Kiss thy Queen (Nochelle)

N I N E T E E N

Richelle's POV

I woke up in the hospital, & immediately panicked. I had no recollection of anything after the crash. I didn't even remember arriving at the hospital, but I recognised where I was straight away. Even with a pounding headache, & slightly blurred vision; it didn't take much to notice the white room with a curtain, all the equipment, & the white gown I was in.

I was hooked up to a machine that was giving me morphine every so often, & another that was pumping fluids into my body.

I felt dizzy, weak, & sick. I didn't even know why.

I tried to shuffle into a sitting-up position, but immediately shrieked in pain. I pulled my gown up to inspect the area where I had felt the pain, just as a nurse entered my room.

"Miss, you're awake! What a pleasant surprise." The nurse said, offering a slight smile.

"W-what h-happened?" I asked curiously, still pretty shocked about the wound in my stomach.

"You were in a car accident, ma'am." she replied casually.

"What's wrong with my stomach?" I asked, panicking a little.

"Oh, miss, you were pulled out of that river with a piece of metal impaled into your stomach. It was very serious! The surgeon operated on you immediately. You're quite lucky there was no internal bleeding." The nurse explained, & I was speechless to say the least.

"There was a man. Do you remember him?" she asked curiously. And suddenly, I remembered Noah. Was he okay? Where was he? Had he even survived the crash?!

"Yes! Noah! Is he okay?" I asked, trying to sit up again, but failing, as a piercing pain shot through my gut.

"His family are flying in from Toronto, so I can't discuss his current condition without them present." the nurse said, plainly, as she sorted through a few things.

"Please just tell me if he's okay. I need to know. He's my... friend." I hesitated, & immediately wondered why I had paused.

"He's not doing too well, but he'll live." the nurse explained, adjusting my morphine intake.

Thirty minutes later, I was still lying on my bed, barely able to move. I was exhausted, but didn't feel like sleeping. I was worried about Noah, & I was scared about my wound.

"Richelle!" Ozzy yelled, sprinting towards me. He engulfed me in a hug, & I chuckled lightly, although the pain was pretty unbearable.

"I was so worried about you. Are you okay?" Ozzy asked, finally releasing me from his grip. I explained my injury to him, & he looked pretty concerned, but just sat there & listened.

I had multiple visitors throughout the day, including my mum & her new boyfriend. My mum was keen for me to go back to dance right away, but the specialist told me that I needed rest.

My mum was frustrated, but I didn't care. She wasn't the one stuck in this bed.

Noah's mum dropped by my room, & told me all about Noah's condition. He had broken his leg, cracked a few ribs, cut open his lip, & fractured his spine in two places. Apparently Noah was going to be stuck in hospital for at least 10 days, so that they could keep an eye on him. There wasn't much they could do for any of his injuries, other than give him painkillers, let him rest lots, & watch over him.

I felt so relieved to hear that he was okay. Part of me was worried he wouldn't be able to dance again, but I didn't want to think about that right now, & I bet he didn't want too either.