Blue Ribbon

Chapter 54 - A family like no other

"We're a family like no other,
We were a Greek tragedy,
A story told in hushed tones,
Woven in a tapestry of agony."

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Lilly's POV

My gaze drifted downward, flickering away from the doctor's face, anchoring onto the floor as I absorbed everything he uttered. I battled fiercely against the urge to let his words puncture the bubble of hope swelling within my chest.

A dryness settled in my throat as he carried on, "You should be really grateful, your case is one in a hundred," He said, like I was special or something, his words hinting on a notion a bit absurd; that I somehow clawed my way out of death's grasps. Did I, really? Was that not a—dream?

"I can see this is a lot to take in at once," He added, easing me back into all of this, "But on the first night you got here, with your low stats, to be honest, I thought we were going to lose you," He added, his negative words made mom's worry push back in. She tightened her arm around me, sniffling lowly as she kissed my head again. I tightened my grip over her hand, silently assuring her that all was good, I was fine and I was here. What the hell is wrong with him, aren't doctors supposed to be more positive and empathetic or something?

"The hard part is over, but we still have a long way ahead," He added, causing me to look back up at him, still in the process of digesting every word he was saying, "Recovery won't be easy," He added, "And I'll need you to be fully committed and determined during this upcoming period," I swallowed hard, the weight of his words settling heavily upon my weak shoulders, "But rest assured that with the right treatment and physiotherapy, you will be walking on your two feet even better than before."

He explained something about the bullet grazing my spine, about it hitting a vital nerve, which made me come to terms with the immense pain I've been feeling since I pried my eyes open. The difficulty in flexing my legs or even moving them the slightest bit now made sense.

Each passing moment seemed to amplify the dryness in my throat as the doctor outlined the long hard road to recovery. He said it's only temporary, a matter of time, that with good care and commitment, I can go back to my old life, but it will take time, that's all. The time that I now have. The time that almost got stolen away from me.

His many words only added stress to the people surrounding me and I couldn't be more relieved when he finally finished his medical speech and was ready to head out. Max was first to get up to his feet, picking up my chart and going through it, making the doctor pause as he tried to argue over something with him.

The doctor smiled wholeheartedly and tapped his hand over Max's shoulder, "I get that you're worried about your sister, but you don't have to, she's in safe hands," He assured, "I've been doing this since before you were born."

"Yeah, still," Max didn't give up, pointing out at something in my charts, "I think increasing the dosage of Robaxin could help and why is the Neurontin's dosage this much high, it cou-" Max carried on and the doctor gave us a help-me look before he excused himself, trying to escape which only pushed Max to follow after him, still playing doctor himself and arguing over my medications.

I forced back a smile and glanced between Mom and Dad, noticing the palpable shift in their demeanor after the doctor's speech, "God, imagine what he'll do after he graduates," I remarked lightly, gesturing towards Max's fervent discussion with the doctor over my medications.

I tried to keep my tone playful to reassure them that despite the challenges I was about to face, I could still navigate my way through.

I desperately needed to be the positive one, because it seemed that everyone around me had been to hell, back and forth, in these past days.