Shadowsnow

Chapter 2: Aftermath

"Mm..." I groaned as I opened my eyes.

I was laying on something soft and cozy but something still felt off. The air smelled too crisp and clean and my senses were on high alert. I looked around and saw a lot of white, blurry shapes. As the shapes turned into sharp figures, I saw I was in a hospital room. I was laying on a clean, white hospital bed and I was covered in multiple blankets. Small tubes were coming out of my arms and a huge monitor was sitting next to my bed. Which hospital am I in? I turned my head in the other direction to look around the room a little more and saw my dad dozing in a chair next to my bed. His head was dropped down onto his chest and he looked as though he hadn't slept a wink since the shooting, even though he'd changed his clothes.

"Dad?" I whispered. "Daddy?"

When he didn't wake up, I tried to sit up on my own. Which was a HUGE mistake. I groaned as I realized how stiff my joints were, making my dad shoot up in his chair. The instant he saw me, he broke out in a gigantic, relieved smile.

"Allie. Allie, you're awake." My dad got up and came to sit next to me as a nurse walked in. The nurse saw me sitting up and his eyes widened.

"Oh, my God. Oh, my God!" The nurse turned and ran out, calling for a doctor. I stared at my dad, one eyebrow raised.

"What...was that about?" An odd look crossed my dad's face before he spoke.

"You've been out for four days, Allie. Dr. Abbasi said if you were unconscious any longer, she was going to have to put you into a medically induced coma."

I heard footsteps coming from down the hall and looked toward the door. The nurse from before and Dr. Deeba Abbasi, a close family friend, ran in, eyes wide. Dr. Abbasi came to my other side and checked my vitals.

"This cannot be possible. Your vitals should not be as stable as they are, considering how long you have been out, Miss Price."  I turned to face my dad, feeling my heart sink.

"So...does that mean that...everything that happened...?  That...what I saw in that body bag...?  That was real?  It wasn't some...horrible nightmare?"

When my dad didn't answer, I turned to Dr. Abbasi.  She gave me a solemn look and nodded slowly.  My heart started to race and I could feel an increasing pain in my head.  Oh, my God.  Oh, my God!  My mom's really gone.  My mom was really killed in a school shooting.

"Allie, look at me."  I shook my head, ignoring Dr. Abbasi.

"I...can't," I whispered.  "I can't."

"Allison Price, look at me right now."  I turned to look at Dr. Abbasi, who gave me a gentle look.

"It hurts now, Allie.  I know.  It feels like you are being ripped from the inside out.  I will not tell you it gets better.  It does not ever get better.  But I will tell you that time helps you to learn how to deal with it.  How to move past it and not let..."  Dr. Abbasi took a shaky breath.  "And not let it break you."

As I listened to Dr. Abbasi's words, silent tears slipped down my cheeks.  The more I cried, the worse the pain in my head became.  I wanted to scream or throw something, but all I had the energy for was to silently sob as I felt wave after wave of pain at the realization that my mom was dead.  And I'll never see her ever again.  I felt arms wrap around me from behind and leaned back into my dad, letting him comfort me.  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my dad mouth a "thank you" to Dr. Abbasi.  I let out a shuddering breath and hugged my dad back as I sobbed against his chest.  At some point, Dr. Abbasi walked out, because when I pulled my head away from my dad's chest, it was just the two of us in the room.  My dad gently brushed away a few stray tears and took a shaky breath.

"It'll be okay, Allie.  Somehow."

I heard three more sets of footsteps come running in and turned my head toward the door.  Carter, Ronnie and Xander stood in the doorway.  I smiled lightly at them and then remembered that Xander had had a music gig at Aidan's.  And I missed it!

"I...guess I missed your gig, huh?" I asked, my voice raspy from crying.  Xander had dark circles under his eyes and he looked a little pale.  Despite his outward appearance, he smiled slightly.

"We both did.  The last week has been a little chaotic, Allie," Xander answered.

I looked at Carter and Ronnie.  As they walked closer, I saw they both had dark circles under their eyes and their eyes looked a little puffy.  What else did I miss?  My dad stood up and started for the door.

"I'll go get you something to eat, Allie.  You must be starving," my dad said.  I nodded and reached out to hug my friends as they sat around me on the bed.

"I'm so glad to see you awake, Allie."  I looked at Ronnie and nodded slowly.

"I don't know if I'm happy to be awake yet," I said solemnly.  "As far as I know right now, my mom is dead."

"And Franklin."  I stared at Carter.

"What?"

Ronnie elbowed Carter and flashed him a look.  Oh, my God.  Who else is...?  Who else died because of the shooting?  Ronnie shook her head and sighed.

"Yes.  A bunch of people died and there are several funerals in the next few weeks.  You missed Spencer's because of your...because you were unconscious."  I nodded again and slumped back against my pillows.  "You don't have to go to any of them if you're not feeling up to it, Allie."  I shook my head as I responded.

"I do.  They deserve to have all of their classmates there to memorialize them.  I just...need a little time to...process all of this."