All

Chapter Twenty

"I should have been there to protect you. I will never stop being sorry."

Noah's voice was distant and faint. His normally strong, confident tone had disappeared and he sounded like a broken man. Like he'd been crying.

I tried to open my mouth to speak, but my lips resisted.

"I never should have let you leave like that," he whispered. "I'm so, so sorry, Abi."

What was he sorry for? I needed to speak to him to find out, or at least look at his face to gather some kind of indication. But, as I desperately tried to reach out for him in the darkness, my eyes stayed firmly closed and my limbs refused to move.

You're dreaming, my subconscious taunted. Just wake up, it's all make believe.

His lips gently pressed against my cheek. If this was a dream then why did it feel so real? I could smell him. I could feel the warmth of his breath as his mouth touched my skin.

Just wake up, Abi, none of this is happening.

Finally flickering my eyes open, the bright strip lights blurred my vision. Blinking to adjust to the harsh lighting, it took me a good few seconds to recognise my mum's face hovering above me. She looked tired, and older than she did just a few weeks ago when I was home for Christmas.

"Oh, Abi, my baby girl," she cried out, as tears rolled down her cheeks. Placing a lingering kiss on my forehead as she wrapped her hands around my face, she spoke frantically. "Don't try and talk yet sweetie, just hold tight and I'll call the doctor in. I'll be two seconds, you just hold on there."

Doctor? What was my mum doing in my flat? And why was she now calling a doctor?

What the fuck...?

As my heavy eyelids wrenched open a little further, I glanced around my room for some kind of clue as to what the hell was going on. But it wasn't my bedroom.

Pipes and wires were streaming out from all directions around me. The methodical, repetitive noise of machines and monitors became louder with each shrill beep.

Wait. Am I in hospital?

The door swung back open suddenly and my mum came running back in with two medical-looking women in tow.

"Abigail, I'm Doctor Choudry," one of the women said gently as she approached me. "You've been asleep for a little while so please don't try to talk or move just yet, I'm just going to check a few things first, okay?"

Blinking my eyes in response, Dr Choudry removed a penlight from her pocket and began to shine it into my pupils, before moving down to lightly touch various parts of my body.

I groaned weakly. I had intended it to be actual words, but my throat felt like sandpaper and my mouth was bone dry.

"Nurse, can we get these oxygen tubes out now please?" Dr Choudry instructed her colleague, who jumped into action pulling something uncomfortable out of my mouth and nose, making me gag in the process.

Gasping a deep breath into my lungs, I ignored the searing pain that shot through my ribs and finally managed to speak.

"What's going on?" I croaked.

"You were in a road traffic accident, Abigail," Dr Choudry said, looking up from the notes she was reading at the foot of my bed. "You've been out cold for five days now but, on first observation, it seems your vitals are all okay and you're nice and responsive. We're not out of the woods yet, though, so you just rest up here and I'll be back soon to do some more tests. Okay, dear?"