The Sinner

54

My brain wakes up first.

It's almost as if a switch is flipped back on, and I can suddenly hear my own thoughts again. It's strange how it happens so abruptly - you're entirely unconscious until one day, your body decides it's time to wake up.

Next, I try to move my other body parts. To ensure that they are still functional. Which, thank god, they are. I'm not sure why I was sleeping for so long. Actually, I have no recollection of what happened really, at all.

"Corrine?"

I start to hear more things after this person says my name. I hear some monotone beeping, then I feel the warmness of someone's hand on my wrist.

"Corrine baby can you hear me?" Rafe.

It takes literally all of my strength to open my eyes. But when I do I immediately notice I'm somewhere I've never seen before.

Ugly white tiled ceiling, fluorescent lights, blue walls.

Where the fuck am I?

What the hell happened?

It takes a second for my eyes to adjust to the strong sunlight streaming into the room. But Rafe appears unexpectedly in my vision, standing above me. I feel him tucking part of my hair behind my ear.

"Hey pretty girl," He says, a smile lighting up his face. I groan, letting him know I can hear him. I just feel like everything weighs a thousand pounds, and it's difficult for me to speak, move my legs, or even keep my eyes open. "Let me grab the nurse."

Nurse?

I'm in the hospital?

He leaves my vision a couple of seconds later. I slowly bring my hand up to wipe the crust out of my eyes. I probably looked like absolute garbage.

"Corrine?" It was a new voice this time. An older woman with light short hair entered. Her cheek bones were pronounced, and her eyes squinted as she smiled. She seems really nice, friendly too. "I'm Pattie, I'm going to be your nurse for a while."

My lips part as I try to speak, she easily recognizes that I'm struggling. She immediately turns, holding a cup of water. She presses the button on the side of my bed, and it gradually rises. I reach for the cup, but she puts the straw to my lips instead. The cool water soothes my dry throat, it was the first thing I've had a while. It felt good.

"Why isn't she talking?" Rafe asks the nurse. I hope he's been nice to her, I like her a lot.

"It just takes a second, she hasn't used her vocal cords in a couple of days now," Pattie explains. I lick my lips and take a big breath in. I feel something weird and unnatural on my finger. It bothered my skin as I brushed them together, it was hard, and the texture felt weird.

I look down to see a twisty tie was wrapped around it. Like a ring.

"What is this?" I ask, my voice was hoarse and sounded extremely fragile. Not how it normally sounds at all.

"It's, a long story," Rafe says hesitantly. "I was, um, bored yesterday."

"He told everyone around here you two were engaged," Pattie says with a smile, like she thought it was adorable.

"Why?" To look in Rafe's eyes again felt so good, I'm sure everyone knows by now that's my favorite feature about him.

"That's the only way I was allowed in," Rafe says, his cheeks turning a light shade of pink. I feel the corners of my lips turn up, I've never seen him blush before.

"So you gave me this ring?" I ask with a full smile.

"Don't make fun of it," I hear him mumble. I grin at him. "...I like it."