Presidents, Spies, and Boys, Oh My!

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

I opened my eyes to the sound of voices. My vision span and my head hurt like hell. I blinked frantically, my eyes adjusting to the harsh florescent lighting of the sterile smelling room. I tried to move my arm, but it was all hooked up to an IV. A beeping machine sat next to the bed I was in, keeping track of my heartbeat. Where am I? A hospital? I lifted my head but pain shot through it. I fell back with a groan of pain, raising my free arm to rub my temples. My head throbbed and I felt a hand slip into my hooked up arms hand. I put my free arm down and glanced at the person sitting next to my bed. Garret held my hand, smiling gently. For a brief second, I saw the worry in his dark eyes that quickly changed to relief. He glanced down at his free hand, where his phone must have been, and pressed a button before meeting my gaze again. 

"D-Daddy?" I whispered the name I haven't used since I was four and afraid a monster would eat me at night if I slept without my nightlight. 

"Yes, Ember, I'm here. You're okay." he said softly, taking on the same voice he used when I was sick as a child.

"Wh-what happened? I don't remember anything. How did I get here?" I asked, my voice gradually slipping into a normal tone from a whisper.

I looked around, but it hurt to move my eyes too much, so I focused again on Garret. He shushed me, stroking my knuckles with his thumb comfortingly. I grasped his hand tightly.

"You go into a car accident on the highway. The back of a sixteen wheeler hit your car at eighty one miles per hour when he was switching lanes. Your car went flying off the highway and flipping over twice in the process. You were in critical condition when you came in."

I furrowed my eyebrows, trying to remember. All I could remember from today was a cherry red Lamborghini and a a pompous old guy driving it. A sixteen wheeler truck hit my car? Is it completely ruined? I hope not. I love that car so much. 

"How's my car?"

Garret sighed and I knew I wasn't going to like the answer. 

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, but it's completely totaled. According to your doctor and the paramedics, you're lucky to be alive. You always were too stubborn to die." 

He uttered a chuckle, showing that he was joking. I tried laughing my my torso was stabbed with pain every time I exhaled. 

"What happened to me, injury wise?" I asked.

"You have three broken ribs and a moderate concussion. Like I said, you're lucky you survived that accident. It would have killed a normal person like me. I guess your Nephilim strength kicked in."

I shrugged, which sent another stab of pain through me. Gritting my teeth, I grasped Garret's hand even harder. 

"My Nephilim strength must not be working right now. My ribs and my head hurt like a bitch." 

Garret chuckled and kissed my hand. I tried to smile but my head throbbed so much. Instead, I sank back into the lumpy pillow. My free hand toyed with a loose string on my hospital gown. My hair, as if it hadn't been bad enough already, was a rat's nest. My regular clothes were who knows where. I had a bandage across my forehead. I could feel it.The tight medical tape wound around my torso restricted movement, keeping my ribs stable and in their places to heal. Suddenly, my curtain was pulled aside as an Indian woman in a white lab coat popped in. She smiled kindly at me, clutching a clipboard to her chest. I tried to smile back again. Still, pain. Everywhere. 

"Ah, you're awake. Good. I'm Dr. Patricia Ashford. I secured you before we moved you to the OR. How are you feeling? Dizzy? Lightheaded?"

"Hungry." I answered, making Garret chuckle.

"You're always hungry." he remarked.

He's not wrong. Dr. Ashford smiled, amused, and scribbled something down onto her clipboard before looking back up at me.

"Well, Miss Rhinehart-"

"Ember. Please call me Ember." I corrected her.

She nodded.

"Very well then, Ember. What is the last thing you remember before the accident? Do you have any recollection of what happened during the accident?"

I shook my head.

"No, I only remember before. I remember seeing a Lamborghini next to me and then a large truck. That's where it ends."

Dr. Ashford nodded, biting her lower lip and scribbling something down on her clipboard. I stared at it until she looked up and cleared her throat. Her long dark hair swung in a high ponytail when she moved her head. It reminded me of my friend, Ella, when I was younger. She used to be my neighbor before moving to Nashville to live with her dad when her parents got divorced. Ella had been Indian too and always (enhancement on the always) wore a high ponytail. I miss her sometimes. We used to play princesses in my backyard and Garret used to pretend to be a dragon, chasing us around the yard in circles until he caught us. I was so upset when she moved. I didn't leave my room for two days. Granted, I was six and didn't understand. She was my only friend at the time. 

"That's not uncommon. With the concussion you retained during the accident, slight amnesia is normal. It's going to take you a few weeks to heal, Ember. Do you play any sports? What about school?" 

Well, unless you count protecting the First Family a sport, I don't play any. I'm already done with "school." Wait...the McGallens! Sick dread filled my stomach. I failed my mission. I was supposed to be there to protect them. Not get into a car accident that nearly cost me my life and be bed-ridden for weeks. I failed. 

"I graduated this year and, no, I don't play any sports." I answered, doing one of the things I do best. Lie. 

Dr. Ashford nodded. 

"That's a bit odd. You're such a fit girl. Did you used to play sports?"

I nodded. Truthfully, I have. I was once a swimmer for my local swim team and a cross country runner for my local team. That plus my training thrusted me into the best shape possible. I rarely ever get sick, but so do all other Nephilim. It's our heightened immune systems. We can also tolerate more physical strain than most humans. Where my teammates were winded by a 700 yard swim (twenty eight laps), I was just getting started. 

"Yes, I was a swimmer and a runner but I quit because my coaches were jerks." I said, weaving a little story in three seconds.

Dr. Ashford bought it, nodding. Doctors nod a lot. And scribble notes. 

"Well, as I said, it's going to take a few weeks for these injuries to heal. Since you were so close to dying in this accident, I'd like to keep you here for observation. Not long. I'll let you know when you can finally go home. Full recovery for both your ribs and you concussion will be about a month. Possibly even two."

My jaw dropped. A month? Holy shit!  Possibly even two? My God. Anger flared in me. For the driver of the sixteen wheeler. I hope I never come across him in a dark alleyway. I closed my mouth, leaning back into the pillows. 

"Wow. That's a long time." I stated the obvious.

Garret nodded, biting his lower lip. Dr. Ashford started talking to Garret about making sure I had plenty of bed rest when I got home from the hospital and about calling him if anything else happened. He nodded, smiling and thanking the doctor. She smiled back, looking back over to me.

"I'm so glad to see you awake. It was very nice meeting you, Ember." 

"It was nice meeting you too." I said as she turned around and closed the curtain around me. 

I sighed, and then regretted it. Jeez. Never have I ever been in this much pain. Trust me, that's a lot to say for a spy. Garret let go of my hand, taking out his cell phone and calling the CIA after making sure no one else was in the two other beds next to me. There was, but he was an eighty year old man who was fast asleep. I tuned out the phone call and closed my eyes. I'm going to be here for a while so I might as well get used to it.