Take Me Away

Chapter 5 - Dazed and Confused

Chapter 5 - Dazed and Confused

Beep. Beep. Beep.

I didn't open my eyes. I wanted to sleep some more.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

What is that sound? Annoyed, I got up and tried to look for my phone. I couldn't get up. I opened my eyes and the light was blinding.

"Vera?" I heard a woman call my name. It was quiet at first.

"Vera, honey? Oh my goodness, Michael! She's waking up!" It was my mom. I was confused. "Mom? What ha-" I was cut off by my brother.

"Vera? Hey, there little sis. How are you feeling? Are you hungry? Uh, thirsty? Are you thirsty?"

"No, I'm fine. Where am I?" I sat up a bit. "Ouch."

I looked around. I was in a hospital room. Then I remembered: driving too fast, seeing a bright light, hitting something really hard, then the nothingness that followed it all.  

"Honey, you got into an accident. The man said that you almost collided with his pick-up truck, but you swerved and hit a tree instead." My mom explained calmly.

"What the hell were you thinking, Vera? You could've gotten yourself killed!" And there goes my big brother, such a dad. We have an 8 year age gap, and he took that very seriously. My dad was always away on business trips. Mikey took the father-figure role and looked after me. He watched me like an eagle, and cared for me like I was a new born baby. Most days, it would get on my nerves. But not today.

"Dad's on his way here. His flight got delayed. Typical."

"Michael." My mother reprimanded.

The doctor came in and explained my injuries. I have a few stitches on my forehead, bruised ribs and a broken leg. I also had a few scratches on my arms and my cheeks. I took a moment to thank the Lord for hitting a tree, and not the pick-up truck.

After the doctor left to do his rounds and my mom went home to get clothes, I was alone with Mikey. He was reading a magazine while I stared at the wall. I was retracing my steps. When I woke up, I had no idea why I was driving so fast, why I was in my car in the first place. I remember holding a turkey sandwich and coke. But why? Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. A thud. I remember a thud. Where was I?   

I looked at Mikey, and asked "Mom's back already?"

He stood up and said, "I took the liberty of calling Ri, Austin and Luke. Figured you wanted to see them and vice versa. Tell me I'm an awesome big bro."

Austin.

I was in the boy's locker room. And Austin was there, too. He was...he was with Ri. There was a sudden flash of the scene, and remembering made me feel sick.

"You did what?" I almost screamed. Mikey just stared at me in disbelief. "Did somebody order a pizza?" It was Luke.  He was carrying a bottle of coke and a box of pizza. He stared at me. Just like that, all the happiness  that he tried to take with him into my room was gone. Did I really look that bad?

He put the pizza down, and gave me a light hug - I think it was more of an awkward pat. I took his scent in, and I hugged him anyway. It was painful, but I needed to do it. I started to cry. My sudden realization made my everything hurt even more.

He wiped the tears from my eyes and said, "I'm glad you're okay. What happened, Smith?"

"Austin happened." I said quietly.

As if on cue, Austin entered the room.

I couldn't speak. Mikey got up from his seat and awkwardly said, "Hey, Luke. Why don't you take that box of pizza with us?"

"Where are we going?" Luke asked. Mikey did not answer him. He put an arm around his shoulder, and pushed him out. "We'll be back in a few minutes, Vera. Don't do anything stupid." He took a good two seconds to give Austin the when-I-get-back-I am- going- to kill-you look before  shutting the door behind him.  

Austin was standing beside my bed. "Vera, please. Talk to me."

I took all the energy I had left and said rather harshly, "get the hell out."