The Wind Doesn't Talk Back

Prison

When Avery woke up, his head hurt worse than any headache he'd ever had. So bad that it threatened to make him gag on the blanket draped over his body. He kept his eyes closed even though he was awake.

"He's in here, Mr. Jordan," A voice that Avery vaguely recognized said.

"Thank you, Aurora." The man she'd spoken to was his father. Avery opened his eyes, and the bright lights of the hospital room almost made him close them again. Once the nurse his father was talking to saw that he was awake, she didn't walk away like she normally would have. Instead, she instructed his father to wait outside the room for a moment.

"Avery, tell me how you feel."

"Like I was just in a car accident."

"Ha. Seriously. Tell me."

"My head hurts a lot. about the worse. It feels hot in here, too," Avery said. The nurses face seemed to darken for a second, but then it went back to normal. Avery didn't think much of it.

"Some men are going to want to ask you what happened. Is that okay with you?"

Avery shook his head.

"Why don't you tell me then," The nurse suggested.

"I was driving. I didn't see the other car until it had already hit me."

"Why didn't you see it?"

"I," Avery stopped.

"You were falling asleep."

Avery nodded.

The nurse looked at him, then walked out of the room. His father came in.

"Avery..." He says, "Your sisters been freaking out. Tell me you'll be okay." His father's voice was the weakest Avery had ever heard it. He hadn't sounded like that even after Avery's mother died.

Avery didn't want to talk anymore. His whole body ached. His arm was broken, wrapped in a hard white cast. But he still spoke.

"Tell her I'm alright," Avery demanded. He wasn't sure it was true, but his sister was the one who was sick. Not him. "Are you mad at me?" Avery wanted to know the answer to the question since the second the other car hit him.

"Why would I be mad?"

"I destroyed your car."

"No, Avery, I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at myself, for letting you drive when you hadn't slept in days. I should have driven you home."

Avery begged his father to go back to his sister's room. Eventually, his father left. The walls of this room were the same uninviting shade of green as Ashleys. The room was a prison. The room was his prison. Room 1123 was his sister's prison. Room 223 had been his mother's.

Suddenly the room felt smaller. Confining. Avery felt like he couldn't breathe. He felt like he was back in that car the second it got hit. Back in this hospital the day his mother died. He heard people talking around him, trying to calm him, but he couldn't be calmed.

And the world, as he wanted it to, faded away again.

He woke up again in a different room. The same green walls. The only way he knew it was different was because of the window, which was now higher, showing the rooftop of another building.

Nurses were quiet when they came into his room. They had to be. They wanted him to stay conscious for as long as he could, excluding sleeping when its normal at night. Avery managed to pull himself into a sitting position. His head still hurt, but less.

His father came back to his room late at night. Way past visiting hours. But he was technically supposed to be working so they couldn't stop him.

"Hey," Avery spoke first.

"How're you feeling today?"

"You're not a doctor... Not mine, anyway."

"I still care," His father countered.

"Better. What about Ashley?"

"Better. She won't shut up about you though."

"She shouldn't care. I'll survive," Avery said.

"Maybe she shouldn't care, but she's thirteen Avery, and you're hurt. And since your mother, both of your minds just seem to jump to the worst possible conclusion."

Avery couldn't say he was wrong about that.

"When are they going to let me out of here?"

"I don't know. Dr. Oakley is running a few more tests."

"Why?"

His father hesitated, "I don't know."

"Sure you don't."

"Avery... It's late. Dr. Oakley wants you to get some more sleep."

Avery didn't argue. He fell back asleep quickly.