Floating in the Abyss ✔️

Chapter 12

I woke up to she sound of voices, but they weren't familiar to me. I thought I could hear Nurse Charlotte, but I couldn't hear Sarah or Laura around. I opened my eyes once I heard footsteps approaching my bed, and that's when I remembered that I was no longer in my own room. I had a roommate. The word floated around my head and I pictured all different types of people. Then I heard the voice again, and I knew it had to be a girl. She sounded calm and gentle, so my nerves died down slightly.

"Oh, you are awake." Smiled Nurse Charlotte, momentarily pausing.

"I just woke up." I answered in a croaky voice.

"Then, I guess I have someone for you to meet." She grinned and pulled the curtain between the beds so that we could see each other. "Ashlyn, this is Morgan. She's your age and has a broken leg, hence the cast." Nurse Charlotte motioned to her leg, which Morgan lifted the covers off to reveal a huge white cast.

"Ouch." I winced for her. She smiled.

She had average length blonde hair, which had been pulled into very neat braids, like the ones Laura had done for me. She took them out yesterday and helped me wash my hair. Even from the distance I could see that Morgan had very blue eyes and was wearing a Taylor Swift t-shirt which I assumed was a pyjama top. I only knew who Taylor Swift was from the music I always listened to whilst going to and from school.

"I'll leave you to it then. Some lunch should be coming up soon for you girls." Nurse Charlotte left the room.

"Are your parents here?" Morgan asked me. Her voice was calming to me, but it felt weird referring to Laura as my parent, even though she was my mum.

"Yeah, I think she's getting some food at the canteen." I avoided the part where I called her Laura.

"Same." Morgan gave a little laugh. "How'd you end up here?" She asked, looking me up and down.

"Oh...I was in an accident."

"Ooft." She winced, making a face.

"What'd you do to your leg?"

"Got a bit excited at school and jump, then fell down the stairs. Embarrassing, I know." She rolled her eyes casually. It amazed me that she was so relaxed knowing that she wasn't going to be able to walk for the next 2 months.

"Did it hurt?" I asked, unable to resist the question. She gave me a quizzical look but answered.

"A little bit, but I was too embarrassed to feel the pain. I just wanted to get out of there."

"Fair enough." I nodded, and we fell into silence. It wasn't natural, but it wasn't awkward either, it just was.

"Do you want to play a game?" She asked, breaking the silence.

"Sure." I nodded after hesitating. I knew I wasn't going to be able to play it, but I would try my best.

"Do you know this one?" She asked, holding up a small red box. It had green writing saying 'Monopoly Deal' on it, but I of course hadn't heard of it, so I shook my head. "Coolios. I will teach you." She opened the box and took out a huge stack of cards and started to shuffle them. It was mesmerising to watch.

"So you've met!" Smiled Laura, walking back into the room, holding a coffee and two brown paper bags. She handed one of the bags to me and I peeked to see a chocolate chip cookie.

"Thankyou." I whispered to her.

"Oh, let me help!" She sat her coffee down and pulled a table in between the two beds so that we could play.

"Thanks." Morgan said, before putting two piles of cards, with five in each. "So the aim of the game is to get three property sets."

"Can Ash and I be on a team?" Laura asked, sitting next to me on the bed. She had clearly noticed my alarmed face because I had no idea what Morgan was talking about. I still wasn't used to be called Ash.

"Of course!" Morgan replied enthusiastically. She explained the rest of the game quickly but said that it was easier to pick up once you started playing. Laura helped to show me how to fan out the cards in a special way that meant it was easy to see what each card was for, and then we began.

It took a while to get used to, but by the fourth round I didn't need Laura's help anymore, so she went and facetimed Chris and the boys. On the seventh round I finally won, and I was so happy.

"Did I really!?" I exclaimed in quiet disbelief.

"Yeah." Morgan laughed, shuffling the cards. "Again?"

"Yes, please." I nodded furiously. She seemed a much more mature 15-year-old than me, but I didn't care. Whilst she shuffled for our eighth round, I realised that I hadn't even touched my cookie or the lunch that had been delivered to us during the fifth round.

I took a big bite of the cookie before picking up my cards and getting ready to play. Unfortunately for me, my winning streak only lasted for one round, whilst Morgan's continued for many more. Before we began our seventeenth round, her phone started buzzing energetically, nearly falling off the side of the bed.

"Hello?" She answered, catching it right in time and holding it up to her ear. She proceeded to have a conversation with who I assumed was her mum or dad, but then she hung up. "Whilst I'm on my phone, what's your number?"

"My number?" I repeated.

"You're phone number?" She looked at me as if I had grown an extra head, so I quickly reached for my phone. Right on cue, Laura walked back in.

"What are we up to now? Still playing?" She chuckled when she saw the cards remained set up.

"We're just exchanging phone numbers." Morgan answered politely.

"And it's round seventeen, by the way." I added quietly, not wanting to leave her question unanswered.

Morgan held out her hand and I passed her my unlocked phone. She then typed quickly, reading off her own phone, then handed it back.

"Now we can text if we need to." She smiled. "We can do snapchat later." I had barely any idea about what she was saying, but it didn't matter, because I felt like I had made a friend. We continued on with Monopoly Deal. 

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