Leah Archer was just 12 years old when she hit her head on a rock and fell into a coma, one that doctors weren't sure she'd ever come back from. But when she wakes up four years later, she faces the struggle of recovery and fights to regain any hint...
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DAD MAKES ME take Monday and Tuesday off of school, even though I feel completely fine. Caleb tries to stay home with me, but our parents insist that he has to go without me.
Everything feels... different after I get out of the hospital.
Mom checks on me every five minutes, making sure I haven't passed out or fallen out of bed or something else outrageous. As soon as Dad gets home, it's a barrage of questions coming at me faster than I can handle, asking how I felt and whether I was dizzy or nauseous or clammy or feverish or whatever. Like I'm no longer his daughter, just another case he has to find the solution to.
Caleb is the worst. I don't know if it's because I passed out, or because he knows I was kissing Noah, or for some other reason, but he acts like I don't even exist. I mean, it's not like he ignores me, but he doesn't talk to me anymore. Everything that's happened just reminds me of what it was like when I first came home. Everyone is just so distant, walking around me like I'm a piece of glass and they're afraid to be the one to break it.
I've taken to spending my days either curled up in bed or on the couch, watching TV. Being gone with a medical note from my dad means that my teachers aren't making me make up the work I'm missing. I mean, my online classes are different, but I can just do my work when I'm "better".
I let out a sigh, pulling the blanket tighter around my shoulders. Despite my dad saying I can go back to school tomorrow, I have absolutely no motivation to. I just feel so tired and not wanting to do anything.
The sound of the front door opening travels through the house and to my ears from my spot on the couch, but I don't move at all. I don't really care who it is, and I just close my eyes before attempting to block out everything else. But I'm not so lucky, and the sound of voices finds my ears.
"She hasn't really done anything the last few days," the voice whispers, and I know it's Caleb's. "I'm worried about her. She just seems so... sad. I can't stand seeing her like this and knowing there's nothing I can do." "There's always something you can do." I'm a little surprised to hear Noah's voice, however quiet it is. "You can't force her to be happy or do get up and do something, but you can always be there for her."
Caleb sighs. "I just... I don't know what to do. I'm scared that if I try and do something, I'll just make it worse. God, I don't want to make it worse."
"Just make sure she knows she's not alone. That's all you can do."
Their voices grow a little quieter to a point where I can no longer hear them, and I just sit with my eyes still closed. The house seems to go quiet for a minute before I feel the couch dip down with the weight of someone else. I don't even bother to open my eyes, but I'd recognize his voice anywhere.
"He's just worried," Noah whispers, his hand ghosting down my arm until my hand rests in his. My eyes finally flutter open, and they're met with his own hazel ones. I try to scoot closer to him and I think he gets the message, wrapping an arm around my shoulder and pulling me to him.
