Where to Begin

Chapter 32

  As I opened my eyes, a bright white light blurred my vision. Once everything came into focus, I processed my surroundings. White walls, the faint sounds of beeping machines, white linen and a soft but itchy gown.

I was in hospital.

A doctor suddenly walked over to me and as I regained more and more of my consciousness, there was a blinding pain coming from my legs.

"Celine? Celine? Can you hear me?"

There was slight ringing in my ears and someone shined a torch, brighter than the room's lights, in my eyes but I could hear him.

"Yes?" I murmured.

"Oh, good." He said turning to a nurse behind him. A tall man with greying hair and pale skin spoke with her for a few minutes and then turned back to me.

"What hospital is this? What's the time?"

"Bay Area Hospital and it's nearly...12:30am," the doctor said kindly, looking at his watch. He had big brown, deep-set eyes and a thin mouth, lots of wrinkles around his eyes and lines in his forehead. Up close you could see small freckles around his face and neck.

"How far are we from Mapleton?" I asked groggily.

"Mapleton?" He asked surprised. "Well, that's a good hour away, Miss. My aunt lives in Mapleton,"

"What?"

"Well, I don't think you'll be going back there very soon anyway. You have a mild concussion and you're lucky to still have both your legs,"

"What do you mean?" I could hear exactly what this guy was saying but for some reason, it didn't make any sense.

"The way your car hit the truck was at such an angle that it allowed only a few minor fractures in your femur and tibia. If it had hit you any other way, you'd have been paralyzed waist down,"

"What!"

"It's ok, I just need you to stay calm and don't move a lot. Your car was pretty smashed when our medics got to the site,"

"Car?" I couldn't remember anything this guy was telling me.

"Can you tell me your surname?"

"Celine Carmichael," I said blinking to regain my focus.

"Ok, I am going to need to do blood tests and some more X-Rays and MRIs and a tiny bit of surgery on your forehead here." The doctor said making his lips a thin line.

I nodded slightly.

A nurse came into my room about ten minutes later and wheeled me into another bright white room, which smelled of disinfectant and rubber, to get my X-Rays done. Then, I was wheeled to another small room where I had to get blood testing for any signs of who knows what and eventually, after three hours of slow blood tests and X-rays, I was wheeled into a big white room where I was anesthetized and had stitches put in my head for some cut the doctor said I had.

A nurse came into my room fifteen minutes after Doctor Melroy had left, wheeled me back into my little room and put a tray with weird looking food in front of me.

"Here you go. We've got some porridge and raisins," the nurse said pointing to a red bowl filled with beige liquid and brown dots. "Some vanilla yoghurt and a nice cold glass of water." She said with a welcoming smile on her face.

"Thank you." I mumbled. I opened the weird looking yoghurt and didn't touch the porridge with raisins. I chugged the whole glass of water quickly and quickly felt thirsty for more. The nurse, who had brown hair tied in a tight bun at the back of her head, brought me a jug of water. Soon after, someone called her and she hurried out into the hall. I tried remembering what had happened but I could not rack my brain of the last twenty-four hours.

All I could remember was I left the house and was in a rush to go somewhere.

"Here is your phone Miss Carmichael. It was found in your jeans pocket." The nurse, whose name was apparently Ranette, handed me a small iPhone. I opened the phone and searched my contacts. No contacts? How could I have no contacts?

I only remembered one phone number. I didn't know whom it belonged to but I dialed it anyway. Unfortunately, I was still so drugged up from the anesthetic that I fell asleep before anyone answered.