47. Colson
FORTY-SEVEN
COLSON
I suck in a lungful of air when a gush of oxygen blasts through my body. A flaring pain shoots out over my hand, but it’s nothing compared to the rest of my body.
It’s almost not even there, but then it comes a second time, reminding me of the pricks of torment from when I got the roses and lion’s face tattooed over my forearm. Somehow, this hurts both less and more at the same time. I blink again, bright lights pouring down on me like a rainstorm. I catch a glimpse of a person’s head off to my left and try to turn my head, but of course it doesn’t move when I tell it to. There's something strapped around it, holding it in place.
I’m getting tired of my body giving me a big “fuck you” every time I give it a command.
“Try to stay still,” comes a feminine voice from above me. I wonder for a moment if it’s God playing some weird ass trick on me, but then a head of hair slices into my vision. It’s reddish brown and frizzy with the person’s bangs clipped back. “My name is Sandy. You’re in an ambulance being transported to Harrison General Hospital. You were in a car accident.”
I blink repeatedly as if it’ll clear up the confusion thrumming through my head. A car accident? That isn’t right.
I wasn’t…that didn’t…
I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to pinpoint what Sandy is talking about. I was in the grocery store. I picked out a meatloaf and mashed potato combo. The cashier was watching stupid videos on his phone when I walked up to pay.
That pain that came over me before vibrates through me, intensifying when I try to move my leg from its uncomfortable position. When the nick at my hand happens a third time, I try to pull away because what the fuck is that?
“Stay still, dear. I’m trying to get an IV in so we can manage your pain, but your veins are being finicky.”
“I—” I attempt words, but it’s too hard to talk. What is happening to me?
“Ah, there we go,” Sandy says, applying pressure on my hand before letting go.
“Wh—”
Her face comes into view when she says, “Your only job is to rest and trust that you’re in good hands, Colson.” She glances away, and a beeping ensues or maybe it’s been there the entire time. But wait, how does she know my name?
I groan and even that hurts, which is a new development. A line of heat wraps around my arm. It’s in my leg as well, and my head isn’t far off from exploding.
All of this, it’s too?—
“You’re in rough shape, Colson, but I just administered morphine into your IV line. You should have some comfort in a moment.”
Solace sweeps over me as soon as she finishes her sentence, coursing through my body on a straight and narrow path, ending once it reaches my mouth. A bitterness ensues in my tongue. Not over it but in it. Also a new development.
Sandy says something else, but I can’t focus. Too much impales me at once and then in a split second, it vanishes.
So does the light.