Story of Us

Chapter 18 Sawyer

Sawyer

Everything hurts. My head is throbbing, my eyes feel swollen, my throat burns, my tongue feels to heavy to move. It feels like it takes all my strength to breath, and my arms don't seem to want to cooperate with me. I can feel something squeezing and releasing my legs and with each release even my toes hurt. As I fight to open my eyes, I can hear noise, but I can't quite grasp what the sounds mean. After a few seconds I am able to register that my brother is in front of me, although his name is, which is just on the tip of my tongue, isn't coming to me.

He's crying, my brother. I try to lift my hand, and it takes so much effort to lift it to his face. I wipe away a tear, and try to ask him what's wrong, but the fire in my throat roars as I swallow and try to remember how to form the words.

Brady, that's his name. Why couldn't I remember that. I can hear Brady talking, but I can't understand what he is saying. The words don't make sense. There is activity around the room, strangers coming toward me also speaking in words I don't understand. I look around the room, trying to figure out what is going on. I can't place the word for what this place is. As I scan the room again, I realize that Brady and two other people who look familiar, I just can't place how I know them, as walking out of the room. There is a light being pointed directly into my eye, and the beam seems to reignite the throbbing in my head, and before I can process what is happening I start retching from the pain. I can feel a light sweat start to spread across my body. I start to cry, tears streaming down my face. This pain is too much, what is happening? I can hear the chaotic movements happening in the room, but they don't make sense. I close my eyes again, it helps with the pain. Suddenly I feel a warm heaviness start to set in and as it coats down my body I can feel it chase away the pain. I allow the sleep to over take me, I welcome it.

~~~

I hear the words. Words being said in loud whispers. I can't understand the words, but I can recognize Brady's sound. My name. The words he is saying are my name. Sawyer. I swallow and feel the burn in my throat. I try to move my tongue but it feels like a dry sponge, stiff and hardened. 'Wa" I manage to croak. "Wa.....Wa". I try to ask for water, but just the effort of forming the word has my whole body shaking. I'm getting upset. I open my eyes as my body starts to shudder.

"Sawyer." Brady says sweetly. "Are you ok? Are you in pain?" He asks me, and I feel the tears start to well up in my eyes again. "I'll get the nurse" he says and gets up.

I look over to the person on the other side of the bed, he brings my palm up to his lips and kisses it softly before whispering my name. It is such an odd thing to do, and yet comforting. He is familiar, but his name isn't coming to me. I know him, he is Brady's friend.

The nurse comes in saying something. I can't register her words until a few moments after she is done saying them. She is telling Brady not to overwhelm me. She sticks a pink sponge thing in a cup and lops it into my mouth. The moisture of it is like heaven and I clamp my mouth down and suck, swallowing the liquid and grimacing from the pain in my throat. I open my mouth so she can remove the sponge, and wait for her to moisten it and give it back. She does and I moan at the relief it brings to my tongue. She uses it a third time, this time rubbing it around my mouth, and I gag a little.

"There" she says lovingly.

"There" I mimic back to her. Brady smiles and the hand holding mine on the other side squeezes slightly. I want to ask what is going on, but the words don't seem to want to form, like they are trapped.

"Are you in pain honey?" The nurse asks me, and I make the smallest possible nod to say yes. My eyes follow her as she presses something on a box with a pole, and instantly I can feel that warm heavy feeling seeping into my arm. I feel the pressure in my head start to subside, and I try again to form a word. I can't think of any until I start to feel my eyes getting heavy, I close them and whisper the one word that makes sense to me.