Losing the Light [h.s.]

08

Marlee takes a couple steps back, looking at Harry in the hospital bed. There are bandages wrapped around his head, and his left eye is purple and swollen. Her worst fear has come true; Harry fell, passed out and landed himself in the hospital.

"I'm sorry," the doctor says to the family in the room. "We assumed he would be waking up sooner, and we won't know the exact damage for sure until he does."

"How long until he'll wake up?" Harry's mother says in a concerned tone.

"If he doesn't wake up by tomorrow, we'll know something is up," says the doctor. Anne gasps, so he continues, "We know he will wake up for sure. We just have a vague idea of what his injuries really are at the moment."

-

"Didn't Matthew teach you how to fall, Harry? Without getting hurt? You'd think, after all that training..." Marlee says, mostly to herself. She looks away from Harry's face and focuses on her hands in her lap. It's like talking to a dog, she thinks. I know he can hear me, but he can't respond.

A door opens, making Marlee jump, and Harry's father steps inside. "Is he up yet?" he asks.

"Not yet," Marlee says in a disappointed tone. Des steps back outside into the hallway, leaving Marlee alone with Harry.

This is more like talking to a brick wall, actually.

-

Harry is waking up later that day.

Anne comes rushing down the hall and into Harry's room after Gemma sent her a text about Harry. Gemma and Marlee stand in the hallway for a moment, awestruck.

"I've never seen her run that fast in my life," Gemma laughs, heading into the room with Marlee. The doctor is standing on one side of his bed while Anne and Des stand at the other.

Harry's eyes flutter open slowly. His eyes flit around the room, not landing on any of the expectant faces waiting for him. He squeezes his eyes shut, opening them after a minute. He looks around again, squeezing his eyes shut a second time.

"Harry... are you alright?" Gemma says slowly.

Harry shakes his head. "I don't understand."

The doctor waves his hand in front of Harry's face, and Harry doesn't react at all. It's like he can't see it. The doctor scribbles some notes onto a clipboard. "We're going to have to run some tests soon," he says, seemingly talking to himself. "Harry, can you tell me what you see?"

Harry shakes his head. "I can't see anything. It's like my eyes are closed."

Marlee frowns. Harry's mistake was a big one. He's blind.

Nobody says anything for awhile. It doesn't need to be said aloud for everyone to know what's happened. Anne starts shaking her head, and Gemma's hand is over her mouth in shock. 

The silence is so long that Harry says, "Hello? Oh, no, have I gone deaf now, too?"

Nobody laughs either. Harry presses his lips together, running an awkward hand through his already-tousled hair.

-

Harry manages to get checked out of the hospital in the days following with a concussion, blindness and a severely bruised face. He was told to take it easy for at least a week because of his concussion, but as Harry pointed out, how is he supposed to do anything with no sight? "I plan on doing nothing for the rest of my life," Harry groaned after the doctor had left. "I feel like a failure."

"You're not a failure," Anne said.

"You just got a little too cocky, little brother," Gemma shrugged. "Shit happens."