Aella

XL

Where am I? I can't see. There are lights above me. Open your eyes, Stupid. 

But the light hurts.

I slowly open my eyes, blinking to adjust to the terrible florescent light above me. I open one eye fully, then the other. I must be in a hospital, because I can hear the heart monitor beeping next to me.

I'm too weak to move, so I use all of my power to move one finger. Over my right hand, I feel another hand. I move it again to get the person's attention. No response.

I use every piece of strength in me to lift my head. Next to me, Aella is slumped forward, her head laying next to my hip on the bed. I move my hand again under hers. "Aella", I whisper. "Aella, wake up."

Aella startles awake. She looks straight up at me, as if in disbelief. "Penelope?"

"Hi", I whisper. My throat is extremely dry.

Before saying anything else, Aella starts to cry. This emotion from her is new to me, I don't know what to do. Tears fall down her face, and she wipes them away with her sleeve.

"Aella", I hold up my hand to her face, getting a little bit more strength back. "Why are you crying?"

She starts laughing, clearly in anxiety. "You were dead", she laughs. "Your heart stopped for over a minute, Penelope. I watched you die. They didn't know if you were going to wake up."

I don't know how to respond. How am I supposed to respond to someone telling me that I was dead?

"But I'm here again. I'm okay", I try to reassure her, like it'll actually help.

"I'm so sorry", she whispers. Aella takes my hand into her, kissing my knuckle. "This is all my fault."

"No, no", I try to sit up, but my muscles fail me. "You did not do this. That other person did this to the both of us."

"No", Aella barks. It sort of takes me aback, but I understand this is stressful on the both of us. "I was going too fast. I was being irresponsible."

I stay silent after that. I stare down at the woven blanket covering me from stomach down. I'm not in pain, but I can feel that my surgery incision is just above my belly button. Aella sits there, staring down at my hand, running her finger over the veins and muscle tendons that stick out on the back.

A few moments later, a doctor in teal scrubs and his white coat walks in, a nurse trailing behind him. He smiles when he notices that I am awake. "Miss. Costa, I'm Dr. Andreas, I was your surgeon. This is your nurse."

The nurse walks around to my left and starts looking over the monitors and IVs on the stand. She presses a few buttons, squeezes an IV bag.

"Your surgery went very well. We repaired a few minor bleeds in your abdomen, but other than that, you seem to be in good shape."

"What happened earlier?" I dread to ask. Aella stares up at me, a look in her eye like I should not have asked. "She said that I-"

"We believe you had a reaction to the anesthesia, but we don't believe it will happen again. Your heart-"

Aella gets up and pretty much storms out of the room. Her shoes clack down the hallway until we can't hear them anymore. I can't help but want to cry. I don't want her to feel like this is your fault, because it wasn't all her fault. Even if she was speeding, that car was in our lane, it's on them, not her. 

Andreas starts again. "Your heart and lungs sound good. You are very lucky."

"What happened to Aella? How bad was she hurt?"

Andreas looks over at the nurse. She smiles. "Your partner wasn't hurt too bad. Her left ankle is fractured, but other than that, just a couple cuts and bruises. Unfortunately, your side of the car was the one that was hit, so you took most of the injuries."

Now I realize why Aella is so mad at herself. She must have turned the wheel to turn the car so that I was hit instead of her. But that still isn't her fault. It was an instinct, not something she did on purpose. 

"Well", Andreas speaks again. "We will let you get some rest. Sleep well, Miss Costa."

"Sir", I start before he walks out. "If you see Aella, can you tell her to please come back."

He nods his head and walks out of the room, leaving me alone with my thoughts.