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20

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

The light blinded my eyes as I sat up, and I tried to use my arm to shield it away, but my arm was gently taken by Josh, who looked like he had been crying.

"Aria." He wrapped me in a hug, just holding me for the longest time.

"Josh, be careful please." Jenna pleaded, her tired eyes glancing over to me.

Josh nodded and let go of me, sitting back in his seat. "I was so worried," he said, running his fingers through his hair.

"I'm sorry." I said for what felt like the millionth time. "And I'm really sorry Jenna, I didn't —"

"Aria, no. You don't need to be sorry. It — It was just a shock." Jenna said. "I just wish you could've gotten me or Tyler, or even called Josh before this happened."

It was only now that I looked down at my arms and hands. There were stitches in a few of the cuts on my arms, and in one on my hand, but the others had been left alone.

"You had a blood transfusion as soon as I got here — apparently you lost 12 percent of your total blood count. Doesn't sound like a lot, but in reality it's actually dangerous to have lost 5 percent, let alone 12 percent."

"Oh."

I looked around. Tyler was nowhere to be found. Jenna looked ridiculously tired, like she had been up for days — and Josh — he looked distraught.

Then the machine beside me that was keeping track of my vitals invaded my mind, taking me back to the events in a hospital in Columbus when I was just four years old.

There I stood, a small four year old, barefoot and in the same clothes I had been wearing for the week being 'guarded' from my mother by a policeman and a nurse. I was terrified — I had no idea what was happening, no idea why I was in this strange place and no idea why I wasn't allowed to be near my mom.

I was distracted for only a few minutes by the nurse's uniform, and without any warning, my mom had picked me up, pushing the nurse and the officer to the ground and showed me something I would never forget.

My bloodied up brother, no longer living.

I didn't understand that my baby brother was never going to be able to talk or walk. He would never get to go to preschool. Or school. His life had been cut short.

"This," my mom said dangerously. "This is what's going to happen to you!"

"But why mommy? Why did you do it?" I asked innocently. But that's when I regretted asking, because a hand went across my face, leaving my face stinging, and suddenly, my mom's hands were around my neck.

"A," Jenna waved her hand in front my my face. "A?"

"Sorry." I snapped out of it and looked up at Jenna.

"No it's okay, I just needed to know whether you feel like you need to stay here or not. They're making it Josh's decision, but he's making it yours. It's either go home, stay here, or to a mental hospital for a week or more depending on what the staff there think is suitable." Jenna said.

"Home." I replied immediately, not even thinking about it.

"Thought so." Jenna nodded. "Well, you're not connected to any machines anymore, so you can come with me I suppose."

I smiled and got up, walking beside Jenna into a room where Tyler and Josh were standing.

"We're going home." Jenna said.

Josh smiled. "How soon can we leave?" He turned to the doctor.

"Just as soon as you sign her out."

Let's just say I was out of there within 10 minutes.