After all the excitement today, I am relieved to have finally convinced Mom to go home. "Rest and let your body heal," that's what the doc has been repeating since I woke up. Three breaths into the 'relaxing' thing and I'm bored out of my mind. Four... Five... oh god I'm going to die of boredom here. Six breaths and I'm vigorously tapping my foot. Seven... Eight... I realize how sore I am and my foot stills. A knock at the door startles me. My pained grunt is taken as an invitation to come in.
"Hi," Angel says shyly.
"Angel." I say with a smile. I can't help but stare at the perfect spiral of her curls.
She combs through her hair self-consciously. "What are you looking at?" She asks nervously. After being pulled out straight, her curls spring back up into place.
"Your hair," I blush at how idiotic I must sound.
"What's wrong with it?" Angel panics running her hand over her hair as if she can straighten it out with her bare hands but the curls stubbornly bounce back every time.
"Nothing, it's perfect." I can feel the heat burning my cheeks. Am I crazy? Why am I flirting with a girl in a hospital, especially one that hit me with a car earlier today?
"Oh... I mean thank you..." She stutters and her own cheeks flush.
"Anyway," I start and clear my throat, "Um... What are you doing back here? I'm sure you have something more interesting to do besides hang out in a hospital all day."
"I just wanted to see if you were okay but it's clear you are not." Her eyes roam over the cast on my left arm. "How bad is it?"
"Three broken ribs and a broken wrist but don't worry, I really am okay."
"How can I make this up to you?" She says completely ignoring the fact that I told her not to worry about it.
"It wasn't your fau-"
"Humor me." She interrupts as she rolls her eyes at me.
"Come back." I'm taken off guard by my own answer and so is Angel.
"What? Why?" She obviously wasn't expecting my request and I suddenly regret it.
"I mean come back later so I have time to think of something." I blush a little.
"Oh, I knew that. Right, I'll come back tomorrow." She blushes as she backs away, "bye Ozzie." Angel manages a smile just before she bumps into the door. "Sorry!" She cries to me or the door, I'm not sure.
"Bye Angel," She giggles and bumps into the door again before pulling it open and exiting through it. Wow, I have never seen a girl react like that to me. I have no idea what it means but at least I have something to think about now.
A few hours later, I've given myself a head ache from intensely thinking of Angel and those perfect little ringlets.
"Ozzie, how are you?" Miss Bailey asks with a sympathetic smile. She places her hand over my forehead as if to check for a fever even though there is probably a machine hooked to me assigned that task and much more.
"Everyone has asked me that, Miss Bailey. Do I look that bad?" I huff, frustrated with the repetition but then I realize that it's not her fault, so my frown turns into a smile and I tease her, "Are my god looks gone forever? Will I have to attract girls with my personality? Tell it to me straight Miss Bailey, will the ladies not swoon at my entrance anymore?" The only 'lady' could remotely attract was Sara, the girl in a coma.
Sara! I forgot that I need to visit her. "Miss Bailey," I call her name to distract her from straightening things around my room. "How is Sara?"
"The same as when you left her, dear. I've already told you she isn't going anywhere." Miss Bailey goes back to arranging my room the way she sees fit. "You should focus on healing yourself for now."
I grumble of course because I am indeed a teenage boy and I'm not a big fan of sitting without purpose. Miss Bailey leaves me alone to go back to her desk. Out of the corner of my eye, I spot my notebook on the table next to me. I flip to the first page, the first patient I decided to write down. I remember Bonny like it was yesterday.
Bonny Marks, a crazed young woman hell bent on committing suicide, bit two nurses upon arriving at the hospital and another as they strapped her down. She was a threat. I remember the circle of nurses and doctors consulting each other about what they should do with her.
"Can I talk to her?" I asked and all eyes turned to me.
"It's too dangerous." One of the doctors said firmly. With his arms tightly crossed over his chest, he stood tall in front of me. He held himself in high authority.
"Please, sir. She can't be that dangerous. She's can't even move." I don't know what I was thinking. I had never dealt with anything like that or anyone like her. The doctor who addressed me looks around at the nurses for an excuse but they all shrug, unable to think of anything. With a heavy sigh, the doctor I now know as Dr. Clark points down the hall to her room and wishes me luck.
The door swung open silently with the slightest pull. I could hear her crying and screaming from inside the room. My heart pounded as I stepped over the threshold unnoticed.
"I just want to die." She sobbed loudly to the wall. Her face was covered with a mixture of tears and sweat. She looked incredibly vulnerable writhing in that hospital bed.
"Why do you want to die?" I asked quietly. Her entire face changed suddenly. She looked shocked that someone so young was let in her room.
"Who are you?" She panicked, "What are you doing here?"
"Your doctor let me come in because they don't know what else to do with you. You are starting to disturb your neighbors. My name is Oz." I informed her.
"Oz? What kind of name is that?" She snorted sarcastically.
"What kind of name is Bonny?" I retorted. Just because she was having a rough time didn't mean she could insult my name.
"You're going to talk to me like that when my mom just died?" She hisses.
"Well I came in here with sympathy but you chased it away when you insulted me." This was a bad idea; I don't know how to handle distressed people. I turned to leave but she stopped me.
"Wait, I'm sorry."
