Saving Mattie (nh)

Chapter 22: Cold

I was cold. Freezing, in fact. I couldn't feel my fingertips, and when I tried, found I couldn't move them either. A beeping was all I could hear, steady and loud.

I could hardly draw breath. I couldn't move, it was dark. I couldn't see anything through the inky darkness that clouded over my eyes. I struggled to focus on something, anything, but I couldn't.

Then I noticed my eyes were shut.

I wanted to grin, embarrassed, but the corners of my mouth refused to move. I struggled to move, shift the muscles it required to smile, but they were stuck, frozen in place. I was fighting an internal battle, but only my mind seemed capable of working, an that was even unusual. It was hazy.

I struggled to move, anything and everything I could feel, but I couldn't. My body was frozen. I could feel it, but couldn't move, and that terrified me. Was I paralyzed?

I felt something warm clasp my hand. It shocked me, and I would jump... if I could move.

"How much longer?" someone asked. I recognized the voice, and it sent tingles through me. Niall. It sounded muffled, like they were talking through a thin wall. The beeps I heard sped up, and I realized it was a heart monitor. The people in the room didn't seem to pay attention to it though, and continued to speak.I strained to listen.

"It's hard to say. Could be two minutes, could be two weeks. She had extensive damage."

Extensive damage? Had I been so seriously injured that I needed to be in bed for weeks? And why couldn't I move?

"What was so damaging that she'll be out for so long?" His beautiful voice sounded strained, and I wanted to do nothing more than to squeeze his hand back, wrap him up in my arms and kiss away his pain.

"Well, you need to remember that she was not just shot. The bullet enough did damage to her small intestine, we're lucky it didn't hit her ovaries or Fallopian tubes. Then there was also that nasty gash on the back of her head, that required anti-inflammatory medication and stitches. She also broke a rib, which punctured her lung, which needed small surgery, so she probably was in excruciating pain, and she broke her left forearm when she fell after the impact from the bullet. And she didn't have any food in her system, and was showing signs of malnutrition and starvation, and dehydration. She lost a lot of blood, and it'll be hard for her body to start working on bag blood. Add all the bruises she had, the swelling, the major concussion-"

"Yeah. I get it. Please, stop." Now his voice was full-on pained, and I could almost see the little crease he gets between his eyebrows when he's upset.

"Look sir, I'm sorry. It may be a while yet until she's even aware of what's going on around her. The CAT scans are saying that her concussion may have affected her speech, motor control, and vision, but so far, there's nothing that a little rehabilitation can't fix. If we didn't basically pump her body with medication, she would be awake, but in pain. We could take her off the meds so she'll wake, but I think she'll wake soon. It's been three days."

Three days. It's been three days since I was shot? It didn't feel like that long. It couldn't have been that long.

"I know, I know. But, you said that her brain activity was increasing in the last CAT scan. Isn't that a good thing?"

"Well, yes, but it still could just mean that she's become aware of her surroundings. It may not mean that she's fully awake, or able to move about yet. I'd just give her a while. You should go home, rest a little. It looks like you haven't slept in ages."

"I haven't. Don't you get it, I haven't slept in days! I haven slept since she left my house a week ago! There's nothing I want more than to home and rest, but I know if I try I'll have nightmares! Do you know what it's like having someone you love almost torn away from you? And witnessing the one person in this world who I'd die for being shot? It hurts! I can't rest when it feels like my heart had been yanked from my chest!" Niall yelped, his hand tightening around mine. If I could move, I'd wince, but at that moment, I wanted nothing more than his hand to be in mine. I hoped feeling my fingers in his own would calm him down, and I longed to entwine his fingers between my own.