I Am Cameron

Give Me A Break

I scrunch my nose at the overwhelming smell of antiseptic while I mentally curse the person who decided it would be okay to have a rave in my head. I groan softly as the hard light pierces through my eyelids. The pain searing through my body was enough, but did they want to blind me too? I send the thought away as I finally muster up the courage to open my eyes.

Yep. It's a hospital.

I've been hospitalized. That pissed me off. It pissed me off even more that I couldn't remember anything after I told Austin that I wasn't his son. I'm pretty sure I can guess what happened though.

I lay silently for a good twenty minutes listening to the machines telling me that I'm alive. As annoying as the systematic beeping was, I was relieved at the same time. I'd thought I'd never hear the sound of my beating heart like this again.

"Good evening Mr. Benning".

There goes my peace. I look out of the corner of my eye and see a mid-twenties man holding a file on a clipboard. His nametag indicated that he was a student aide. Behind him, a woman in her forties looked over his shoulder every chance she got.

"You've been through a lot it seems", he mumbles before looking at me and showing a piteous smile. If I had enough energy to glare at him, I would. I was not in a happy mood, but I bite my tongue anyway. Once he sees that I'm not going to respond, the aide continues reading over my diagnostic.

"Based on our data, you've been asleep for almost two days--"

I wasn't surprised. I couldn't even pretend to be surprised. It's a shame that I had to be beaten down to get a good night's rest though.

"-- You have a sprained ankle, two fractured ribs, a few strained muscles from fighting back we believe, your right eye is still a bit swollen, you're bruised pretty much everywhere, and you have a mild concussion", he says. I huff.

"I'm pretty sure the list of things that didn't get injured would have been shorter", I state, earning me a stifled smile.

"We do have a few issues we want to discuss, good and bad", he says. I frown. There are good issues? Is that supposed to be an oxymoron of some sort?

"Let's start with the good news. Your neighbors called the police before you were hurt further. Both your parents were arrested and charged with assault, possession of marijuana, and reckless endangerment of a child. Your injuries will all be healed as if nothing happened", he says with a placid smile. I shake my head softly-- stopping immediately after because it made the room spin-- and give a painful laugh.

"I can't believe that's all they were charged with, haha. If only they knew", I mumble to myself. Both the doctor and the aide looked at me curiously, before sharing a glance amongst themselves. I didn't care.

"What's the bad news"?

The aide hesitates for a second before speaking.

"Because of the court of law and since you were in a critical state, we treated you and performed a few surgeries. Naturally, it costs money yet we were made aware that you don't have insurance or a viable caregiver to go to. Normally a surgery like this would be covered. Not to mention that your diagnostic has you registered for painkillers and bed rest for a month", he says calmly.

I use my healthy arm-- by this I mean the one that didn't have extreme pain every time I inhaled-- and ran my fingers through my hair.

"Okay. So what do I do? How do I pay this off--"

"I'm not sure. We can ask your parents once they are--"

"NO! JUST TELL ME WHAT I NEED TO DO", I yell through the pain. Wide eyes are staring at me. I feel my face heat up as my eyes start to sting. "I don't want to ever rely on them for even a penny, so what can I do? What can I do"?

This time the doctor came forward and rested her soft hand on my forehead. She frowns and then smiles down at me.

"No wonder you woke up so soon. Your fever isn't letting you heal right now", she says. Her voice is calming to me. "I will pay for your stay this week, but you have to call somebody, somebody who's willing to help you".

I sigh in relief. I'm covered for a week then but after that? Then what? Who could I call? It's not like I have other fami--

I look up at the nurse quickly, causing her to cock her head to the side.

"Could you call a number for me"?