Eigengrau

Chapter Eight

The events of last night still lingered in my thoughts but that beautiful feeling was interrupted when I woke up to a stabbing pain in my left arm. It was 8:30 AM in the morning but no one was in the room. I heard voices from outside so I assumed that everyone was awake. I needed my painkillers immediately but my bag was nowhere to be seen.

So I shouted, "Emma! Where is my bag!?"

I heard no reply. Furiously, grabbing my left arm, I stood up and dashed outside to the living room. Emma was nowhere to be seen but I saw Marcus and James at the small dining table.

Looking at Marcus, in a very serious tone, I asked, "Have you seen my bag? It's a tiny green sling."

"Oh Yeah. I think Emma took it with her."

In a louder than usual tone, I said, "Took It! Took it where?"

"Kris and Emma have gone to buy some breakfast for us. They will be back in thirty to forty-five minutes."

My entire face was drenched in agony. "What! Why did she take my bag? Goddammit!"

"Emma needed some cash and couldn't find her bag. I guess she must have grabbed yours. Why? What happened? You look like you are in pain."

"I am! My arm is killing me and my painkillers are in my bag. I can't bear this for so much time. Marcus... I need to go to the pharmacy now. I need my medicine!"

Without any hesitation, he grabbed the car keys and we drove.

I told him, "Go faster!"

"Are you sure? Doesn't it scare you?"

"It does! It really does but right now I need my painkillers. So please drive fast!"

He accelerated the car and I closed my eyes shut. The pain was horrible and the car was driving fast. I was literally amidst my worst nightmares. I hated this! Why the hell did Emma have to take my bag? In fifteen minutes, we reached the pharmacy. Opening the door as quickly as possible, I ran. Still holding my left arm as tightly as possible. The pharmacist greeted me with a bright smile and in a very serious and pain-struck expression, I told her the name of my medicine.

She said, "Ma'am, this is a very strong painkiller. You need a doctor's prescription for this. Why don't I give you a milder one?"

"I have it. I have the prescription!"

Unlocking my phone, I scrolled my gallery to find it. One minute and thirteen seconds later, I found the picture and showed it to her.

"Ma'am, electronic prescriptions are not allowed. I can't give you the medicine."

Is she serious! I tried to convince her but she didn't budge. The pain had gotten worse. My hand was throbbing. Every second was making me feel agony. I told her how I can get the doctor to talk to her or how she will get a scanned copy in ten minutes but she didn't listen. She couldn't give me the medicine before she saw the prescription. Admitting defeat, Marcus convinced me to go back. The pharmacy was a fifteen-minute drive from the place we stayed in. He told me that by the time we reach our bungalow, Kris and Emma would be back. We sat in the car and drove back. In the car, Marcus called Emma.

After the annoying beep... beep... beep... tone on the car speaker, Emma picked up.

Furiously I shouted, "Why the hell did you take my bag, Emma!?"

Jokingly she replied, "Why so angry sis...? I didn't steal a lot of your money."

"I don't care about the money! Emm... my painkillers are inside it. Where are you?"

She immediately understood. In a very serious tone, she said, "We will reach the bungalow in ten minutes."

"Reach fast!" and I cut the call.

Marcus drove as fast as possible. This caused my heart to accelerate further. The last forty-five minutes were horrible for me. I remembered how I felt after the accident. Cold and hurt in an upside-down car where every breath hurt. We soon reached the bungalow. Emma and Kris were waiting for both of us. I grabbed the medicine from Emma's hand and gulped it down without any water. The medicine was bitter but the pain was so bad that even the bitter medicine was easy to gulp. Everyone was staring at me. They were all worried. They could see the agony reflect in my eyes.

Emma apologized, "I am so sorry sis... I never could have imagined that your arm would start hurting now. It was fine for the last few weeks. I am so sorry! I didn't know that the painkillers were in the bag. I would have never taken it if I had known."

In anger and tears in my eyes, I yelled, "You know they are random. I never know when they can come. Five minutes is already horrible for me and because of you, I was in this pain for almost an hour. Do you even get it!"

I could see that Emma was really hurt by my words but I couldn't care less. Marcus asked everyone to leave me alone for some time. He patted my back and tried to calm me down. I hated this. The last few days were so much fun. Last night was so beautiful. I imagined today morning to be some casual flirting and my friends teasing me about it. I never thought it would include me yelling at Emma and all my friends watching me in agony. Kris was heartbroken when she saw me. She had seen this happen a few times and every time her heart hurt even more.

Two hours later...

The pain had subsided. Everyone was worried about me but I managed to convince them that I was better. Emma was very silent but I didn't have the energy to pacify her. Three of my friends had planned to stay back for two more days. So, Kris, Emm, and James drove in one car and I decided to drive back with Marcus. After an hour of listening to some boring music, I pulled his sleeve from the backseat and told him, "Can we change the song please?"

"Sure... Finally, someone is in a talking mode."

"Don't make fun of it. You have no idea how painful it was!"

"I know... I know... Don't worry. But it was really something to see. I have never seen you so angry."

"I was not angry. I was in pain. The anger was a side-effect of all the pain."

Both of us laughed and soon I was enjoying the ride back home. I decided to call Kris so that I could speak to Emma.

Beep... Beep... Beep...

"Hello..."

"Hey Kris, is Emma there?"

"Yeah... the phone is on the speaker. She can hear you. Should I pass the phone to her or does the speaker work?"

"Can you pass the phone?"

"Sure"

Soon, I heard Emma. "Hey, Emm..."

She said in a soft whisper, "Hi Hope. How are you feeling?"

"Much Better. Better than how you are feeling."

"That's good."

"I am sorry for yelling. You know how bad it gets."

"I understand..." In a softer than usual whisper she said, "I am really sorry. Whenever I do something, you always seem to get hurt."

Her voice was so soft that I thought I misheard. She never really hurt me. This was the only time when I was really furious but it was not really her fault. Time passed and soon all of us reached home.

It was just a matter of months before I remembered the reason behind why I drove at 2:00 AM and why I got into that accident. The worst part was that the moment I remember the reason, I was going to hate my parents, and worse than that was how I was going to hate Emma forever.