This Is Just A Dream. Or is it my reality?

Chapter Twenty-Three: The End

This is it )': I'll be posting the epilogue right after this. I wasn't going to do an epilogue, but figured I'd get people who weren't satisfied, so I did. Enjoy, my lovlies <3 I'll put the title of my new story at the end of this chapter.

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      I stared up into the bright sunlight, feeling its rays warm my body to the core. White, puffy clouds floated slowly through the bright blue sky and occasionally changed shapes. The soft grass molded to fit my body perfectly as it danced in a slight breeze, carrying the scent of daises and summertime. I let out a sigh of contentment and breathed in the sweet warmth surrounding me. My black hair was splayed out like a fan on the field’s floor and the sundress I was wearing ruffled a little with each rush of air that went through. I was surrounded by perfect serenity. I didn’t remember how I got in that field, but I didn’t care. All I cared about was the calmness and peace flowing easily in my body. Only the sound of a chirping bird occasionally broke the silence, forcing a small smile to rest on my lips.

    I let my eyes flutter shut and rested easily in the cool grass. My breathing slowed down and I let out a yawn. Sleepiness was already engulfing my mind, slowly dragging me under its restful spell. I let it take over, finding myself on the brink of sleep just as my ears caught onto a slight beeping sound. I tried ignoring it, but it remained consistent with a rhythmic  beat. I opened my eyes and sat up, scanning the field for a source and coming up empty. Nothing but me and the daises. The beeping slowly became louder, infiltrating my mind and driving me crazy. I collapsed back into a ball, clamping my hands down over my ears, but I could still hear it steadily getting louder.

    “Stop,” I cried, “Make it stop!” The beeping finally became so loud, it was all I could hear. It drowned out the sound of my breathing, my heartbeat, and even the birds. My mind was flooded with its unmerciful rhythm.

    My eyes flew open only to be greeted by blinding white. I squeezed them shut again, slowly realizing that I could still hear that dreadful beep, only it was softer. It almost sounded like a heart monitor. Confused, I peeled my eyelids open more slowly and found myself to be in a hospital room. I was hooked up to all kinds of IVs and monitors, which left me basically immobile. My mom was sitting in a chair next to my bed, exhausted eyes trained on the TV on my wall. I spotted my dad curled up under a blanket on a cot, probably sleeping. Even unconscious he looked tired and weary. What happened? My head felt like someone was beating it with a ten-pound hammer.

    “Mom?” I croaked, surprised by the rough sound of my own voice. Her head snapped over to me, eyes instantly flooding with relief and a new kind of concern all in one.

    “Candice! Oh my gosh, you’re awake!” Tears begun welling up in her eyes as she took my hand in hers and looked down on me lovingly. “A nurse should be here any second, honey, I promise. Are you in pain? You look like you’re in pain. You have a morphine drip in your arm, maybe they should up the dosage…”

    “Mom,” I interrupted in my unusually soft voice. “What happened? Why am I here?”

    Her eyebrows furrowed. “You don’t remember, do you?”  

     The last thing I remembered was Landon walking in while I was kissing Heath…then Heath on the ground. “Heath,” I gasped. “Where’s Heath? He’s okay isn’t he?!” I tried to sit up, but my mom forced me back down.

    “Heath is fine sweetie. He’s down in the cafeteria right now. I had to force him to get something to eat. He wouldn’t leave your side.”

     A sigh of relief rushed through my papery lips and I relaxed back into the bed. “Then what happened to me? Why does it feel like someone is cracking my skull open?”