Can You Handle the Heat?

Chapter 18

I fade in and out of consciousness. There were sirens, people shouting, someone was crying. I felt somebody holding my hand, I tried to squeeze back, but I couldn't feel anything. I tried to open my eyes, but I had no control over anything. I feel myself getting lifted and hear talking around me. It was hard to make out individual words. I was fine sitting there until my mind drifted to Gaege.

"Gaege..." I mumble out. It was almost a whisper, but the conversation stopped. The weight shifts in the back of the ambulance and I hear somebody calling out his name. Before too long, both him and the worker were back next to me.

"Is he okay...?" I feel a hand slip into mine.

"I'm right here, (Y/N)." He sounded upset. His grip on my hand was tight and tried to squeeze back again, to no avail. I felt myself slipping back into unconsciousness.

When I woke up again there was a constant beeping. I felt an itchy material on my skin. I cracked my eyes open slowly. Only squeeze them back slowly, it was far too bright in this room. Where was I again? I try opening my eyes again. I move my arms to rub my face. They felt so much heavier than I remember. After getting adjusted to the light I recognize my environment. I was in a hospital, but how did I get here?

I turned to my left and right in the room, there was no one here. I reach over to the button next to me and press the nurse call button. I heard an alarm down the hall. After about a minute, I heard a knock on the door.

"Miss (Y/N), is it fine if I come in?" When I tried to speak my voice was crackling.

"Y-Yeah." The door opens and in walks a beautiful girl. Her blonde hair fell to the middle of her back. Her scrubs somehow managed to flatter her figure.

"Hi, my name is Emily and I'll be taking care of you while you are here. You pressed the call button, is there something you needed?" I opened my mouth to speak again, but stopped and made the motion for something to drink. She nods and walks out of the room. She returns fairly quickly and grabs a seat next to my bed.

"How did I get here, and what happened?" Her eyes slightly widened which caused me to worry.

"Well, two days ago you were in the woods with your boyfriend, and while bathing yourself you slipped and hit your head on a rock. Emergency services got you here. We've done x-rays and have done full scans of your brain; it seems like you only have a severe concussion. You should make a full recovery in about five more days. Your ankle was broken, so you will be wearing a cast to support your ankle. That will take about six to eight weeks to heal. Do you have any other questions?" It was a lot of information to take in at one time. I could feel myself getting overwhelmed which caused a headache to spread all over my head.

I writhe in pain. I see Emily quickly get up and rush out of the room. She returned shortly after and handed me a small pill.

"This is an extra strength Tylenol. It will help with your headache. After a while, I will let your friends know that you've woken up. They told me to call them as they dragged your boyfriend out so he could sleep. I think the one that gave me his number was called Grant. They stayed here long, but your boyfriend was here for a ridiculous amount of time. He refused to leave until you woke up again." Hearing that caused a pit to form in my stomach. Gaege wasn't taking care of himself because of me. He can't do that. I looked at Emily,

"Do you think I can have my phone?" She looks sad and shakes her head no.

"Sadly, due to your concussion we would prefer it if you didn't interact with your phone. I am so sorry, but if you want, I can make whatever phone calls you may have wanted to make?" I nod and proceed to tell her my parents' phone numbers, so that they can know that I am okay.

"I'd like to contact everyone else too, I'm worried about Gaege." She nods at me and pulls out her phone. She makes the phone calls when she finishes, she comes back into the room.

"Your friends are on the way." I nod and rest my head back. I practice moving my arms again. I try moving my legs too. Emily walked out of the room to fetch me something to eat. My room door opens quickly and before I can even react to whoever opened it, I'm engulfed in a tight hug. I feel a wet patch on my shoulder as his face is planted there.

"I-I'M SO SORRY!" He wails out. I rub my hand against the back of his head and comfort him. I continue shushing him as the others walk into the room. They all approach me and proceed to bombard me with support. I shush everyone and clutch my head at the force I used to quiet everyone. The room grew silent. You could hear a pin drop. Gaege pulled away from me and held my face. He planted a feather-light kiss on my forehead and stepped away from me.

Everyone stayed quiet, only whispers passed around. I smiled and explained everything that I knew. I could see Gaege visibly relax. He kept my left hand in his hand. Eventually there was a knock on the door. Emily announced her arrival back into the room.

"I've brought you a sandwich, some fruit, and some trail mix. Is that okay? You don't have any allergies, do you?" I nodded and took the tray. I didn't realize how hungry I was until I had food in front of me. I began scarfing it down. I took the water that she gave me and drank a full glass. I passed Gaege anything I didn't want off of my plate. It was then I remembered that he hadn't been eating well while I was here.

"I've been told that you haven't been taking care of yourself, while I've been here?" I question him and quirk my eyebrows. He bows his head on to the bed and mumbles to the ground. I noticed that the whole room had small smirks on their faces.

"I didn't hear you well, what did you say?" I say out loud. He picks his head up and I see where tears welled up in his eyes again.

"I- I was- I was worried about you, okay? I mean all I could think about was that you wouldn't be here if I had been faster, or maybe if I hadn't disturbed you. I just- I feel so guilty (Y/N)." It was such a heartfelt statement and had me tearing up along side of him. I reach my hand out to his face and caress his cheek.

"It's okay, Gaege. It's not your fault. I promise." He rests his head against my hand and closes his eyes gently. Tears flow down his face and I wipe them away with a gentle thumb.

My nurse returns to the room.

"I'm sorry for interrupting this, but we have a time frame for how long our patient here has to stay. Good news is that you should be able to leave by tomorrow, but that all depends on what we monitor. If anything pops up or happens between now and then, we'll have to keep you longer." I nod and do my best to absorb the information. I was excited, I could possibly get to go hom-well... it wasn't really my home, but to Grant's house. She gives me a sweet smile then looks around the room. Her eyes land on Grant and she motions for him to follow her out into the hall.

Everyone relaxed and took a seat somewhere. I had a feeling it was going to be a long day, so I prepared for almost anything that could happen. I squeezed Gaege's hand and smiled at him. I knew, at least, that he would stay until I could leave and that eased my mind.