Mia Amata

Hospital

Amadea (Diya) Isabella Armani

“Some people don't like you just because your strength reminds them of their weakness”

I wake up to the steady sound of beeping and the smell of cleaning products and antibiotics.

I slowly open my eyes and quickly close them back as the brightness of the room makes my  head hurt.

I look around as I notice the IV attached to my arm and the pulse oximeter on my finger.

I'm in a hospital.

The curtains open as a nurse walks in and notices that I'm awake.

"Good, you're awake", she says before grabbing a notepad from the foot of my bed before writing things down on it.

She doesn't say anything to me or even offer a smile.

"Do you want anything to eat?", the nurse asks me.

"N-no thanks", I croak, my voice scratchy and my throat hurting.

"Suit yourself", she mutters before opening the curtains and walking out again before I can ask her for some water.
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The next time I wake up, I feel like I got run over by a truck.

Everything hurts and my mouth feels so dry.

I see the cup of water on the table next to the bed but I can't reach it without getting up and I'm in too much pain to even attempt that so I press down on the little phone button on the side of my bed.

A few minutes later, a different nurse walks on and she offers me a kind smile.

"Hello, how are you feeling?", she asks me.

"Tired", I croak out, my throat dry.

"Would you like some water?", she asks me to which I nod lightly.

She grabs the cup from the table and pours water into it from the jug before putting a straw in it and helping me sit up enough to drink it.

The water feels so nice sliding down my dry throat and I drink the whole cup.

"Want more?", the nurse asks me to which I delicately shake my head.

She asks if there's anything else I want before telling me to get some more rest and leaves.
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I wake up the next day and the pain feels like it's doubled instead of getting better.

It hurts to even breathe and I press the call a nurse button again.

I hear other voices to my left and I realise I must be sharing a room with a few other people.

A few minutes later, the curtains open again, before the nurse that I first met once I woke up walks in.

"What do you want?", she asks, her voice annoyed.

"My head and stomach hurts a lot", I tell her.

"Well, there's nothing I can do about that is there?", she asks in an exasperated voice.

"Can you give me some medicine to help?", I ask quietly.

"Yeah, I'll just hand them out like candy so you can overdose like your mother. Like mother, like daughter huh?", she asks in a menacing voice that scares me.

Tears form in my eyes and I do my best not to cry in front of her.

I don't say anything and she leaves with a frustrated sigh after telling me not to disturb her or the other nurses.

I let the tears finally roll down my cheeks as the curtains close.

Later that day, I give a statement to the police before Mrs Alderman walks in and introduces herself as my case worker.

She tells me that she's managed to contact my real father who wants a paternity test but I'm in too much pain to care.

I just want the darkness to engulf me again.

I agree to a mouth swab and shortly after, a doctor comes in and takes the swab before Mrs Alderman leaves, saying that she'll keep in touch.

It's 5:00 pm now and I still haven't managed to fall asleep since Mrs Alderman left.

The pain is too much to ignore and I just can't relax.

The earlier encounter with the nurse keeps playing in my head and every time I close my eyes, I see Kyle with that murderous look in his eyes.

The pain has been getting worser throughout the day but I'm too scared to call the nurse again.

I keep taking shallow breaths as I try to concentrate on falling asleep. 
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5th chapter of the book!

This is the shortest chapter I've ever written but I need this to be kind of a filler chapter so that some of Diya's reactions in the next chapter make sense.

Diya and Sandro finally meet in the next chapter and I can't wait for you guys to read it.

As always, any constructive criticism and plot ideas/suggestions are always welcome.
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