But Why Not

Chapter Twenty-Three

The headlights came out of no where. I was rooted in place in the middle of the road. I couldn't move. Not matter how hard I tried to command my feet to move, they wouldn't budge. The headlights came closer and closer and closer. I screamed.

I woke up gasping for air and screaming. "Hey. Hey, hey. Hey. A soothing voice beside me tried to calm me. "Sh. You're okay. You're okay." Arms wrapped around me and held me. "You're okay."

I took a deep breath through my nose and opened my eyes. I was nestled into Ryder's chest.

"Ryder?" I gasped.

He looked down at me. "I don't have much time before nurses and your parents come in." he said quickly. "I'm so sorry." he whispered holding me to him so tightly it hurt my battered body. I whimpered loudly. Ryder released me quickly. He cupped my cheek gently, "God. I'm so sorry, Erin."

Suddenly the door to my room opened and a nurse rushed in followed by my mom and then my dad.

My dad went from concerned to furious in a matter of seconds. "What the hell are doing here?" he demanded at Ryder. "Get away from my daughter."

Ryder stood up slowly from my side and held his hands up. "I just needed to see how she was doing." he said calmly.

"I don't care what you needed." my dad spat. "I told you never to come here and to never go near Erin. Again. Do I need to get a restraining order against you, Daniels?"

My mom sat down beside me and pulled me into her arms.

Ryder shook his head. "No sir. That won't be necessary."

"Get out." my dad said lowly.

Ryder dropped his hands and his head and slipped from the room. My dad followed a few seconds behind him probably to make sure he actually left.

"What happened, baby?" my mom cooed gently.

"I had a nightmare." I said quietly.

"It's quite normal." the nurse piped in. "It's a part of the PTSD. She went through a very traumatic experience, this is going to happen. You may even find it hard to get into a car for weeks, even months, after you get out of the hospital."

I looked up at her with teary eyes and asked, "What's wrong with me?"

The nurse sat down at my feet. "Well let's start externally. You have fourteen stitches in your forehead, twenty-seven staples in your skull, thirty stitches in your hand, and sixteen staples in your back. Bone wise, you broke your right hip, shattered your right knee, and right ankle. You have had reconstructive surgery for all three. You broke four ribs on the right and two on the left. Your inner workings, you lost a lot of blood. We're still giving you transfusions. You had a lot of internal bleeding, which most of that has been patched up but your organs are still healing. And you suffered some extensive brain damage. You probably haven't noticed, but your deaf out of your right ear." I looked at her confused. She stood up and snap her fingers beside my right ear. I heard nothing. "You're speech is actually very good. We thought you may not be able to speak or speak well when you woke up but you seem fine. Your fine motor skills though, may be the toughest thing. You may find it hard to do simple things like write or pick up an object. The part of your brain in charge of that stuff, was severely damaged. Also due to the reconstructive surgery on your leg and also this damage, now I'm going to be blunt with you because your old enough to hear this, the damage done means you will have to learn to walk all over again. And after that, I heard you play soccer, you will slowly gain back the ability, and strength, to kick a soccer ball. But you must be patient. It's going to take awhile for that ability to come back. Finally, your memory. Your long-term memory seems to be fine. You remember you mom, your dad, things like that. But we'll test that and your short term memory as you heal."

I just sat there stunned. So much had happened, in the span of.... I realized quickly, I had no idea how long I had been in the hospital. I wracked my brain for minutes trying to remember what happened leading up to this. I must have been silent for minutes because my mom gently touched my arm and said, concern lacing her voice, "Say something, honey."

I looked up at her. "How long have I been here?"

"Two weeks, baby." my mom said brushing hair off my face. "To help you heal, the doctors put you in a medically induced coma. You were on life support for days." she told me, her voice cracking. "I'm sorry." she mumbled turning away.

Two weeks. I had been in a coma, not functioning for myself for two weeks.

"I-I need to process this. Can I please be alone?"

"Of course, honey. Of course." my mom said wiping her eyes. She kissed my head. "Your dad and I will be in the family room."

The nurses stood up and handed me a remote. She pointed at a red button. "Press this if you need anything. If you can't press the button, holler."

I nodded suddenly very worn down by the idea that I may not be able to even press a button.

When everyone had left the room and I was alone, I cried. I cried hard, hiccuping, miserable sobs that caused my entire body to shake and wrack painfully. But I didn't care. The physical pain I felt, was nothing compared to the emotional and inner pain going on inside me.