A Ship Without Sails

Chapter 22

"Oh, you're coming? Aren't you tired?" Daisy questioned when her sister got into the car. Shayna shook her head no and said, "I want to get out of the hospital."

"Honey, you have a broken leg, are you sure you can come?" Mrs. Blackburn worried. Shayna held up her crutches and said, "Yes, Mom, I can do it." Going out to the car had been difficult, but not impossible.

"If you're sure..." Mr. Blackburn sighed, turning on the car. They drove to the mall and the girls got $300 each. Shayna couldn't believe it. "Why this much?" she asked.

"You deserve something nice," Mrs. Blackburn explained. "It's all yours."

Daisy looked at the crisp $20 bills in her hands and said, "How can we buy a nice dress, shoes, and jewelry with just this?" she protested indignantly. Shayna and her parents looked at Daisy in shock. Without saying a word, Mrs. Blackburn reached for her wallet, but Shayna stopped her mother's hand from touching her purse zipper. "No, Mom," she said. She counted out $150 of her own money and handed them to her sister. "Here, have half of mine. I already have shoes, and this is already too much for me."

Daisy's eyes narrowed suspiciously, but she took the money from her sister, nearly giving her a paper cut. Mrs. Blackburn gave Shayna an appreciative glance, then said to her daughters, "Okay, be back here in four hours. That'll be about... 5:45."

Daisy didn't reply, but rushed off to the expensive end of the mall. Shayna nodded to show that she had heard, stuffed the cash into her pocket, and hobbled to the escalators in her crutches.

She went to American Eagle first, hoping they would have something simple and cheaper. She went around the store, spotting black dresses that weren't right for the occasion. She didn't think Hollister or Forever 21 would have anything right, either. She took the nearest escalator to the Nordstroms. She went to the classy section, gravitating towards the black items. It was Daisy's dream section, full of blacks and neutrals and dark colors. Shayna found three dresses that she fell in love with. She went to the dressing rooms and managed to try them on.

First, she tried on a tight-fitting black wrap dress, that was made of a stretchy material and went down to her mid-thigh. Then, she tried on a black babydoll dress with a white peterpan collar. It was flowy and hung loosely right above her knees. She knew that was the one, but she tried on the long-sleeved black boatneck dress that flared like a skater skirt at the bottom. She fell in love with that one, too. Together, they were nearly all her money. She sighed, but bought them both anyway. Then she went down to the candy store and bought her favorites candies, which she ate while she waited for her family to finish up.

Daisy came last, at 5:10 on the dot. She was burdened with at least twelve shopping bags. She dumped them on the table and huffed, "I ran out of money!"

Shayna didn't say anything, but she stung with anger. She was ready to explode when Daisy asked her to help carry her bags. "I'm in crutches!" she had exclaimed. Daisy gave her sister her perfected, "so what?" look, but carried all of her bags.

Shayna was dropped off at the hospital, but not walked in, due to Daisy's urgent need to go home and organize her clothes. Shayna hobbed down the hallway, each step echoing down the pale green halls.
"Ms. Blackburn?" a voice called. Shayna turned, then had to look up.

"Oh, Ms. Holt," she sighed in relief. Julia laughed and said, "Call me Julia outside of work." Then the sound of high heels sounded again. "And Astrid!"

Astrid clacked over to the two of them and took off her sunglasses. "Why're you here? Your floor is like, the sixth."

"I can't find the elevator," Shayna explained. "And my family left."

Astrid and Julia Holt exchanged a strange look, and Astrid said, "Julia, would you take Shayna up to her room? I need to run to the office."

"Of course!" Julia flashed Shayna a bright but fake smile. She placed her hand on the small of Shayna's back and lead her to the elevators.

"What's wrong with Astrid?" Shayna asked, looking behind her at the forensic investigator striding away. Julia pretended to have not heard her and pressed the elevator button for the 6th floor. It was an awkward, silent ride up, and the elevator ding! was the only sound until the door opened, revealing a bustling floor of nurses, doctors, patients, families, receptionists, and lots of phones.

Shayna went into her room and flopped on her bed, resting her crutches on the side of the bed. "I'm going to be so glad to go home next week," she said to Julia, who was hovering by the doorway. "But why can't I just go home now? I went out shopping."

"They need to make sure your brainwaves are functional and there's no more chance of you... getting more hurt," Julia explained. "Your sleep has to be monitored."

"Oh." Shayna had forgotten that they thought she had jumped. She almost told Julia the truth, but decided against it.

"Well, they'll bring dinner over around 6:30, okay?" Julia said through another fake smile. She left before Shayna could respond, closing the door behind her.