escape | ethan dolan

daisies • 16

Harlowe's POV

All I hear when I wake up is the sound of shouting. No one is in my room, as the police left a few hours ago. By a miracle, they just wanted a sketch of what the men in the alley looked like so they could try and hunt them down. I thought they were here for me. I'm surprised they haven't said anything yet... The police have to have heard about my runaway.

I violently sit up in my bed, but instantly fall back by the sharp familiar pain shooting through my leg. Loud waves of commotion come from outside my room. The curtains ruffle and shift as people rush passed them, and I can feel the vibration of stomping feet.

I don't even realize what's going on until it hits me straight in the stomach-

Grayson.

Immediately I sit up again, not caring about my injury this time. In fact, I feel so bold as to stand up and walk out of the room. Part of me regrets that I did, because the first thing I see is the sight of Grayson being rushed off in the distance. Tubes- so many tubes stuck in him. There's no sign of life in his motionless body.

I put my hand over my mouth in anguish. It's all my fault. It's all my fault. It's all my fault.

After a moment of trying to process the horrific sight, I hobble back to the plush white bed in my hospital room. Tears are pouring down my cheeks, drops of them landing onto the pillow as I collapse and curl up into the silky sheets. In this moment, I feel like the entire world has come crashing down on me. I don't care about myself or what will happen to me anymore, all I want is for life to go back to how it was- back to when this family that I've hurt so much had a life without me in it. In this moment, I yearn to see Chloe's face again and grasp onto her innocence. In this moment, I feel my heart slowly, painfully break in half. Suddenly, my eyes shut and my breathing slows.

"Code Blue!" I hear someone faintly yell. It sounds fuzzy and distant, but all at the same time it feels so close. "She's losing oxygen! Help!" And then, the familiar feeling of the darkness came back again, and I was dead.

~~~

"Harlowe, please," Someone begs beside me. I can't see who it is, and I can hardly make out the voice, but I'm conscious enough to know that someone's talking to me. "Wake up."

I try to open my eyes, but it's taking so much strength, you would think I'm lifting 2,000 tons. Eventually, after what feels like, I manage to open my eyes, just enough to see a blur of objects in the room. Most of what consumes my sight is white: white blanket, white walls, white floor. I come to the conclusion that the person I heard talking to me was just my imagination until I see a smaller figure sitting to the right of my bed.

"Lisa?" I try to get out, but even I can barely hear it. My throat is dry and it takes a large amount of effort to swallow.

"You're awake!" She exclaims like that exact sentence has been sitting on the edge of her tongue for months. Has it been months? "Doctor! I need a doctor!" Moments later, the doctor and a nurse rush in. At first, they look worried, but when they see that I'm awake, their faces relax.

"Good," The doctor begins with a sigh of relief. "You're awake." He walks over to the left of my bed and examines the monitor, then write a few things down in a small notepad he kept in his white coat. "How are you feeling, Harlowe? Can you speak at all?"

"I-" I cough exasperated. "I think... I can,"  Although it takes me a little while, I finally finish my sentence. The doctor looks pleased and somewhat surprised. 

"Well," He begins. The nurse walks over to me and starts to look over the tubes, which I notice that several are placed in my arms, and even my hands. I jump nervously when I see them, and the nurse motions for me to calm down. "Let me start off by telling you, I'm Doctor Stevens. A few days ago you gave us quite a scare. We thought we had lost you."