C.R.E.W

Chapter 5 ~ Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How?

I woke up on a hospital bed, still woozy from before. I slowly picked up my hand but I could barely bring it three inches above the bed.

I turned to my left as a voice caught my attention, "Don't move it too much, it might hurt." My jaw dropped open and it felt sore. I felt cold, I tried to back away but my arms hurt too much to even lift a finger. It was the robotic woman, the one with glassy blue eyes, ready to shatter my existence. A tear escaped my eye as I bit my lip.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no." A calming voice came running from the chair. She caressed my cheek and started shushing to keep me calm.

I blinked rapidly and noticed the woman in front of me was my own mother. I probably looked shocked, I felt my mouth hanging open. She still continued to caress my cheek and shush me like everything was okay.

"Sh, sh, honey, Eliana, it's mom. You're okay, I'm here, Dad's on his way." She pressed her lips together and nodded.

"Dad? Mom." I gasped and threw my arms around her. It hurt so much but it was so worth it.

She chuckled and struggled for breath, as she wrapped her arms around me and sniffled.

"Mom, w-what happened?" I stammered.

I knew what happened. I was there, I was the one getting crushed and pushed to the floor. I just want to know the lies they told her, or what they believed 'really' happened.

"Well," she started as she wiped the tear streaming down her face, "I got a call from the school...saying you were unconscious and they didn't know for how long. They said, when they found you, you were laying on the bathroom floor and your head was pressed against the ground. They said something about your shoulders...being really weak."

I perked up at the last sentence. I had a confused but frightened look on my face as I lifted my gaze towards her.

She cleared her throat, "do you remember anything?"

"No." I replied almost instantly.

"Oh, it would have been a miracle if you did, any information could help us understand how this happened in the first place." She sniffed and wiped a tear off her face before giving me a slight smile.

"Is there anything else...major...that happened?" I asked, taking a pause between each word.

"Uhm...I called your dad on my way there, in the car. He sounded upset and worried. He said he'd come as soon as possible. He wants to see you and make sure you're okay." She looked up at me reassuringly.

My lips were pressed together as tears were starting to form in my eyes. I nodded along to everything my mom was saying about my father. The thought of him caring so much to the point where he would stop his two week trip, nonetheless, across the country, to come and visit me, especially when I'm in need, made me feel very loved and thought of.

"Would you like me to go on?" My mom politely asked.

"Yes." I replied.

She took a deep breath in and out, "when I got there, I was immediately rushed to the nurse's office. They had said the ambulance was on it's way and nearly there. I rushed over to you and placed my hand under your head with another one on your shoulder, but they immediately stopped me. They had said how fragile your shoulders now were. I was stunned. I replaced my hands and put one on your heart. It was beating in a weird pattern, they had the sequence up on the screen as well, even there it was abnormal. It was all fine for the moment until there was a beep and the screen shut off...I...I couldn't feel your heartbeat." Mom was ready to burst into tears. Some were already streaming down her face and she was whimpering. "I thought I lost my daughter." She could barely get it all out.

I felt sympathy for her and rested my head against her shoulder. She placed her hands around me and interlocked her fingers as she let her head lay low and sob.

                                         ~~~

The nurse came in, stopped, and placed her hand on her heart in relief. She had an awed look on her face. My mom lifted her head from against mine and stroked my hair through her fingers only to tuck it behind my ears. She held tears behind her watering eyes, but she got up and headed back to the isolated green cushioned seat in the corner of the room. The nurse walked towards me with a delighted smile on her face.

"Glad to see you're up and running." She said, picking up her pen from the clipboard.

I didn't know what to say, so I gave her an awkward smile.

"I'm just going to ask you a few questions that are gradually going to dig deeper into what you remember, okay?"

I bobbed my head up and down, "Okay."

"What color are your eyes?" She asked.

"Brown, but sometimes they look grayer in different lighting. Either that or I'm color blind." I gave her an honest answer.

"Okay," she whispered. "Who is sitting in the chair over there?" She pointed her pen towards my mom.

"My mother?" I was skeptical. These all seemed like such easy questions. Little did I know, these two little questions were going to escalate.

"What can you recall from when you passed out in the girls' restroom? Are you able to recall anything? Maybe, a person, the time, something you may have seen or found? Maybe something you heard?" She asked.

I know she was just asking questions but they seemed too on point. "I don't remember anything." I forced myself to say. In reality, I was just thinking about everything that happened not too long ago. Were the people I saw really there? Did I just have a panic attack and nothing was real? Although, it wouldn't explain my shoulders. How long did it take for people to find me? The better question was, how long was I really there? How come no one cared to get me? What if...no...what if they chose to not get me?

"Thinking about something?" The nurse asked, "Maybe something you remember?"

"Hm?" I looked up to see her face perked up and her pen in hand, ready to write. "No, just...one question."

"Of course, sweetie. What do need?"

"How...by any chance...do you know how long I was in the girls' bathroom for?" I took a large gulp.

"There is no exact time, but they found you around 12:45 in the afternoon. No one knows how long you were really there. To give you a ballpark estimate, I'd have to say you were unconscious for maybe about two hours. At least one and a half." She eyed for sympathy.

My eyes widened, "when will I be able to go back home?!"

"Once we know you are fully nurtured and cared for. You may feel fine now, but your bones are still sore. You sure you don't remember anything, maybe a fall?" She was really pushing it.

"No, sorry." I shook my head.

"Don't be sorry, just try to get some rest." She advised with a reassuring smile.