Flower Boy

Chapter Twenty

I woke groggily, my eyelids felt like there were weights on top of them, making it harder than ever to open my eyes. When I managed to open my eyes, all I saw was white. My eyes adjusted and I saw pristine white sheets, white tiles, and I realized where I was. I was in a hospital. I sat up slowly, looking around. A nurse came into the room and smiled at me.

"Thank goodness you're awake," she said. I blinked.

"Why am I here...?" I asked slowly. Her eyes softened.

"Sweetie, you fainted in the middle of the street last night. We couldn't just send you home." She explained, and the scene of last night came rushing back to my head. The ambulances, the blood, the medics, Donavan...

"Donavan, is he okay? Is he here?" I asked, and I could see her shoulders drop. She took a deep breath.

"Sweetie, we did what we could... But I'm afraid Donavan... I'm afraid he's gone." She said reluctantly. My heart grew cold and I shook my head.

"I... I don't understand, I was next to him yesterday, and the medics, they, they..." I trailed off, remembering the look they gave each other after shocking him. My neck hit the edge of the bed, and the nurse rushed over.

"Whoa, Rosalena... Are you okay...?" She asked hesitantly. I nodded slowly, still trying to process what she had said to me. It was as if life had taken a large sledgehammer and slammed it as hard as it could into my chest.

"I'm fine..." I whispered. I saw pity in her eyes as she nodded.

"Um... Are you hungry?" she asked, obviously uncomfortable. I shook my head. My entire body was numb. Eating? My stomach was just as numb as my heart, so there was no point. She stood there, fidgeting for a few moments before she headed towards the door.

"You should get some sleep, Rosalena. The doctor will come in later and do a final checkup on you before releasing you. Lucky for you, your wounds aren't too bad," she explained, a last attempt at comforting me. I nodded again, sinking into the mattress. Lucky? About what? Seeing Donavan die? Lucky that life denied my only wish to be with him? I stared up at the ceiling until I heard the door click shut. I took a deep breath, closing my eyes.

An image of Donavan's bloody face flashed in front of my eyes, and my eyes snapped open. Would I ever get to sleep? Or would Donavan's ghost haunt me until my own body shut down on me? I sighed, turning onto my side, looking at the bedside table. A pink card was propped up on top of the table. I reached over and brought it up to my face so I could read it.

The front had a few flowers on the left edge, and near the bottom were five words:

We're sorry for your loss

My hands shook as I fought the urge to crush the card. How was this supposed to help me? Was it supposed to make me feel better? These cards meant nothing, only to drag me farther into the depth of despair. I flung it back onto the table, hearing it slide across the top and plopping on the ground. I turned onto my other side and huffed. I squeezed my eyes shut again, and this time there was no image of Donavan invading my mind. I sighed, measuring out my breaths carefully. The nurse was right about one thing, I would need some sleep. I couldn't hold out staying awake forever.

Soon I felt the weight of drowsiness on my head and I let it take over my body. Darkness took over and before I knew what happened I was fast asleep.