The Road Home

Chapter 1

Sometimes it's kind of funny how your whole life can change in the blink of an eye. One second you are on track to a bigger and better future and then just like that you're stuck behind a brick wall. The doctor said I'm lucky to be alive, to be walking, to be able to live a normal life. But how am I lucky when my future was ripped out of my hands?

"I don't remember much about that night. Just that I was coming home for spring break and that it was dark. I remember seeing the headlights flash in front of me and the sounds of metal being crushed and glass breaking. Then I woke up in a hospital bed." I say slowly trying to remember more as I sat in the hospital room. The doctor patiently waited as she wrote down everything that I said.

The doctor looked up and smiled at me. "If that's all you can remember that is completely fine. Our brains attempt to block out any type of trauma from our memory to try to protect itself. It's very common. I will be back in to check on you in a little while" she said as she made her way out of the room.

"Mom. When can I go home?" I ask annoyed.

"Soon sweetie. They just have to keep an eye on you for a day or two to make sure there is nothing else going on that they might have missed."

"I want to go home now. I have finals to study for. I have things I need to do." I say quietly.

"Ellie." My mom said sternly. "You were in a car accident. You are lucky to even be alive. To be as okay as you are. So you can wait that way we know you're fine. You've been in the hospital for a week and spent three of those days in a coma. Are finals really the thing that you're so worried about right now?" She asked.

Maybe she was right. Maybe I'm not really worried about finals or college. Or the fact that I just spent one out of the two weeks of spring break in a hospital room. Thinking about the accident terrifies me and the fact that I could've been killed. The flashbacks and the nightmares are killing me.

I try not to think about it but I can't seem to block out the sound. I can still feel my body tense waiting for the impact of the other vehicle. I can still imagine my body lurching forward and my seatbelt cutting into my skin. Seeing the bright headlights go dark in front of me. Feeling tired like I hadn't slept in a few days. How are you supposed to forget about something like that? How do you go on with your normal life when that scene continuously plays in the back of your mind every second of the day?

I watched the nurse walk in with a clip board and a look I couldn't really explain. "The Doc wants to run a CT scan just for further evaluation. So in about fifteen minutes we will get you ready and take you down." The nurse said as she slightly smiled and walked out of the room catching one of the other nurses to talk to. 

I'm not going to lie; I'm nervous because just before that the doctor said I'd be out of here and I don't see that happening when she just called for another CT scan. I could tell my mom was nervous too and I could see the fear in her eyes as she looked at everything except for me. The rest of my family was still a state away and it's times like these I wish I had never left home.