In 27 Days (Watty Award Winner 2012)

Chapter 32

Beep. Beep. Beep.

God, I hated that noise. I wanted it to stop. All I really wanted to do was keep sleeping. I wanted to sleep for a very long time.

I didn't know where I was or what was going on. My body felt sore and achy, like I was just one huge, throbbing bruise.

Where ever I was, I was lying on a bed. I could tell that much.

Okay, Hadley, I told myself. Work it out little by little.

It took several moments for my mind to sluggishly work out what was going on.

I'd been in a car accident. That was about as much as my brain would come up with. That, and there was this dumb beeping noise.

"...think she's going to be okay?"

I strained to listen to the voice that was speaking. I didn't recognize it, but it seemed oddly familiar.

"I don't know." The next voice sounded tired and a little saddened. "She got pretty beat up in that accident. Her diaphragm spasmed when she hit the ground, which was what caused her death in the fist place. How she managed to survive that, I'm not even sure. And then she has three cracked ribs, a broken arm, a ruptured appendix, and a massive concussion. The odds aren't in her favor."

Okay, so I definitely had been hit by a car. So that meant I was in a hospital. That explained the beeping noise.

But who were the people in the room with me?

"Will she wake up any time soon?"

"It's hard to say. She might. She might not. It's up to her now, really."

I heard a sniffle and a quiet sob as the other person spoke and realized immediately who that was.

"I'll leave you both alone with her now," the other person said. "Don't hesitate to call for anything."

The sound of a door opening, the muttering of conversation, and then the door shutting was all that I heard for several moments.

I struggled to make some sort of noise, to let them know I was perfectly fine and that I could wake up, but this was easier said than done.

My tongue felt like it was covered in sandpaper and glued to the top of my mouth.

When I finally did manage it, a half hour must have passed.

"M-M-Mom..."

Somebody was immediately at my bedside. "Hadley? Can you hear me, sweetie?"

"Momma..."

I fought to open my eyes, feeling like there were bricks on top of my eyelids, and when I finally did, everything was blurry and shifting in and out of focus.

My mother's worry stricken face swam into view and sweet relief flooded through me. At least I could still see.

"Oh, thank God." Mom sighed, her eyes welling with tears. "We thought you weren't ever going to wake up."

"Ha, ha..." I forced out weakly.

"How do you feel?" Mom asked, sounding frantic. "Do I need to call a nurse? Do you need any pain killers? Do you - "

"Michaela, give her room to breathe."

Dad stood up from a chair beside the door and joined Mom beside the bed.

"Hi, daddy," I said, forcing a smile.

I immediately winced at the stinging pain that caused. My face must have gotten cut up.