Fallen

Chapter 5

She shot up as she gulped a huge, painful breath. Even with her vision heavily blurred she could see she was no longer in Landon's house, she was some place different, very different, and she wasn't alone. The room was bright, the ceiling shone with white, LED lights that made her head spin. It was cold in that room, the fire was gone, but her body still ached. Deena tried to lift her arm but pain tore across her limbs and knocked the breath right out of her, a very familiar feeling. She cried out and someone grabbed her hand, she looked toward her mother as her vision slowly became clearer, and just as quickly as it came, her vision was gone and a group of men and women in white enveloped her.

It felt as if her eyes had just closed, for a second, no, a millisecond, and then she was awake. This time she was fully awake, she could see everything and feel everything. Deena was, in fact, in a hospital room, and her mother lay asleep in the visitor's chair next to her. Confusion prodded at her blurred thoughts, how did she get here? Where was Landon? The darkness? So many questions, no answers.

"Deena!" Her mother was awake now, breathing a sigh of relief. "You're up." Her wrinkles smiled, and Deena really saw the age, really saw how time was beginning to be unkind to her mother.

"How did I get here?" Deena couldn't think of her mother in that moment. In fact she couldn't think of anything other than the fact that a few minutes ago she was dying, and now, she was here, but how?

"Deena, you need to lay back down, you're not strong enough to get up yet," Cheryl placed a well-manicured hand upon Deena's arm and guided her back into the bed. "I'll explain everything soon."

"No mom! Explain now! How did I get here? A second ago I was with Landon..."
She massaged her temples. "Where's Landon? Is he ok? I need to see him!" She struggled against her mother's firm grip.

"Listen to me Deena, you are sick, very sick and you need help." Cheryl choked back tears as her mascara trailed her pale cheeks. "These people will take good care of you, better care than your father and I can provide." As she spoke, Cheryl's face contorted with pain, as if the words made her sick.

"What are you talking about?" Deena stopped struggling.

"Deena, I know this is hard for you to understand, and I'm sorry we didn't tell you sooner, that we didn't help you sooner..." Cheryl stopped mid sentence and a tear slid down her sorrowful face. "You are and have been mentally ill since you were a child. You're epileptic and schizophrenic, Deena."

Deena could do nothing. She was once again paralyzed, not with pain this time, in fact she felt nothing, she felt empty. The words passed through her ears and met her brain, but she couldn't register them. She just sat there, staring at her sleep-deprived mother.

"But that doesn't answer your question does it?" An ill attempt at humor. "You got home from school and went upstairs. I heard shouting, so I went to check on you, but before I could you were out the door and in your father's car. I followed you, to make sure you were safe and get you to pull over, but it was raining hard and I couldn't see you. The doctors told me you had a seizure on the road and crashed the car. You've been in a coma for two weeks, Deena."

"What about Caleb? Where's Caleb?"

"Deena..."

"Where is he!"