.

I take in another deep breath, pain from my lower ribs appear, my thighs, my head, my whole body.

I breathe out before I shake my head and mumble a 'no', but I quickly regret shaking my head. It feels like my brain is that little bell inside a baby's toy that just shakes the ball uncontrollable, making the bell sound every time it hits the inside of the ball.

"Excuse me sir, but I really need to do a check up on her," a soft voice sounds behind them, everyone looks at the small nurse that only reaches to their elbows, she walks past my family and walks over to me and makes me sit up.

She pulls up the back of my shirt, Alexander grips the hem in the front to keep it down.

The cold metal from the stethoscope touches my back making me shiver, she makes me take deep breaths.

She put down the stethoscope but keep on looking at my back.

After a minute of awkward silence, she takes down my shirt and looks at me and dad.

"Her breath is good, and the bruises seem to heal well, the cuts aren't infected anymore but they will leave some scars," she tells us, and dad nods.

"I will go get the doctor to check up on you in a little while," she says and walks out.