FOUL BURDENS.

CHAPTER 18.

Maria's Pov.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
I groan lowly cursing the morning for reaching too early. I try reaching for my alarm clock but my arms weigh a tonne.
"No,you cheated,you...you...fart breath,"That must be Luke.
"Stop being a baby. I won fair and square," the other voice said. That must be Matthew.
They continue bickering and I can feel a migrane coming along from their yelling. What are they even doing in my room.

I groan and they still continue bickering.
"Shut it," I say without opening my eyes. My throat feels like its on fire and its really dry. The bickering immediately stops and I sigh.
"Maria?," luke asks.,"Matthew go get the doctor and mum ,"he continues to say. I hear tiny steps retreating fast and soon a small hand is holding mine.

"Maria,can you hear me?" Luke asks. I groan in reply. Why can't he let me sleep. Suddenly there is weight on me and my body protests. I suddenly feel pain all over and I hiss in pain. I decide to open my eyes to glare at the culprit but instead bright ceiling light greets me and I close my eyes tightly. I try opening them once more but slowly this time.

My eyes finally adjusting,I take in my environment. Am in a bright room with white walls. Besides me are various machines and I get confused as to where I am. The room smells of anticeptic and bleach. I wrinkle my nose in distaste. My hands are connected to various wires and suddenly it clicks that am in a hospital. But what the hell happened?

I feel tiny hands holding mine only to find Luke looking at me with a huge grin on his face. He looks at me like I have just resurrected and I wonder what happened to me. My throat burns asking for a cold liquid to soothe it. I smile at Luke busting my lips in the process for they were really dry. I wince but signal for him to give me water. He rushes to my bedside bringing a glass with a straw in it for me to drink.

I gulp the drink hungrily and he giggles.
"Where am I?"
"You are in the hospital. We were so worried when you slept for two weeks,We missed you alot Maria. Never leave us again okay?" Luke says tears caressing his rosy cheeks in the process. I hug him to me and he sobs.Two weeks?!
"Its okay Luke am here okay,am not leaving any time soon." I comfort him,even though inside am completely a mess.

The door to my room opens and in rushes Dave,Jody,Matthew and a man I have never seen before. He has deep green eyes and grey hair has started decorating his head.  A middle aged doctor comes towards me smiling warmly at me and asks,
"How are you feeling?"
"Really sore but otherwise fine,what happened to me?" I asked realising I had bandages almost all over my body.

"You had a really bad panic attack which caused you to damage your body in the process while trying to get away from the source that made you panic. You were cut severally with plate shards and lost quite an amount of blood. Then your body went into a coma when it needed to repair itself and regain its energy," the doctor said. Choosing his words carefully.

Tears were glossing Jody's eyes but I smiled at her in reassurance. It was not her fault that I had a panic attack.
She needed to understand that.
"And why does my throat hurt whenever I talk?" I asked the doctor wincing at how my voice broke at each and every sentence.
"You had scratch marks on your neck when they brought you here. They were not too deep to cause major damage but they did cause a little damage to your voice box. Avoid talking for long hours and long sentences. Personally I would recommend that you talk small words and for a short period of time to avoid straining. Also eat soft foods to avoid reopening the wounds. The wounds on your thighs,those were the major ones. The glass shards went too deep but we managed to stitch them up as properly as we could. Avoid getting them wet and also we will be cleaning and dressing them after every two days. Any questions?" He asked smiling warmly.

"Yes. And what of the wounds on my palm? Are they also deep?" I asked my breath coming out deep and shaky.
"Those are no major concern. Infact by now they should be healed. A nurse will come later to check on them,"he said.
"Okay thankyou," I said to him.
"You're welcome. If you feel any pain or discomfort press the little red button on your leftside of bed. Excuse me,"he said and left the room. No one spoke after he left. The room was deathly quiet.

"Urgh I feel like sleeping beauty. The one Luke is so obsessed about,"I said smiling cheekily at them. Everybody laughed while Luke's face turned beetroot red.
"Maria! That was a secret," Luke said pouting. I giggled at him and he smiled.
"Hey Jody,missed me?" I whispered at a teary Jody. She shook her head smiling and rushed to hug me. I rubbed her back soothingly assuring her I was okay. Dave held my hand and squeezed gently and he broke into a grin. His well aligned white teeth shining brightly at me.

"Oh by the way this is my big brother George,"Jody said sniffing after she had managed to come down. I looked at the man she gestured to noticing how his eyes were a deeper green than Jody's. He had bags under his eyes and he looked tired. His hair was a bit disheveled but he was wearing a classy looking suit, making him look good none the less.

He came forward looking at me straight in the eyes while he smiled. He looked as if he was studying me while I also did the same. His eyes held a longing and sadness that he tried so hard to hide. He looked very familiar,like I have ever seen him somewhere.
"Nice to meet you Mr. George,am sorry we had to meet this way. Jody has told me alot about you,"I saw him take an intake of breath and his eyes were glazed over with tears.
"Nice to meet you too Maria. And it's no problem am glad I finally have the pleasure of meeting you," he said still searching my eyes.

I smiled and I heard him gasp again. This time he shot out of bed in a hurry his eyes filled with tears,scrumbling toward the door like he had seen a ghost while mumbling an excuse me to the others. I watched in shock not knowing what had just transpired at that moment.