Forked Roads Back

17 - TESSA

AS THE WORLD COMES back into focus, I have no idea where I am.

I flail with my hands and I knock at something on my face - a mask, I think - and as I take in my surroundings, my back hurts and I'm hearing all kinds of beeping and voices around me, fussing on something.

Reaching out again, something pulls tight on my arm and I wince, and as I take in more, I realise how late I am to meet Jamie and start to struggle.

"Wh-"

I pull at the mask on my face but both the nauseous feeling in my stomach and someone's calming but strong hands stop me.

"Hi Sweetie," the voice next to me says.

I try to focus through the thick plastic of the mask as she gently encourages me to lie back on the bed. My eyes flicker to her overalls, which has a hospital badge on it.

"Where am I?" I ask. "What... happened?" My voice is feeble, and the mask is making me sound more like Darth Vader.

She looks at the machine to my left and then looks back at me. "You're in an ambulance. You've been unconscious and someone said you hit your head, so we're just taking you to get checked out, okay?"

Unconscious? I frown.

To be honest I can't remember much. Now that she's mentioned it, I do remember falling, but I can't seem to be remember anything prior to that. I left the house, went to the bar with Nelly, started walking to meet Jamie... but then it all it goes blank.

"Can you tell me your name, Sweetie?"

I focus on her again, deciding trying to fix the blank spots is useless. "Tessa. Tessa Granger."

"Hi Tessa, my name's Mel, and he's Griff," she says, pointing to a second person wearing green overalls. Now that I was focussing, I could definitely tell I was in an ambulance.

"Hi," I tell them feebly, starting to feel really tired all of a sudden.

"Is there anyone you'd like us to call?"

I cough as I nod and I try to sit up again, as I felt like I couldn't breathe properly lying down. Melanie helps sit me up and keeps a hold of me.

"My boyfriend. Archie. Is he-" I suddenly stop as I realise what I'm saying, shaking my head as the memory of what happened suddenly catapults back into my head.

Archie. Oh my God. The last thing I remember before it all went black was him calling my name, calling it as if he were standing right in front of me. He sounded so desperate, and I could hear the hurt and sadness consuming him as he shouted my name into the void. But I also remember the pain. The skull-splitting pain that rocketed up my neck, overwhelming me completely.

"You want us to call Archie?" she asks. "Do you have his number?"

I shake my head.

"No?"

I pull my mask away from my face as I shake my head again. My mouth feels really dry so I lick my lips to try and wet them.

"I meant Nelly. My friend Nelly." I changed my mind. Nelly can call Jamie for me. I can't call Jamie like this... not when I still seem to be between what's dreaming up in my head and what is actually real. I can still see Archie's soft brown eyes in my mind, and right now they're calling out to me just as much in this silence as they were in my dreams.

"Nelly. Have you got your phone?" she asks.

I nod. "My bag."

She finds my bag next to me and holds it in front of me so I can put in my code. She shows me the phone screen as she scrolls through to find Nelly's number and puts the phone to her ear.