SKYFALL, Johnny Kavanagh

High as a kite

Johnny's Point of View

There were lights.

Too many.

One of them was flickering and it was offensive.
I tried to tell someone that – tried to explain how the ceiling was mocking me – but my mouth didn't seem to know what shape words were meant to be.

"Johnny?"

That was a voice I knew.
My Da's.
Low and tired and already worn out.

I cracked one eye open.
Then the other.
The world came in sideways – white walls, blurry shapes, wires, the faint antiseptic tang of hospital.

"Hey." I croaked, blinking up at him.

"Jesus, thank Christ." My Da leaned forward, pressing a hand to my forehead like he needed to be sure I was real. "You scared the shit out of us."

"I'm alive." I slurred. "Told you. Bulletproof."

He let out a shaky breath, then glanced to the side. "He's awake." He said to someone behind him.

And then the door opened again.

"Ma?"

She didn't answer straight away.

She stepped into the room, pale as hell, hair scraped into a messy knot, her coat half-on like she hadn't even taken the time to dress properly before running here.

I tried to smile. "Hi, Ma."

That was all it took.

Her eyes filled instantly.
She walked over like she wasn't sure whether to hug me or throttle me.
Settled for folding her arms across her chest and glaring.

"You little bollocks." She said, voice cracking.

I blinked. "Rude."

"You could've died, Johnny." Her voice was quiet now, but shaking. "You didn't tell us. You hid it. From everyone. From me."

I frowned.
Tried to sit up.
That was a mistake.

My whole body felt like mashed potato.
Someone had replaced my legs with concrete and my brain with soup.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled.

"You will be sorry when you're not high as a bloody kite." Ma muttered, dragging the chair closer to the bed.

My Da gave me a look. "You remember anything from the last few hours?"

I shook my head. "Only Sunshine."

Both of them froze.

Ma frowned. "What?"

"I need Sunshine." I said again, trying to wave a hand but forgetting which one was attached. "Where's my Sunshine?"

My Da blinked. "The weather?"

"No!" I groaned. "Not the sky one. My sunshine."

Ma looked at Da like he was supposed to be able to translate.

"I think the painkillers are making him loopy." My Da said gently.

I rolled my head toward them with exaggerated effort. "She's not a hallucination. She's real. And I love her."

My Ma looked like she was going to cry all over again. "You what now?"

"She loves me too." I closed my eyes. "It's mutual. Big-time."

"Jesus Christ." My Da muttered. "He's in love."

"With a weather condition." Ma whispered.

"No." I said, insulted. "With the girl."