On The Edge

Chapter 33

Parker's POV

I open my eyes groggily and I barely can see. I can't tell what I'm seeing, but everything is tinted gray and I know I'm awake. A kind voice says, "We're gonna take you back to your parents, okay?"

I think I just hum in response and I feel the bed start to roll down a hallway. I don't try to move since I'm exhausted. I just want to sleep. Maybe it's all a dream.

The bed stops rolling and is locked into a wall. I keep my eyes closed, trying to find comfort in the warm sheets. I hear whispers as I shiver profusely. I can't seem to stop.

"Is she asleep?" Zayn quietly asks the nurse.

"No, but she might feel tired from the drugs, is all. Parker, is there anything you need?" she asks me after answering Zayn's question.

"Cold," I mumble, trying to stop shivering since it is tiring me out.

"I'll get you another warm blanket, but it's probably just the anesthesia wearing off," she tells me, though I can't see her or anybody. "And they lowered your heart rate super low, so it's normal to feel cold afterwords."

I think she leaves, but I still feel too tired to open my eyes. My body shivers nonstop. I turn my head slowly to the side and my eyes squint open. I can make out three dark shadows sitting in chairs, and two leaning against the white walls.

One of the shadows leaning against the wall walks over to me and I feel a warm, soft hand brush against my cheek. I faintly see blue eyes and tan skin, and my eyes close again.

"Hey, baby girl," Louis whispers. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired... cold," I mumble, letting my head rest on his hand.

"You're so brave," he says quietly, making me smile softly.

I shake my head. "No."

"Yes," he counters, brushing my hair out of my face. "You'll get to be out of here in a bit. They want to let you rest for a little longer."

I nod, and I loll my head to the other side, my shivering decreasing by the minute. I don't realize I have dozed off until I hear the nurse walk back into the room.

"Alright, you lads are free to go," she says cheerily. "I'll go get a wheel chair, so we can wheel her out to your car."

"Thank you," Louis says.

She walks out of the room and I fully open my eyes, still drowsy. Louis walks next to me and bends down to my eye level.

"Do you want help getting dressed or..."

"I've got it," I mumble, shooing them out.

The boys walk out of the room and I sit up slowly, pushing the sheets off me. I examine my right leg in a huge black brace that goes from my ankle, all the way up to my upper thigh. Underneath the brace, my leg is wrapped in a tan ace-bandage. I poke the visible skin on my upper leg and can't feel it. My leg just bounces and sways like water in a cup.

I grab my clothes off the stool next to me and grunt as I sit up. I struggle to take the gown off, leaving me in my underwear with a robotic-looking leg. I put on my bra and tiredly pull on my black t-shirt, already tired. I bend down to put my shorts over my feet since I can't straighten it, and I feel a faded, sharp pain on the back of my leg, like something was missing. I try to pull my shorts on, but I can't lift my leg; I'm too weak and tired. What am I going to do? And I have to pee. Great.

"Parker?" Louis calls through the curtain; I see his shadow behind the pond-scene fabric. "You doing okay?"

"Uh..." I hesitate, looking at my underwear. "Kind of..."