Survivin' - [B.C.]

Chapter 28: Coward

"Hang on, Cal." I said, glancing in the rear view mirror. "Hang on."

========= SURVIVIN' =========

I woke up in the hospital.

Again.

The same fluorescent lights crackled above me. The same smell of anesthetics and rubbing alcohol burned what was available of the inside of my nose. The same stale-looking walls enclosed the space around me. The same paper-thin sheet laid over me. The same IV catheter was stuck into my arm.

I groaned and winced when I found that the slightest movement of my tongue made it feel like it was on fire and inside of a hydraulic press.

My brows furrowed as I tried to remember why I was in there. Everything came flooding back into my brain once I looked at my right hand. A gauze bandage was wrapped around my knuckles with a bit of blood seeping through it.

Ben had said some shit. Real shit. Fucking shit. And I had punched him.

Holy fuck...

I punched Benedict Cumberbatch...

Twice.

I didn't feel bad or any regret for what I did. The only thing I felt was anger and mild hatred that formed in the ache down in the pit of my stomach. It made me want to cry again as I thought about what Ben had said.

What time is it? What day is it?

I felt all around the hospital bed that I was in but I didn't find my phone. I also didn't see it lying around anywhere when I scanned the room. I huffed through my nose and settled for the call button instead. In a few seconds, a nurse walked in.

"Hey, Miss Cumberbatch," he said. "How are you feeling?"

I instinctually didn't try to talk. Something in the back of my mind told me not to. A few moments after I had, a look of realization passed over the nurse's face.

"Oh, right. You can't talk."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Well, you can, but the doctors advise you not to. It'd probably hurt like hell, too."

I raised my other eyebrow.

"Oh. Do you not remember?" The nurse asked. I shook my head.

"Oh. Well, you bit halfway through your tongue  during a fall you had and the surgeons had to sew it back together. You were bleeding like the river Jordan," he released some nervous laughter. "It was quite a site. You got stitches and you have to eat soft foods for about two weeks to let the majority of your tongue heal. You also gotta try to avoid talking too much."

I nodded to show him I understood. Then I used my finger to point at the clipboard in his hand. He glanced down at it, then back up at me, then took off some papers before handing it to me. Only a blank sheet was left.

I used the pen attached to the top to scribble out, 'what day and time is it? And where's my parents?'

I handed the clipboard back to the nurse and he read it.