No Longer Abandoned

Chapter Four: Yearning Heart

I wake up in a brightly lit room and squint my eyes from the fluorescent bulb. I look around the room as my eyes adjust to the light and I realize that I'm in the hospital. I look to my left, a machine stands there - monitoring my vitals. To my right, an IV stand with a cord filled with clear liquid attached to my arm.

Why am I here?

I hear the door to the room open and I look over to see a nurse walk in. She smiles at seeing me and she stands beside the bed.

"Gave your parents quite a scare" she tells me as she writes on the paper on the clipboard.

I nod as I look at the ceiling, "how long have a been here?"

"About a week. Your parents rushed you into the emergency room in the early hours of the morning last week. You were bleeding from your eyes and mouth and they couldn't find the source of it...nor the reason you've been unconscious for so long..."

"Were you able to?"

She frowns slightly and shakes her head, her red ponytail swaying back and forth. I hum a response and look down at my blanket.

"Could you tell me what happened before..." she trails off a little.

"I just remember waking up from a nightmare and my parents barging into my room. My mom gasped and dragged me to the bathroom. We were driving here and that's all I remember" I say.

"I see and what was this nightmare about?" She asks.

I wince at her question. I should leave out the holy water bit.

"I was killed, sword through the gut. I could feel it burning as it pierced my skin in the dream. I remember the taste of iron in my mouth after screaming in agony and then I woke up" I shrug.

She looks at me, her eyebrow cocked in confusion as she writes my story down.

"The Doctor will be in shortly" she smiles before leaving the room.

I sigh as I close my eyes as I think.

My heart thrums angrily against my ribcage and I gasp for breath. This one was much worse than the attack that happened. My lungs felt like they were being constricted and my heart was growing heavy as it pounds against my chest. My body was slowly giving into unconsciousness but before I completely black out, the doctor enters the room.

"Alisticia Woodson?" He asks and I nod, wondering why he asked my name.

"Good, you're responsive" he says and I just nod, "looking a little worse for ware. Are you eating right?"

I nod.

"Drinking water?"

I nod again.

He hums as he taps his pen against his chin. I look away from him and bite my lower lip.

"Regarding your condition, I believe that it has something to do with that nightmare you had"

Really? Had no idea.

"I can't really do anything about the nightmares but I can give you something to help you sleep more peacefully" he says.

I shake my head, "I should be fine" I say.

He nods and leaves the room after a few more questions.

I look out the window of the room and sit up in the bed, I just want to go home.

After a few hours, they eventually let me leave with my parents. They don't say a word to me as we drive down the long stretch of road to reach our home at the end of the cul-de-sac.