Dead Roses

Smoke

Chapter Three

London's P.O.V

Sanitizers and other disinfectants swarm my nostrils as I wake from my unconsciousness. Beams of light stream from the ceiling, taping my eyes shut tightly. Frequent beeps alert me, forcing my restless body to slump into a sitting position and force my eyes open, ignoring the agonizing pain in the back of my head.

"You're okay London. Please calm down," a soft voice reassures me. I flinch as I feel a hand rubbing my shoulder. "Mackenna, be a darl and fetch a nurse," Rosaleena commands, as she continues to caress my shoulder.

"There is a button right there, press it to fetch a nurse," she mocks her mother, gesturing to the button. Rosaleena sighs rolling her dark brown eyes and presses the button, almost immediately a nurse and doctor rush in.

"Hello, London, how are you feeling?" The doctor whose name I've learned is Dr. Richard Blakely, by his plastic name tag written in bold writing draping from his neck. In his hands holds a cork board pinning paper securely on its surface, with what I assume is my records among the many papers held there.

"Good, why am I here?" I manage to say wearily while clearing my throat from built up phlegm.

"Could you recount your day for me please?" the nurse says, completely ignoring my question.

I remember I hadn't caught a wink of sleep last night nor had I eaten food. "I-I was on my way to school, with my boyfriend. There was someone parked in his parking spot. He didn't like that, so he began to fight them," I immediately gasp earning a series of beeps from the heart rate monitor.

He fought Nyke.

"Thank you, ma'am. Do you recall being pushed over, by anyone and hitting your head?" Dr. Blakely asks. I stare blankly at him. "Based on what bystanders watching the fight had said, Greyson Jones had pushed you over forcefully, and you hit your head on the concrete. I'm greatly sorry ma'am"

He hurt me?

I can't imagine such a thing.

"From your fall, you gained an acute side effect. Based on keeping an eye on you as you slept, and the results from the electroencephalogram, you have got petit mal," the room began to spin, "Petit mal is a form of epilepsy involving a brief loss of consciousness, followed by blinking or twitching of the mouth. This can be tamed by carbamazepine which is prescribed to you in pharmacies. It's nothing too bad, it won't occur a lot. Especially at your age, it will die down quite quickly,"

"Nothing too bad? It's outrageous, she's going to suffer for god knows how long, because this fucking boy pushed her over!" Rosaleena scoffs, deflating her anger towards the doctor. Through her distress, sadness looms within her disagreements. The longer Rosaleena floats on about the incident the more the sounds muffle and become harder to comprehend. The aching pain throbbing at the back of my head softens, while my emotions have dissolved. I'm drowning and can't feel anything. Numbness has taken over my body.

***

After being discharged from my designated hospital bed, I was bedridden for three weeks. During the first week of being glued to my bed, I encountered a minor seizure, and for my misfortune, I survived. With nothing left to do besides float in the flood of cold thoughts that continuously washed over me, I couldn't help but wish the seizure dragged me away from my life. My thoughts have been weighed down by the memory of my body having zero control, my eyes shifting back and forth while my mouth searching for air, and the uncontrollable movements of my body shaking. With the seizure's departure, it took the last fragment of sanity left within me.

By surprise, visitors have welcomed their way into visiting me. Their sympathetic smiles plastered on their smug lips accompanied the pity full gifts they brought. In particular, I favored the roses, the petals slowly withered away, turning into shades of crimson from the result of being dehydrated and mistreated, in some way I couldn't help but compare the almost dead roses, to myself, they resembled perfectly filling in every detail of my life. Mistreated, and slowing falling from the edge I've been pushed to.

To make up my second week of hell, which adults like to label as bedrest, I found myself sneaking out of the house to a local newsagency and swiping a pack of Marlboro cigarettes. I voluntarily allowed the smoke to enter my lungs, forcing damage upon myself to emerge. Tobacco sought its way through my belongings, trailing a foul odor behind my path constantly. The dreaded day rolled around quicker than I thought, and it is now time for me to return to the hell hole I receive my so-called 'education' from.

I take one last long drag from my cigarette before throwing the remaining butt into the filthy toilet bowl, watching it whirl, then disappear. While raking my fingers through my knotted hair, I exit the toilet stall only to be greeted by Aubrey.

"Hey,"

"Hi," we both exchange our greetings.

"You look like shit," Aubrey says playing with the ends of her dark hair.

"I feel better than ever," I respond, far from the complete truth. Of course, I'm prone to feeling and looking like shit.

"Your thinner," she pointed to my bicep, which was covered by a large black jumper. "And you smoke now," she barely whispers nodding as she realized.

"What did you want me to do? Lying down for three fucking weeks sulking miserably as I suffer alone, no thank you. These cigarettes have been my support when you weren't," I release all my anger towards her, my words and my cigarette scented breath lingers in the air.

"I'm not going to embarrass myself, to try and salvage a friendship, when all you are doing is pushing me away. I wanted to help you these past weeks, but you ignored my calls and texts. Mackenna and Aliza refused to let me into your house. So how the fuck was I supposed to support you? How was I supposed to be the friend you deserve?" tears brim her eyes as she stares into my lifeless ones.

"I deserve nothing," I dramatically say, exiting the bathroom to find my class.

Hi, thank you for reading this chapter, I hope you enjoyed it! I know it a super short chapter, but the next one is going to be jam-packed. HA. Leave some constructive feedback in the comments (or don't). Make sure you vote!!

The weather is good somewhere :)