Life, Death, Imagination

Part 3

I closed my eyes again.

I couldn't stand the way Jo was screaming at me.

The way Mrs. Dower was praying for me.

The way mum was just looking at me.

I managed to block it all out.

I slipped into a wonderful dream where it was just Ashley and me. Playing at the park. Swinging up and down for hours.

But then I fell off and a horrible pain fled to my head.

I opened my eyes and gasped.

Harsh lights hit my eyes and crying invaded my ears.

Jo ran over to me and asked if I was okay.I completely ignored her and looked at mum. She was the source of the crying.

"Don't worry about her Dolly Dawn, how are you?!" I couldn't understand what she was talking about. Mum was the one who was in distress. Then I remembered Mrs. Dower. The crash of my skull hitting the dash board. The smashing of the glass. And the screams. The screams weren't me, they belonged solely to the social worker.

A nurse walked into my room and looked at a machine beside the bed I was lying in. I finally realised I was in a stranger's bed. A stranger's room. I never remembered coming to hospital. I looked at the nurse. The nurse looked at me.

It was a male nurse. I don't know whether that's significant or not.

I looked at Jo with a confused gaze imprinted on my face.

"Oh Dawn! You don't remember!" She exclaimed. I remembered getting hurt, but nothing further than that. "Well, you hurt yourself badly in Mrs. What's-her-name's car. Greg will exlain more."

She flashed a flirtacious grin at 'Greg'. I didn't like the way he smiled back.

"Dawn, you have had a terrible fall and banged your head dear." He talked to me as though I was three. "And what has happened is that when you smashed your head against the dash board you got a concussion but also when you did that the windscreen shattered and you got some scratches. You also got a piece of glass lodged in your head. We have taken it out and sewed your noggin back up so you don't have to worry about your brains falling out!" After he said that last bit he smiled at Jo again.

Like they had some little secret.

My hand shot up to my head and I felt the stitches near the top of my forehead.

"Seven in total. A new record!" Jo giggled at Greg's stupid joke.

I glared at him.

I didn't like him. At all.

"Could I have a moment with my sister please?" I directed the question at Greg.

"Sure! I can take a hint." As though it was subtle. More giggles from Jo.

Greg left and I beckoned for Jo to come over to me.

"What was that!?" I half shouted. Tuts came from the hallway. Thin walls.

Jo seemed completely bewildered. "What?"

How could my sister be so stupid. "How old is he?"

"Twenty-one. He's just a trainee nurse. Isn't he cute?"

"God Jo! Do you want to get raped?!" More tuts.

"Oh shut up Dawn, you wouldn't know anything about boys." Her tone clearly said conversation over.

I glanced around the room. The walls were completely white. The carpet was beige except for a browny-red stain. I did not want to know where that came from. Mum was occupying the only chair, now looking a little more together. Jo was sitting on the floor beside my bed holding a small remote. As she pushed a button my bed went up, and then it went down, then up again. It was quite annoying but the pure joy on Jo's face made her look younger. More like the sister she used to be. Rather than this girl that went around chasing male nurses five years older than her. This girl I barely knew.