Silverlake

Chapter 23

"Lower your voice! Let the poor girl get some rest. God knows what that took."

I felt the coolness of the pillow around my head before I could feel my fingers or register that I couldn't move my neck due to it being confined by a brace.

I tried to speak, but my voice didn't want to come out. My throat was dry and scratchy but I didn't know why. My toes squirmed on top of the bed and my fingers curled and uncurled uncomfortably, while I twisted and turned my body, willing to get the words out.

I felt a hand soothing down my hair, trying to calm me down. "Shh, honey, you're in the hospital. It's okay. It's okay."

"How?" I managed to whisper.

"Don't talk. You're okay. There was a fight at the school." I nodded that I did remember. "He's gone, you took care of that, now you need to rest, you did good."

I did good. I lay my head back down against the pillow and closed my eyes. The lights were too bright

I guess they thought that I had gone back to sleep because they went back to talking.

"Is she going to be okay?" It sounded like my mom.

"Of course she will be." Sterling?

"Yes, right, because you know better than we do as her parents." Another deeper voice. It must've been my dad.

"No. Sir," his voice lowered, making it hard for me to hear, "she's full of bad magic, you know that. She'll be fine."

I couldn't take laying in this bed any longer. I sat myself up despite the many protests from everyone in the room.

"Stop talking about me like I'm not here." I tried to say with power, but between my fluttering eyelids and limp head, it didn't have much impact. In fact, they laughed.

"Oh, Reese, don't strain yourself." My mom had her hand up to her mouth trying to stifle her laugh as I glared at her.

Sterling didn't hide his laugh as he walked over to sit next to me.

"We've got to stop talking like this," he winked at me.

"Stop following me to the hospital then," I grumbled half meaning it.

He responded by tucking a piece of my hair behind my ear.

"How are you feeling? Should I go and get the nurse?" My mom was up now and standing at the foot of my bed. If I didn't know better between my mom's defensive stance and my dad's death glare I would think that my parents and Sterling will actually fighting over me.

"No, I think I'll be okay, I'll-"

Our attentions were grabbed by the door being thrown open and a tear streaked Katherine storming into the room.

"My baby sister! Are you okay? Mom," she spit, obviously still mad about their fight," would not give me any details," she stole another look at our mom, "again!" She threw her hands up before sitting on the edge of my bed.

"What happened to you? You look awful! Has someone told you that? Mom, why didn't you at least comb her hair? And where is the nurse?"

I fell back onto the pillow.

"Look what you did! You stressed out your sister again! She's not feeling well." My mother's raised voice and Katherine's entire presence were making my head throb.

My dad stood up and placed his hand on my mother's shoulder. "This isn't helping."

He was right. As much as I was glad that everyone cared, I couldn't feel my body anymore. I was aware of the room and laying on the bed, but my mind was blank. My eyes fluttered before landing on Sterling's hand resting on mine, and then finally closing.