Penthouse Suite (PUBLISHED)

Chapter Two

Good god, I thought. Why does my head hurt like that? I need some painkillers as soon as possible.

I groaned in discomfort from how badly my head throbbed, and my body ached. I slowly tried to open my eyelids, but it was like they were clamped shut. I suddenly felt a hand squeeze my own, accompanied by a soft stroke on the back of it.

Caleb's deep voice spoke, and it sounded hoarse and rough like he had been crying. "Soph, wake up. It's time for you to open your eyes, please try."

Why did he sound so upset? He hardly ever got upset. I had only ever seen him cry once when his mom died two years ago. I groaned again and tried sitting up, but I was struggling immensely. I also tried speaking but my mouth was dry, and I couldn't form any comprehensible words.

"No, Soph, don't try to sit up. I'll lift the bed for you just focus on opening your eyes." I felt a jolt as the bed moved upwards. Wait, my bed doesn't move. Why is the bed moving?

Opening my eyelids slowly and with great difficulty, I was faced with a brightly lit white room. I turned to my left and noticed Caleb perched on a chair near my bed when I noticed his appearance, my mouth dropped open in shock. He looked terrible, bags sat under his eyes, and his skin was different, almost grey rather than his normal glowing complexion. But it seemed to brighten as he smiled, offering me reassurance.

Reassurance for what?

I looked down at myself and started to panic. Why did I have wires in my arms? What is going on? It looked like I was in a hospital, but why? I'm fine I just got back from my holiday. I'm perfectly healthy. My heart started beating fast, and I heard a frantic beeping follow. When I looked to my right, I could see a heart rate monitor going crazy.

"You've been in an accident. You're still recovering. Sophia, I need you to calm down, please!" Caleb urged while putting my face in his hands and making my eyes meet his, continually begging me to calm down.

"Wha... why... I... don..." I didn't understand what on earth was going on! I hated hospitals. I'd been in an accident? What accident?

The beeping was still going strong, and I started to get out of the stupid bed. The constant sound was seriously hurting my head, and I wanted it to stop. I saw a doctor rush into the room, and he immediately glanced at my heart rate monitor then started looking at me worriedly.

Caleb didn't seem to notice the doctor and was completely focused on trying to calm me down and telling me frantically to stop. A nurse came shortly after with a needle and started to move my way.

"No, don't you dare! She only just woke up. I won't let her go back to being unconscious again!" Caleb shouted loudly.

I was getting increasingly alarmed, and I was scared. They were talking like I wasn't here. My head hurt so much, and I started to sway and feel dizzy. I hung onto Caleb like my life depended on it, and he hugged me into his chest.

"Son, if she carries on, she'll be back into unconsciousness, anyway. We need to sedate her for her own safety. Just for a little while, so she can calm down. Her brain still needs time to cope with what it's been through."

Caleb looked at me with his big warm eyes, and I saw that he knew the doctor was right. I began fighting harder, screaming and yelling even though my throat protested harshly. I saw the nurse put the needle into the drip connected to my arm, and I instantly felt the effect as my eyelids grew heavy, and I once again fell into nothingness.

I felt the pressure of hand around mine yet again, and I started to open my eyes, noticing they opened much easier this time.

"Please, Soph, don't panic. I don't want to hear that heart rate monitor rise again," Caleb whispered softly when he realised I was awake. I tried hard to keep my racing heart at a normal pace and offered him a weak smile.