Battle Scars

seventeen

I stand outside of my room, back against the door, with the hugest grin planted on my face.

Ethan Quinn. Ethan Quinn. Ethan Quinn. Ethan Quinn. Ethan Quinn.

Is this what being in love feels like? This constant euphoria in my heart, beating twice as fast as normal, while my brain is constantly in the state of being both happy, and overwhelmed by the suspense? The fogginess and uncertainty filling my head, followed by exhilaration and joy beneath my chest?

I look over at Ethan's door to his room.

Boys have always looked down at me in disdain, like I'm just some mistake, or an easy target. 

But Ethan's not like normal Westman boys. He's special and he cares. He actually treats me like a human..like I matter.

I've only known this boy for a week, and its already safe to say he's my favorite out of the whole male species.

I hear a loud bang behind me, causing my body to jump and spin around, facing the door to my room. The banging continues, causing me even more confusion. 

"Robin?" I raise my voice. The door between us remains closed. The banging starts to speed up. I jolt backwards and feel a single drop of sweat drip down my back.

"Robin, what's happening?" I hear fear in my own voice, and I suddenly feel slightly scared of opening the door that stands in front of me.

"Is everything okay?" I look to my left and see Molly, speed-walking in my direction.

I start hearing sobs from the room, followed by more banging. I clench my jaw in distress as I quickly open the door. 

My eyes grow wide as I view what's laying in front of me, followed by a gasp of shock. I begin to feel a lump form in my throat as I suddenly struggle to find air.

On the floor in front of me, Robin lays, violently convulsing. Her head repeatedly bangs the wall next to her as she's unable to control her actions.

Tears begin to fill my eyes. I throw myself to the ground and hover over Robin. 

"Robin! Robin, hey, are you with me?" I pause and sniffle after moving her head away from the wall. She avoids eye contact and screams. Having no idea how to help her, I gently grab her arms to try and calm her down. "Robin, I'm here-"

She screams louder and throws me back, then climbs on top of me like an animal out of its cage.

"Robin!" I yell. "What the hell are you doing!" I hold her shoulders back as I see her right fist raise above my head. I try to roll over, but its too late. I receive a solid strike to my left jaw. My head jerks sideways, and I start feeling pain throughout my whole face. 

My vision becomes blurry as I begin to taste blood. As I try to force my eyes open, I see Molly pulling Robin off me. 

My hearing becomes foggy, and I feel my eyes roll to back to my head.

Things grow quieter, and I start faintly hearing my name being called out.

"Amber? Amber!"

I let out a long exhale, then everything around me turns black.

.     .     .

I slowly open my eyes as I arise from a deep sleep. My eyes narrow as I take notice of my surroundings. 

The view of the popcorn ceiling, the dim light shining down on my face, the actual comfortable bed I'm laying on top of...

Yeah, I'm in an unusual place.

I lift my left hand. It's unusually heavy. I look down and see an IV covered with hospital tape in my hand.

What the-

"Glad to see you're alive!" A voice interrupts my thoughts.

I crank my head behind me to see who's talking, and suddenly feel pain.

"No! For the love of god, don't move your neck at all." Michelle says.

"What..what the..what happened?" I stutter in confusion.

Michelle explains to me how Robin knocked me out, resulting in more confinement for her, and me being rushed to Doctor Abi.

"How long have I been here?" I ask, feeling the bump on my jaw that will soon result to a nasty bruise.

"A couple hours." She says to me as she writes on her note pad. You seem to be doing better. I'll go talk to Doctor Abi for you."

I nod and smile. "Thanks, Michelle."

She looks back and returns the smile, then proceeds to walk out of the room.

As I become lonely and bored in this empty room, my mind starts to jog. I frown as it decides to make me think about Robin.

I was just trying to help her. She couldn't control it. It was neither of our faults...

She doesn't deserve another confinement. Not at all. 

"Ah, Ms Collins!" I hear a deep, masculine voice behind me. Without moving my neck, I manage to see who's speaking to me.

A tall, bald man with a medium-sized white mustache became in my view. He looks old, maybe in his mid 70s.

"So, we decided against putting a neck brace on you, since the injury doesn't appear too severe, and seems to be healing quite well."

He has a soft tone to his voice. Like a little old man that needs help across the street.

"Just rest in this room for the night. You'll be good to head back to the normal routine in the morning."

I half-smile and look down at the floor. 

"What about Robin?" I ask out of concern.

Doctor Abi looks at me, then looks back down and continues taking notes. "It's not appropriate for me to discuss that topic, Ms Collins, but I will say she didn't suffer any injuries." He clicks his ballpoint pen and begins to walk out of the room. "If you have any further questions or concerns, ring the bell to your left, and one of us will come and help you."

I slowly move my head to the left, and see a little silver bell.

"Thank you." I say.

Doctor Abi smiles, then exits the room, leaving me for myself.

I ignored the little silver bell, for the only questions I had all night related to Robin. The food that was delivered to me was nothing more than this hospital's famous meatloaf and mashed potatoes. To be entirely honest, I'm getting used to the strange taste by now.

My neck hurt all night, and prevented me from getting a fair amount of sleep. There was a little television in the corner of the room playing old movies on a loop. I watched it until my eyes felt heavy. I eventually fell into a deep sleep at around two in the morning.