A Shade Darker (on hold)

Chapter 7

~~~Back to Aubrey's P.O.V.~~~

It was so dark. So dark I couldn't see a thing. Where was I? Why was it so dark?  My brain  slowly came back to common sense as I realized my eyes were shut. I couldn't remember how exactly to open them.

Beep. Beep. Beeep. Beeeeeeep. Beep. Beep. Beeep. What was that noise? It must have  been some sort of machine.

Tap, tap, tap.  That must be someone's feet tapping. I was happy to  be getting back my knowledge.

More noises came clear and clearer as time progressed. Soft voices murmured intense conversations while a machine played a steady hum.

Where was I and why couldn't I open my eyes?

I could feel a light shining on my closed eyes-a pink glow. Someone was summoning for me to open them. Struggling, I tried to lift the heavy bags  glued over my eyes.

After the struggle of opening my eyes, I found myself in a new white room.  The scent of cleanliness stung my nose. A man with a stethoscope  was standing over me, calling my name. The man repetitively said  Aubrey. I felt my lips moving with an answer, but nothing was coming out of my mouth.

Suddenly, I cleared my throat, I felt like I was about to yell. Surprisingly, all that came out was a small whisper, "Where am I?"

"Aubrey, you're in the hospital. I'm your doctor. You've had an accident."

Cocking my head, I glanced around the  so called 'doctor'. The room began to come into better view. Chad and Colton sat side by side in two  arm chairs. Chad's head hung down, buried deep in his hands. Colton's  crystal blue eyes had become swollen, as if he had been crying for a long period of time.

Looking to the right side of the room, I spotted my mother. A tissue was balled up tightly in her hand. A seris of machines took place behind her. What happened to me that'd I had end up in a hospital?

"I'm Dr. Shaw. Do you need anything?" Doctor Shaw placed his hands behind his back.

"Am I alright, Doctor?" It felt cliche to say, but I didn't understand. Why did I end up in a hospital?

A loud sob escaped my mother's throat. That couldn't be good. Looking back over at Colton and Chad, I saw Colton biting back his tears. Chad's head still laid buried in his hands. Something bad had happened to me.

"I'll tell you this Aubrey, you're going to be just fine. I promise," Doctor Shaw grinned at me. Glancing at the boys, the doctor spoke again, "Mind giving the patient and I a moment?"

Not saying a word to Doctor Shaw or me, Chad and Colton shuffled out of the room. Chad didn't even glance back at me.

My eyes darted between Dr. Shaw and my mother. I wasn't entirely sure which one to look at. "Are you going to tell my what happened to me?"

I felt that  my voice had come back to its normal tone.

Dr. Shaw looked directly in my eyes. One hand clutched onto a clipboard while the other held the railing of my bed. "Aubrey, you've had a head injury. You passed out and when you were falling, your head hit the edge of a coffee table."

Instinctivly, my hand reached up to my head. I could feel the gauze wrapped tightly around my skull.  That's when I felt the throbbing pain too.

My hand began to shake as I slowly brought it back down to rest upon my stomach. "It hurts like hell," I managed to speak.

"As soon as we're done talking I'll send for a nurse."  Doctor nodded.

Turning his attention away from me, he looked at my mother. "Would you mind giving us a minute to discuss other matters?"

My mom didn't argue back. She walked straight out of the room leaving only the sound of her heels against the tile flooring.

Doctor Shaw grabbed the chair Colton was sitting in and scooted it next to my bed. "Call me Ryan, okay? Don't see me as some scary doctor. I'm here to help you. But if we are on a friendly level it'll be easier. Don't you think?"

I nodded slowly. Something else had gone terribly wrong. Maybe I had memory loss? Who knows.

"You're sixteen, am I right?" Ryan smiled.

I couldn't help myself from getting all giddy. I had this adorable doctor who just smiled at me. "You're right, Ryan."

"What grade are you in?" Ryan smiled again. I felt important for once. Most people don't really care about what you say but Ryan gave you the feeling that he was genuinely interested.

"I'll be a senior in the fall." It felt weird to say 'I' and 'senior' in the same sentence. It was still early in the summer and school had just gotten out. Well, thinking about school gave me hope that I didn't have any memory loss.

Ryan broadened his smile, "Ah, you must be turning seventeen very soon then?"

"Yup, in July I'll be seventeen."

"Aubrey I have some news for you. I cannot say whether it's good or bad because you may have a different take on it than others."

I gulped. It's coming. Whatever had gone wrong with me was about to spill from Ryan. It felt weird calling him Ryan all the sudden. In this moment I knew I needed to address him as Doctor.

"Please just tell me, Dr. Shaw."

Dr. Shaw opened his mouth, ready to say something but quickly snapped it shut. Trying again he spoke very softly, looking right into my eyes, "Look Aubrey, there's no easy way to tell you this. When we were testing you we discovered that you're pregnant."

"There must be some mistake. I'm not pregnant." He was messing with me. Doctor Shaw was just trying to lighten the mood by cracking a joke. There's no way I could be pregnant.

"We triple checked, Aubrey. You're for sure pregnant." Ryan dropped his stare with me.

I'm carry a child inside of me. There's a baby growing in my body right now. This was the end. I might as well say goodbye to my life.