Lost & Insecure

Twenty-Four - Vulnerable

Sirens. That's the last thing Dana remembered hearing – the sirens getting louder indicating that the ambulance was getting closer. The world was hazy, but it was still there. It was upside down and distorted, but it was still there.

There were red lights from the ambulance flashing on and off, and Dana found herself focusing in on those lights. Dana's world in those moments, when she could see the red lights, occurred in slow motion. She was trapped in her flipped car and it felt like that was going to be the last memory Dana would have. That thought scared Dana. She didn't want the last thing she saw to be those lights. Dana wanted her last memory – her last thought, her last sight, her last everything – to be Katie.

Dana woke up in a hospital bed. It was cold and dark and lonely in the room. She was startled at first, not knowing where she was, but it didn't take her long to realize where she had woken up. Dana found a button beside her bed and gathered all her energy to reach for it in pain. After struggling, Dana attacked the button and called a nurse to her room. A tall, dark man in his early thirties gently opened the door and popped his head in and turned the light on. He smiled, seeing Dana was awake and made his way into her room. "Hi there. My name is Nathaniel. You can call me Nate if you want. What can I do for you?" Nate smiled at Dana.

"Actually, you can tell me what happened after the accident. I can't remember." Dana was noticeably embarrassed about the entire situation.

"Of course." Nate shot her another smile. "The ambulance picked you up and brought you to the trauma center here. They didn't know how badly your internal injuries were. Turns out, not bad. Your injuries are mostly external. You tore several of the muscles in your right leg, so you'll have to go to physical therapy and wear a brace whenever you're not sleeping or resting your leg somewhere. You also have a minor fracture in the growth plate in your left upper arm as well as a major fracture in your radius in your left forearm. You'll have to wear a cast from your elbow to your wrist and a sling for at least six weeks. Besides those three injuries the rest are just cuts and bruises – nothing major."

"Where's my family?" Dana asked.

"They've been here since they heard. I'll bring them in for you." Nate turned to leave. Dana thanked him as she watched him exit the room. A few moments later, Karen and Eddie rushed into the room and to either side of Dana's bed.

Karen and Eddie stood there in silence, both staring at Dana. They didn't embrace Dana like movies would convince you, or even yell at her for driving that late at night the way a normal family would. Karen and Eddie didn't react immediately in any way at all. After staring in silence, a small smile tugged on the corner of Karen's lips and the only words that managed to escape were, "Thank God you're okay."

Eddie pulled a chair beside Dana's bed and lowered himself down into the old, faded seat to be next to his cousin. "Everyone is outside." Eddie spoke up. "They all came as soon as they heard." Karen offered to bring Dana's friends back to her room, and Dana gladly accepted. Karen left the room, closing the door behind her. Eddie didn't look at Dana when he spoke, "She was a mess." Dana stared at her cousin, waiting for him to continue. "She got the call early this morning. It was like in the movies. You know, when someone gets a call and drops the phone because they're so in shock?" Eddie turned his head to look at Dana. His eyes seemed more golden than usual, most likely from tears. "I had to drive here because she was such a wreck. Auntie Karen is the strongest person I know..." Eddie paused. He was noticeably choked up. He looked Dana in her eyes and continued, "But she cried every time she started to think about what happened to you."

"Eddie, I-" Dana was interrupted before she could apologize. Her door was open and her friends were flooding in. Ashley was, without any surprise, leading the charge.