The Doll Girl [discontinued and horribly cringey]

Chapter Seven: Recovering

She woke in a white bed that wasn't hers. Yes, it was still comfy, but it lacked the homey feeling that she enjoyed in only her bed. And she had a pounding headache.

Brook looked around. There were people whizzing around— carrying trays, pushing trolleys, pushing people in wheelchairs in and out of the room. The room itself was also white, and there were other people in their own beds, sleeping or eating, or looking around like Brook was.

"A hospital, I'm in a hospital, " Brook decided.

Before she could consider her position more thoroughly, a middle-aged woman with a set face came over. "I'm Nurse Abrams. You are in the hospital. You are recovering from a fall during rock climbing. You hit your head on the climbing wall. Does your head hurt?"

Brook stared. "Umm... yeah, it hurts."

"Well, you can tell Nurse Bentley all about that, she's the nurse you'll be seeing quite a lot. Here she is now," said Nurse Abrams.

A big lady had entered the room. "Hello, dearie," she greeted with a girlish giggle. "I'm Nurse Bentley, and I want you to tell me exactly how you feel, all right?"

Brook told her exactly how she felt, a bit gloomily, because she didn't really like Nurse Bentley. Finally, when the large woman bustled out, Brook was feeling irritated and angry at everyone. Nurse Bentley reminded Brook of Professor Umbridge from the Harry Potter series. She could giggle away for a long time, and there was a little mocking in the way she spoke to Brook, as if a child like Brooklyn Willow should not be worthy of her full attention.     

Brook glowered at Nurse Bentley's wide, retreating backside. Once the woman was out of her sight, she turned her angry gaze to the boy in the bed next to her.

"I'm Orbit," he announced cheerfully.

"Great. I really, really care, " she muttered. Orbit! What kind of name was that!

"You're in a rotten mood, aren't you?"

"So what if I am, what's it to you?"

"Nothing, oh glorious nothing," he sang.

Brook looked in askance at a passing nurse. The woman shook her head and murmured, "Hit his head one day, now he's all wrong. Thinks he has a cat, thinks I'm his mom, thinks his name is Orbit even though he's Gilbert. Everthing he says is wrong." She sighed.

Brook sighed. Orbit— or Gilbert, or whatever— was right about one thing— she was definitely in a 'rotten mood'.

~~~~~~~

Hours later, she was munching on a protein bar. The nurse had given it earlier, along with a boring book called Missing May.

"Ugh," thought Brook as she flipped through the yellowing pages. She tossed the wrapper of her snack on the floor next to her bed. A nurse would pick it up. Eventually.

Now she had a headache. A really bad one. This day was getting worse and worse. She closed her eyes and dozed.

~~~~~~~

She was back. Back in the dark place where she met Evelyn. And Evelyn came out, smiling hopefully. "Hey!"

Brook kept silent.

"How you doing?"

Brook turned her back.

"Why won't you talk to me?"

A tear escaped Evelyn's greenish eye. A memory from decades ago replayed in Evelyn's mind: her sister, and Brook's mother, turning her back on Evelyn. Suddenly the woman turned and ran away from Brook. She ran away and away. She tried to escape the nightmarish memories of her past. But she couldn't, and soon she would know that.