The Stars

Ch 10: The Dream

The next morning I woke up feeling very dizzy. I felt so drained... I opened my eyes and it felt like the world was spinning... I felt warm and sticky, but I wasn't sweating... Wait a second... Why am I soaking wet..? Am I crying? No... I rubbed my face to clear off the excess moisture. When I saw my hand, I noticed something... Blood...

Me: "Wh—..."

I felt my nostrils. My face had a stream of blood rushing from my nose. I looked down and saw blood all over my clothes, all over my mattress, blankets and pillows. It was EVERYWHERE...

Me: "WHAT THE FUCK?!?"

I began to panic... I rushed to the bathroom to clean myself up and stuff my nose with tissues. There was so much blood on my shirt that it soaked through onto my chest and stomach. I had to shower to get it all off my skin... I never take morning showers because of how groggy I end up feeling. I jumped in and immediately started lathering soap all over my body.

After a few minutes, I was already starting to feel groggy. Eventually, I started to feel a little too groggy... How much blood did I lose..? I was moving a little too quickly for being fresh out of bed... I was losing a lot of blood and a lot of energy... This shower is getting really hot... The blood didn't seem to come off of my skin very easily... I kept scrubbing, but I felt so much weaker... My legs began to shake, my vision began to blur, my hearing began to fade, and my eyes began to shut... The next second, I passed out in the shower.

     It felt like I was in a nightmare. I was unable to see or move. I could faintly hear my mom shriek, and then we were in the car. How did we get here so fast? In what seemed like seconds, we arrived back at the hospital. I was rushed into urgent care and immediately rigged up with an IV drip.

The world was a blur. My vision swirled and contorted like an oil painting had come to life. The colors blended throughout the canvas that is my vision. Occasionally, I would be able to see and hear just fine, but only momentarily.
Eventually, I grew less dizzy and began to grasp reality a bit better. The nurse rushed in. It was the same nurse as last time.

Nurse: "Goodness! I assumed you'd be back soon but not this soon... Can you tell me what happened?"

Me: "I remember I woke up soaking wet. I thought it was sweat because it was a pretty hot night to sleep comfortably, but it was blood. I was soaked in my own blood. My nose was gushing more than it ever had before. So I rushed to go wash up, but I think I was panicking a little too much. I got in the shower, and... uhh.... I don't remember..."

Mom: "I found him nearly drowning in his own blood in the tub. I heard a thud and rushed in to find that he fell asleep. When he fell, his foot must've covered the drain. The shower was just starting to fill up the tub. He was so red. Look at him. He still looks flushed..."

She was right. I didn't even notice. I'm red as a beet. I don't even turn red. My skin doesn't have that type of complexion. The nurse immediately grabbed the nearest thermometer.

Nurse: "Oh my god... He's at 217°F!"

My mom buried her face in her hands. The nurse opened the hospital doors and stuck her head outside.

Nurse: "GET SOME ICE! GET THIS PATIENT ON ICE NOW!"

I heard distant shuffling and murmuring. The nurses and doctors were working fast to get me that ice. I began to feel really dizzy again... I could feel my nose twitch... It began to expel a thick, dark glob of blood... Like Jello coming out of my nose... The nurse hastily grabbed a Kleenex from across the room and cleaned the contents from my nose. She stared at it... confused...