My Bucket List

Chapter 3 - Harlow

Everything hurt. My head especially. I couldn't hear what the doctor was saying and found it hard to keep my eyes open. I blinked rapidly to focus but the throbbing in my head only intensified. The doctor took pity on me and said something about having some rest. She didn't need to tell me twice, I immediately drifted off to sleep.

I woke up a few hours later when a nurse cane in to check on me and the doctor walked in, accompanied by a police officer.

"Glad to see you're up Miss Stevens. My name is Constable Archer, and I'm with the Auckland city Police station. I was one of the officers who found you a few days ago. How are you feeling?" He asked.

"Glad to be alive. How long have I been out for?" I directed the question to the doctor, whose name tag read Isabelle Grey.

"You were bought in 3 days ago. One of your co workers at the post office arrived at work on Wednesday morning and found you lying unconscious  in the parking lot. Constable Archer here was one of the first officers on the scene. We were lucky he found you when he did, you were unconscious for way too long. You really are lucky to be alive Miss Stevens," Dr Grey said.

I tried to process everything in my head and tried to remember everything that happened that night. All I remember was setting the alarm and locking up the warehouse before making my way to my car. Then everything came crashing back. The two people I saw in the reflected in my window and then a sudden pain above my eye. I lifted my hand to my right eye and felt a bump and a few stitches. I moved my hands further up and felt a bandage around my head. I looked at Dr Grey for answers and she understood what I meant immediately.

"You have 3 stitches above your eye and some small swelling that should go down in another day or so. When you hit the ground you must have hit  your head pretty hard, the fall knocked you unconscious. You have 3 fractured ribs, and I have administered some pain medication to help ease the pain. However, you need to stay in bed for at least a week or two. With head injuries you can't be so sure. We'll be keeping you in for another day for monitoring. The fact that you have good memory and able to talk comprehensively tells us that there's no major damage Miss Stevens."

After the update from doctor Grey, Constable Archer took down a full report about the incident. I was given a shower with assistance from the nurse which was quite embarrassing, since my legs weren't fully functioning. She was ever the professional and I was grateful for that. After I changed into one of the hospital gowns, I ate toasted cheese sandwiches and decided to get some more rest.

A loud gasp and sharp intake of breath awoke me from my slumber. I blinked a couple of times thinking I was dreaming but as I looked at the two people who just walked through the door I couldn't help but cry. Harper walked towards me and clutched my hand in hers. I held on tightly and focused on her face. Even etched with worry she was still a ray of sunshine.

"Hi sweetie, how are you feeling?" She asked, her eyes crinkling at the sides as she smiled down at me.

I opened my mouth to speak and ended up having a coughing fit. Harper immediately grabbed a glass of water and bought it to my mouth. I took a greedy sip and downed the whole cup. I coughed a few more times before I could find my voice. "I'm doing fine I guess. How did you know I was here?" I couldn't help but I ask. My voice sounded different, and I coughed again to clear my throat.

"We only just found out an hour ago that you were mugged by one of the officers. Ashton called them earlier on to file a missing persons report. I'm so sorry this happened to you sweet girl," she answered in a loving motherly voice. My lips started to tremble again at how sincere her voice was and the genuine worry in her eyes. My whole life I dreamed of my mother coming back. As I got older and that didn't happen I couldn't help but feel so alone and unloved. My father could barely look at me without a sneer and was always yelling. I learnt earlier on to kept out of his way. I relaxed as Harper ran a soothing hand up and down my arm. It felt nice having someone fuss over me. It was a foreign feeling, but a nice one none the less.