Emma: Seventh Grade

Chapter 23: Awakening

The first thing Emma heard was soft, continuous beeping. It was like an alarm clock, but softer and strangely soothing. When she opened her eyes, all she could see was a bright, white light. Where was she? Was she in the after life? Her mouth was extremely dry and her throat was so scratchy it felt like there was something stuck in it. She tried to move her arms, but it felt like they were tied down.

As Emma's eyes got used to the light, she glanced around the room. There was a big, flat screen TV mounted near the ceiling. Directly under the TV was a whiteboard with some names written on it. To the left of that, there was a computer, and above the computer was a shelf with a fan on it. Otherwise the walls were a plain white color.

Emma tried to sit up, but her head fell right back down on the pillow. Her hands were indeed tied down and there was definitely something in her throat. She tried to call out for help, but the thing in her throat was blocking her voice box, so she couldn't talk. She started to freak out. Where was she?! Her heart pounded and she was breathing faster and faster as she struggled to free herself from the restraints that were holding her hands down.

Just then, two nurses, a man and a woman, ran in the room. They were wearing pale blue scrubs and their name badges jingled as they ran.

"Hey hey hey! Calm down, honey," the female nurse said, her voice firm but gentle. She gently pushed down on Emma's shoulders, making her lay back in the bed. "You're in the hospital."

"You have a tube in your throat, so don't try to talk yet," the male nurse informed her, putting rubber gloves on his hands. "I'm about to take it out right now."

As Emma felt the tube slide out of her throat, she started gagging. "You're doing great," the nurse encouraged her. He finished pulling the tube out and threw it in the trash. "How do you feel?" he asked as he put oxygen tubing in her nose.

"Thirsty," Emma replied. Her voice was hoarse and scratchy, and her throat was sore from the tube.

"I'll get you some water," the female nurse said, leaving the room. 

Emma tried to lift her hands up, but they were still tied down. "Can you untie me?" she asked the male nurse, who sat in the chair next to her bed.

"Yes, we can untie you," the nurse replied, getting up from his chair. "We didn't want you pulling that tube out by yourself." He proceeded to free Emma's wrists from the restraints, one at a time. By the time he was done, the female nurse came back with a Styrofoam cup with a lid and straw. She pushed a button on the side of Emma's bed which helped her sit up and handed the cup to Emma.

"Thanks," Emma said, grabbing the cup from her and sipping from the straw. She noticed that she had an IV in each hand, and her entire forearms were wrapped with gauze, covering her numerous self-inflicted wounds. There was a blood pressure cuff attached to her right arm and an oxygen sensor on her finger. She was dressed in a thin hospital gown, and on her chest was five different colored wires leading to a monitor above her bed. Her legs were covered with a cream colored hospital blanket and there was some kind of machine at the end of her bed. She even had a catheter inserted in her bladder, which Emma thought was nice because she didn't have to ask anyone to take her to the bathroom.

"Why am I here?" Emma asked, still a bit foggy in the head. Her whole body hurt terribly and she felt so weak she could barely move.

"Your mom found you on the floor unconscious after you drank an entire bottle of Nyquil," the male nurse explained. "She called an ambulance because you were having trouble breathing, and they brought you here."

Immediately, Emma remembered how Lizzie betrayed her, which led to Josh cutting off his relationship with her, which led to the worst day of Emma's life. She recalled taking the bottle of Nyquil as soon as she got home from school that day; she was so depressed about losing the last of her friends that she wanted to kill herself. However, she was expecting to die, not survive and end up in the hospital. Her eyes filled with tears as the memories of the past few weeks came flooding back to her. "How long have I been here?" Emma asked quietly, avoiding eye contact with the nurses.