Dipping Into Together

Ch 29

I’m being released from the hospital.

Today.

I should be happy; I don’t know, relieved or something, but I’m not. All I feel is this sort of numb sadness that has blanketed my life for the past week. My shoulder aches but it’s not as bad as before, and they’ve given me pain medicine, so it’s not that bad. My ribs are getting better, they weren’t that bad. I have to wear a nifty head brace and a cast on my arm. They’ve been slowly giving me more and more food, and I’m stable now, more or less.

Or, at least, my body is.

They’ve given me a therapist that I have to come to twice a week.

Ha, funny.

My great Aunt Mel has come down from her house in Maine to stay with me until my mother gets out of the hospital. I try my best not to think about my mother at all and to avoid all conversations with her in it. But the nurses, oh the nurses, they won’t shut up. At night they’ll come in and check on me, whispering the whole time. Things like:

“Did you hear about her mother?”

“No, what happened? I’ve been out sick for a couple of days, remember?”

“She’s in a coma.”

“Hasn’t she been in a coma for a while?”

“Yeah, but they just recently told Destiny about it.”

A pause.

“How did she handle it?”

The nurse’s voice comes out eager, in excited whispers. “She hasn’t spoken a word since.”

“What?”

“She’s just been completely silent. She won’t look at anyone. But I’ve heard her.”

“What do you mean?”

“At night, sometimes, in her sleep, she cries. And then other times she screams, Marcy, you should hear her voice. It’s so sad.”

“Poor girl…”

“And she’s showing side effects.”

“Of what?”

“Of the trauma, obviously.”

“What do you mean?”

“Hallucinations, didn’t Debra tell you anything? She panics very easily, too.”

“Well, what do you expect Kelley?”

An offended snort. “Have you seen her?”

“What do you mean?” Debra’s voice is growing angry.

“The bruises and scars on her…”

Debra’s voice raises to a high whisper. “Kelley! You have no idea what this poor girl’s been through. So just stop making her into some sort of source for gossip. Leave her alone.”

A short gasp, followed by footsteps leaving the room, a door closing loudly.

A quiet sigh, and then. “Dear Lord, please help this girl.”

Footsteps, the door opens, then closes.

I glance up at the door as my doctor walks in. He’s an aging man with white hair and a beard. I still can’t remember his name for the life of me, but that’s okay, since I’ve never spoken a word to him before. He carries on the conversations fine by himself.

“Hello there, Destiny! You all set and ready to go?” He smiles warmly at me, but in his face all I see his want for money. I bet he steals from children. Fixing him with a glare, I don’t notice the elderly lady enter behind him. He doesn’t seem to notice my glare, and instead, continues on cheerfully. “This is your Aunt Mel,” he says, motioning to the woman. She’s short and old, wearing a navy blue sweaters and lose jeans. She looks like someone’s sweet old grandmother, although I know she’s not, because she never got married. Mom told me a little bit about her, but I’ve never met her before.