His Little Heart

Here

^

I opened my eyelids to the sound of quiet beeping  and a dark blurry ceiling. Something heavy tugged at my bones, a safe and cozy sensation, ushering gently for me to close my eyes again and go back to sleep. I almost did, but another beep quietly came, pricking my tire curiosity.

Waiting again for the beep, I listened to it's rhythmic pattern sounding every few seconds. I looked up at the ceiling, my vision clearing the longer I focused. When I could make out it's color, a white that appeared grey under the absence of light, I slowly traced my eyes down to where the beeping sound was coming from.

It came from a brightly light monitor that was decorated with different readings. I squinted at the display for a moment, noticing the small wires that were hooked to it. I followed them, and - noticing the hospital bed I was in - saw they were somehow attached to me. It was then I felt the small electrodes and pressure cuff, along with the oximeter, hooked to me.

A louder beep rang out from the monitor as my heart began to race. The sound of footsteps approached quietly, and glancing to the curtain that had been placed next to the bed, saw the shadowy silhouette of a tall figure appear behind it before it was pulled back.

"Good morning," the somewhat familiar face of Dr. Cumberbatch greeted kindly. I didn't return the greeting, glancing worryingly at the heart monitor.

"You're alright, Luna," he said.

"You don't know that!"

The snap in my voice surprised me. I hadn't expected that, and as a result, my heart picked up again and the monitor beeped again. Dr. Cumberbatch looked at the monitor, his gaze softening. A stethoscope glistened around his neck.

"I bet waking up in the emergency room isn't exactly the best of ways to stay the morning off," he told me.

Emergency room?! What was I doing in the emergency room?!

I looked around the rest of the room I was in, spotting the medical equipment and, inhaling, catching the scent of disinfect. It wasn't big, yet it was familiar, as if I'd been here before recently. Too recently....

"This is the room I was brought to the night I came in, isn't it?" I quietly said. Dr. Cumberbatch gave me a small nod.

"It was," he said.

A trickle of fear slipped down my throat. Something scratched my mind, a blurry and fuzzy memory surfacing.

A doctor in a white coat came running forward, his voice slow and distorted as he spoke to the two men, the paramedics, wheeling the stretcher underneath me. "Bring her here," he said sharply.

The stretcher moved. It turned a corner, then took a left. I didn't feel that though, too far gone in my mind and tears. Bright lights flashed down on me. A door opened. I was wheeled forward.

Someone asked my name. A hand, kind and gentle, yet firm, felt my forehead, hot and dizzy. The man in the white coat listened to my heart, he flashed a small light in my eyes to see if I was there in that room with them. I wasn't and was at the same time. Physically, I laid on the stretcher, but within, I was adrift and lost.

I couldn't speak, couldn't move. I could do nothing but let my mind tear me apart. The world spun around me in chaos, the colorful scrubs of nurses and the white of the man's coat running around to care for me. Again, I was asked my name. Again, I could not respond.

The world tried to bring me back. My mind held me hostage though. It covered my ears, covered my mouth. It suffocated me with pain. It hugged me viciously, promising to never let me go. It told me more pain was on it's way and that there was no point bracing myself. It would find me when I least expected it.