Erased

3

I woke up to the sound of machines humming and momentarily beeping. The scent of disinfectant and antiseptic lingered in my nose, and my eyes scanned an unfamiliar room. To my surprise, there were a couple of machines beside me, wires hanging from them then attached to my arm and the side of my head.

I was in a hospital? It can't be... The last thing I could remember was... The plane.

The sudden realization caused me to jolt up on my bed, but my entire body felt like it was being pulled apart into strips. My head felt like it was going to burst, and it was impossible to get anywhere else but where I was at that moment.

"Oh, be careful, darling," a petite Asian woman said, adjusting the pillows behind me so I could sit more comfortably. "You aren't too well right now, so try to keep still, okay?"

I grumbled a faint sound, and she seemed to understand it well and said, "You hit your head during the plane crash. How are you feeling? Can you recall it?"

My mind flashes back to my last memories on the plane.

The alarms.

The boy beside me.

I opened my mouth only to whisper, "I-I... I feel awful. Where's everyone else?"

She took her time to write a quick note on her clipboard. "You should be glad to know that everyone is all okay. No one was seriously hurt, and that was such a lucky thing. Everyone was worried about the crash being in the mountain forests, but apparently you all seem to have minor injuries."

I squinted to read the tag on her blue scrubs- Jody, it said. Nurse Jody then explained what happened after the crash. She slowly explained that we were in Gérardmer, a hospital about twenty minutes from the crash site in Vosges. I was about four hours away from Paris, but she noted that they were able to call my father through the airline agency.

"Your father is so, so worried about you, and he's coming to get you as we speak," she finished.

"Thank you," I said, my lips forming a small smile.

Nurse Jody adjusted the pillows on my bed a bit more and said, "Did you want anything?"

"I was... I was wondering." I slowly shifted the position of my arm across my stomach. "The other passengers? Are they... Are they here?"

Sunshine Boy's face still couldn't be erased from my mind, no matter how blurry and incoherent the other memories of the plane ride were. I wanted to know if he was okay, where he was, but then I realized I really didn't even know his name. We didn't even talk much to begin with.

"Yup. Did you have a companion with you? Anyone you're missing?"

"Yeah... well, kind of. We just met on the plane. I don't really know him at all, or anything."

Jody gave me a wide smile and nodded, "Uh huh, you got his name?"

"No... not really," I shrugged. "He had dashing green eyes, and the biggest smile."

She winked as if she knew something was up, "I'll see if I can find your friend for you."

Not too long after she left, the doctor came in, introducing himself as Dr. Moreau. He looked like he was in his mid-forties, pretty tall with graying temples. He greeted me and said that it was good to see me awake. He explained that I hit my head pretty hard, and there was a moment that they were sure that I wouldn't make it, but things happened to be miraculous.

"You seem to be pretty well now, Marinette," he said, giving my shoulder a pat. "Your head has been recovering so fast, and I guess you could leave by tomorrow. We're just keeping you in for the night to do more observations, just to make sure." He slowly tilts my head to review the deep cut a branch gave me during the crash. Deep as it was, it didn't turn out to be too serious, as he said.

My thoughts turned back to the boy I met on the plane. I hope he was here. Does he live in Paris, as well? What was his name? Was he doing okay?

"I suggest you take these." Dr. Moreau hands me a blue capsule. "For your headaches."

I gulped it down with some water on my bedside table, and I tried to settle myself underneath the covers- possibly, it could lessen the pain.

A few minutes later, the room's doors busted open as Nurse Jody skids into my room.

"Found your boy! He's in the other room. Also hit his head, but nothing as serious as your condition, darling," she said.

"That's great. Thank you," I replied, trying my best not to protest at your boy.

"Chatted with the other nurses, and his name turns out to be Colin, in case you were wondering." She smiled. Her face then turns into something I couldn't explain when she added, "I mean, I hope you don't mind me by saying, but he is a bit of a scowler, isn't he?"

"A scowler?" I exclaimed- recalling the image of his beautiful smile.

"Yeah, he barked at us every time we tried to touch him." She shrugged. "Black hair with a bit of purple, and dark tattoos. He kind of reminded me of this guy I used to date-"

"The Goth Dude!" My voice came out with a sigh, remembering his sour attitude with the kids earlier. "That's... Nope. That's not him."

"Goodness me, really?" She sighed as well. "I was worried you actually have a knack for those men. You're such a pretty young lady to go to someone reckless and grumpy."

I tried my best to describe him again. Black beanie, a thousand-watt smile, blue jeans. I even mentioned the drumsticks in his backpack. They would have been a clue.

"I must have passed him. I'll go check, darling," she said.

She then returns a few minutes later, crestfallen, and said "Sorry, Mari. I guess he wasn't injured? Or maybe he was taken to a different hospital?"

"It's fine," I shook my head, feeling a bit guilty.

I mean, who wouldn't feel silly to send over their nurse room to room just to find a boy that they just met today? On a plane. We didn't even talk for much of the period in the flight, and the only thing I could distinctly remember about him was his smile, and nothing else.

Though, I'm pretty sad to think that I might never know his name.

a/n: so far, so good! thank you to all who have witnessed the first few chapters of erased. there shall be more, since i'm coming along pretty well with writing chapters now :>