GHOSTS - GRAYSON DOLAN

nine: confusion

The wind whipped Valerie's hair around as she slammed her car door shut, pouring rain already beginning to soak her clothes. Storms like this didn't happen often around here, she wanted to take advantage.

Waves were crashing against the rocks below as she walked toward the beach, barefoot and excited. Rain was always comforting to her, and watching storms at the ocean was something she would never take for granted.

The weather was warm, loud thunder coming in rolling waves. It was the perfect storm.

She watched as lightning struck the water out in the distance, climbing up one of the rocks to get a better view. She walked toward the edge to watch the water and moved to sit down, but the waves had made them slippery. She fell.

Her right arm smashed into a rock on the way down, pain shooting through it as her body hit the water. Salt immediately stung her eyes and her nose.

Coughing and choking, she tried to reach the rocks again only to be pulled deeper. Valerie was panicking, unable to think straight as water began filling her lungs.

It was cold, and left a bitter taste in her mouth. Her arm was in incredible pain, and she found it impossible to use it to stay afloat. She tried her best with just her left, desperate attempts to keep her head above water futile.

The dark and choppy sea let her surface for a short break before pulling her under again. She thought this was the end as she noticed how far from the rocks she'd already been pulled.

Valerie woke up gasping, her eyes shooting open and forgetting where she was for a moment. Then she felt some pain.

As she hits the button for the nurse, her head is spinning and pounding. But then she realizes--she's awake. Really awake. The nurse rushes in just as she was trying to get out of bed. "Hey! It's okay, please stay in bed, you've just woken up from a coma."

"I know I--I gotta go," Valerie mumbles, wincing at the tug on the IV and movement of her muscles for the first time in a while. "Could you please remove this?"

The nurse looks at her with wide eyes, shocked. It wasn't normal for coma patients to insist on getting up immediately like that. A lot of her injuries had healed, but she still had major loss of oxygen and would surely still need to recover from what that did to her brain.

Valerie only then notices the cast on her arm. Her head begins pounding harder when she tries doing things too fast, her entire body aches, but she tries to push through it to go see Grayson.

The nurse, however, insists on getting the doctor and running some tests. The only thing that keeps her sane is knowing that Grayson would surely be dealing with the same reaction. She frowns as she talked to the doctor, noticing how pale her skin was.

"Valerie, you experienced a very traumatic event," her doctor says as they check her vitals. "How does your head feel?"

"Migraine," she mumbles, her speech slow. As she looks around more, she notices her vision is blurred. "Why is everything... fuzzy?"

"That is common for many patients. Vision clears up for most after a few days," he tells her. "You're surprisingly energetic for having just woken up."

Valerie shrugs slightly, mostly focused on trying to swallow her spit. It felt extremely difficult--not to mention her mouth felt unnaturally dry at the same time. The nurse brings her a small cup of water, which she downs. Though as she holds the cup, her arm shakes.

The doctor asks more questions for a while, a lot about her memory. She didn't mention remembering everything she did while in the coma. Something told her that she was meant to keep that to herself.

"Okay, I don't want to overwhelm you so I think we're going to give you a break to process," he says after a while. "You still have lingering symptoms, but nothing major. I expect you'll make a full recovery. We're going to contact your family now, please call if you need anything."

Valerie nods, her head still pounding so hard she could barely think. They gave her something for her pain, but it hasn't kicked in yet.

As soon as she's alone, she moves to get out of bed. Her feet shake as she plants them in the ground, and she has to hold onto the bed for a few seconds until she gains her balance. Very carefully, she leaves her room and walks toward Grayson's. Balancing was hard, and people gave her odd looks, but she makes it.

Grayson was still asleep.

"Gray... Grayson, please," Valerie gasps, reaching his side. "Please wake up."

She's been up for a little while now--how was he still out? What if he couldn't wake up? Was this all a mistake?

Tears fill her eyes as she holds his hand, begging him to wake up. If he was still on the other side, still in the room, maybe he could hear her.

"Give me a sign that you're around," she mumbles. "Please."

Nothing comes.

"Hey! What are you doing in here? You need to leave," Ethan snaps as he walks in. "Family only. We can't have--"

"I'm not a fan I--he's supposed to be awake! Grayson is supposed to be awake now," Valerie breathes. "Why isn't he awake? We did what we were supposed to do. I thought we did."

Ethan's eyes widen as she panics, noting her hospital gown and general appearance. She looks like a wreck, but something about her was curious to him.

"Look, please go. This is hard enough without strangers bursting in," he sighs quietly.

"But I'm--"

She cuts herself off as a small groan comes from Grayson. He begins to stir in bed.

A/N

gonna leave that there ;)