Best Day of My Life

Chapter 21 - Emily

I woke, curled up next to James, who was also asleep. I sat up and saw that I had slept all afternoon and through the night. I saw the dawn breaking outside the hospital window. I silently crept out of the hospital bed and out of the room. I went into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. James was right. I looked like death. I cleaned up the best I could and headed back to his room.

James still wasn't awake. I was too anxious for news about Adrian that instead of sitting down, I paced. I couldn't think about anything, otherwise my brain would probably overload itself, so I just kept pacing.

James woke up about fifteen minutes later. He stretched, or as best as he could with his injury.

"Hello, sleeping beauty," I said, continuing to pace. He watched me. "Hi," he said. "Anxious much?" I laughed slightly.

"Aren't you?" I looked at him and he nodded.

"He'll be okay." I sighed and looked out the window of his room for the five hundredth time.

I paced a little while longer until a nurse came in. I sat down in the chair. She looked over the equipment readings and talked to James, asking about how he was feeling and he made some witty comment that I didn't catch.

"We believe that your other friend will regain consciousness today."

James nearly jumped out of his bed. "Kayla?" She nodded. He sighed in relief and sank back into his pillows. "Thank goodness."

She left the room. "At least she's all right," I said. He nodded, looking more relieved than I probably did.

Another doctor came in. "We have news about Adrian." I bolted out of my seat.

"What is it?"

"The surgery was a success. We were able to stop the bleeding and he should recover very soon." I sank back into my chair.

James was the one who spoke. "Thank you, doctor." He turned and left the room. James let out a sigh. "He's going to be okay. We are all going to be okay."

I smiled. After everything that's happened the past few days, I felt like I could finally breathe, like a weight on my shoulders had finally been lifted. We still didn't know how serious his spinal injury was. But I felt like we could tackle anything.

The doctor came back in. "We're bringing him back to his room right now. If you want, in a few minutes, you can visit him," he told me. I jumped up again, then looked at James. I didn't want to leave him alone. He chuckled.

"Go on," he laughed. I smiled and followed the doctor out of the room. A few minutes later, they wheeled Adrian by and got everything hooked back up. Then, finally they let me in. I walked in slowly, suddenly worried.

He looked terrible. He was hooked up to what seemed like a billion machines, and his face was scratched up and bandaged. I came forward and gently took his hand. Tears sprang to my eyes as I looked at his damaged face. I kissed his hand.

I sat down in the chair next to his bed. "I'm sorry, Adrian. I'm so sorry," I whispered, the tears leaking out of my eyes. His broken form was tearing me apart. I knew I would have to leave soon.

A doctor entered the room. "Kayla, she's waking up."

Kayla

All I could hear was a beeping noise. My brain swirled to remember where I was. I tried opening my eyes but it was too bright and I groaned.

I heard a voice.

"Slowly open your eyes, Kayla. You are not use to the light yet." I followed the unknown lady's counsel. Slowly, I opened my eyes. An older lady was standing next to me. Her hair was tucked tightly into a bun, with some of it coming out. She had on green scrubs and smiled when she saw me.