I'm a Walking Travesty (Adopted by Tony Perry)

Chapter 8

We go back home and they leave me alone to paint the room as I wish. When I finish, I go downstairs. Tony instructed Jaime to feed me and then give me my meds while they finish my room. He turns on the TV and I recognize the beginning of The Sound Of Music.

The hills are alive with the sound of music
With songs they have sung for a thousand years
The hills fill my heart with the sound of music
My heart wants to sing every song it hears
My heart wants to beat like the wings of the birds
That rise from the lake to the trees
My heart wants to sigh like a chime that flies
From a church on a breeze
To laugh like a brook when it trips and falls over
Stones on its way
To sing through the night like a lark who is learning to pray
I go to the hills when my heart is lonely
I know I will hear what I've heard before
My heart will be blessed with the sound of music
And I'll sing once more

I hear clapping. I see them all standing there and I blush. They leave to let me continue watching the music while Jaime works the feeding tube. "What are your worst fears?" "Fire and lighting, which I have determined is actually caused my fear of fire because I've had no issues with standing outside in a large boat in the middle of the ocean during a lightning storm. Also being outside alone in the middle of the night. I've seen some creepy shit."

"Like what?" "I watched a drug deal and then the guy pulled a gun on me and shot me in the abdomen." I realize I had never told anyone that before. "Please don't tell anyone. No one else knows." "By that do you mean-" "No one. I never went to the hospital or even told my parents at the time. With a lot of pain and struggle I removed the bullet. I flushed the wound with rubbing alcohol and then I stitched it closed with a sewing needle and thread."

His eyes widen. "Can you show me?" I lift up my shirt a little revealing the scar. "Wow. You are really prone to shit happening to you aren't you?" I nod. "Alright, I'm done. Here are your meds." He hands me a handful of 7 pills. I scrunch up my nose. "I hate pills."

He hands me a glass of water and I take them. He leads me to the car and we head to the concert. "I'm leaving the crutches. I know it's a bad idea but as Vic already knows, I did something to my knee again already. I might as well have fun as it lasts before Tony keeps me locked down to prevent me from getting hurt again."

Jaime rolls his eyes. "You're right. You're going to likely need surgery again if you do this. Are you sure?" "My knee popped earlier and there was a rush of pain. I think I already probably did that damage." He nods. "Let's go then." He leads me to the front of the floor. "Stay safe and holler if you can't find me and need something. I'm going to try to stay next to you but I'm going to assume you will end up crowd surfing and if you do we will likely get separated. If you end up on the ground try to get up as quickly as possible or to get the attention of others around you to make sure you don't get more hurt."

I nod. The concert starts and I am amazed at the energy from being in the pit. It gets crazy. I get pushed and fall to the ground. Someone accidentally steps on my chest and I hear multiple cracks. I can't breathe. I hear Jaime but I can't make out what he is saying. The music stops and someone picks me up. I feel myself be placed on a bed and then I pass out.

I wake up laying in a hospital bed again. I hear a lot of hospital machines but they are fuzzy. The first thing I realize is I can't see. My vision is completely black. "Hey, Rachel. Calm down. It's okay. We're all here and you're safe." "I-I c-can't see." I feel a few tears run down my face.

I hear someone leave the room. "Breathe. Follow my breathing." My hearing has gotten a lot clearer. I hear two sets of footsteps come in. "It seems like as a result of the head injury she sustained that she has temporary blindness. She should get her sight back but we have no way of knowing how long or if her vision will ever become as clear as it was before."

I nod a little. "You were out for a month. You had four broken ribs and your left lung was punctured in two places. You suffered a pretty severe concussion and you had surgery on your knee again at the beginning." I nod again. "You will be released with your family to go home."

We leave and Vic begins talking. "I adopted a new kid. We all live together by the way." "What's the kid's name?" "Her name is Leah. She's from Puyallup as well." "Blondish brown curly hair? It might have a slight tint of red dye I don't remember. Greenish gray eyes, extremely pale and probably slightly taller than you?" "Yeah. You must know her pretty well then?" "Yeah."

We arrive home and I'm engulfed in a hug. "Rachel! I missed you!" "I missed you as well. Can you please warn me next time before doing that though? I can't see right now." I can practically sense her confusion and so I decide to clarify myself. "I'm assuming you know what happened at the concert?" "Yeah." "Apparently I got a pretty severe concussion. I'm temporarily blind. They don't know for how long and if I'll ever have full vision again."

I hear her gasp. "That's terrible. I'm so sorry, Rachel." "It's not any of your fault. Can one of you lead me up to my room?" "I will." I nod and I feel Leah's arm on my right arm which I don't have a crutch on currently. She tells me when to step up and I hear someone behind me probably to catch me incase I fall.

She leads me down the hallway and to my room. "Can you make sure there is nothing on my floor that I can easily trip on and then describe the room to me?" There is a break. "Alright, your bed is right in front of you all the way against the wall. Your guitars are against the wall. Your desk and dresser are on the other side of the room. I don't really know how else to explain it."

"Alright, can you leave me on my own so I can try to figure out the room? Where is your room?" "It's right across the hall. Come get me if you need anything. I'm closing your door but I'm leaving mine open." I nod.

I hear her leave and my door close. I begin trying to figure out the steps around my room. I accidentally run into my bed frame and I trip. I hear the crash. "Are you okay?" "Yeah I'm good. Just tripped." I stand up and brush myself off. I go to my dresser. I feel everything organized.

I find a drawer with t-shirts. I pull one out and carefully unfold it. I feel the design on the front and recognize it to be a Sleeping With Sirens shirt. I find the pants and locate a pair without rips. I slide them on and put back on my belt. I hear a knock on the door downstairs. I feel that the NG tube is no longer there.

I leave my bedroom, close my door, and head to the stairs. I carefully travel down them, not making enough noise to draw anyone's attention. I trip over a pair of shoes and almost fall again. "Rachel, how did you get down here?" "Carefully. Can you guys please make sure there is nothing on the ground I can trip over?"

"Okay." "Who was at the door?" "Pizza delivery. What type do you want?" "Cheese." I might as well eat if I don't have the NG tube now. I decide I'll eat as much as I am handed. Tony hands me a plate and I feel two pieces of pizza. I eat them slowly. It doesn't feel natural for me to eat but I'm terrified of having to get the NG tube again.