Chapter 5
Asteady, rhythmic beeping slowly roused me from the heavy depths of sleep. It was harder than usual to wake, though. Like I kept being dragged back under, or my body was too weak to fully regain consciousness. Something was wrong. Really wrong.
Whispered voices tugged me up again, accompanied by that infuriating beeping, but then they faded out and I sank into the darkness once more. The quiet, blank darkness.
It took countless attempts to wake myself up again, but eventually I managed to shake off the cloying hold of sleep long enough to open my eyes. Instant confusion nearly kicked my ass right back into unconsciousness though, and I blinked rapidly to try and grab a stronger hold of my own mind.
Where the hell was I? The room was dark, the curtains drawn, but light filtered in from the hallway—thanks to the badly curtained window in the door—and that fucking incessant beeping was making my head pound.
Before I could sit up and look around, the door opened to let in a rush of artificial light and a woman in scrubs. Oh fuck. I was in a hospital.
“Oh, honey! You’re awake!” She sounded shocked and quickly hurried over to my bedside to turn off the monitors of the machines I was hooked up to. That explained the beeping. “I’m Nurse Katie.”
Her smile was warm and reassuring, but it couldn’t fight the rapidly building panic in my chest. My eyes burned with tears, and my throat ached. “What happened?” I asked, my voice the most pathetic of whispers.
Nurse Katie gave me a sympathetic look. “Let me get you some water, hon.”
She disappeared, and my heavy lids closed. Just for a moment. Then she was waking me with a gentle touch on my arm as she offered a straw. I took a small sip, letting the cool water soothe my scratchy throat, then another.
“Better?” she asked when I relaxed back into the pillow.
I nodded slightly. “Thanks. What happened to me?”
She tilted her head, a flicker of concern in her gaze. “You were in an accident, hon. I’m going to go fetch your doctor now so he can chat with you, but are you in any pain? Nauseous?”
I grimaced. “My head hurts.”
“To be expected. I’m going to give you a small dose of pain relief, okay?” She quietly went about preparing the medicine and injecting it into my IV line, and my eyelids drooped again. I was so damn tired. “Just rest, Noah. The doctor will come by and see you soon.”
She was so nice. The world needed more nice people.
I didn’t know how long I dozed, but when I opened my eyes again there was sunlight peeking through the curtains, and Miles was asleep in the big armchair beside my bed.
Relief washed through me, seeing him there.
Whatever happened to me hadn’t hurt him.
Thank fuck. I couldn’t have coped if my big brother had been hurt, especially if it was because of my increasing recklessness in chasing the adrenaline high.
“Miles,” I murmured, my voice weak. I flexed my fingers, wincing at the tug of the cannulas inserted in the backs of my hands. At least my hands worked, though. I wriggled my toes next and breathed a heavy sigh when I confirmed they also worked. Not paralyzed then. Phew.
“Miles,” I tried again. His only response was a snore. Asshole.
I glanced around, looking for something to throw but coming up empty handed unless I was willing to sacrifice my pillow.
And I wasn’t. The steady beep of my heart monitor was the only other sound in the room—aside from Miles’s snoring—so I worked with what I had and unclipped the monitor from my index finger.
It blipped, then flatlined, and I’d never seen my brother move so fast in my entire life.
He was on his feet before his eyes even opened fully.
Grinning, I clipped it back onto my finger, letting the beep return to normal and hopefully not sending the staff rushing in with a crash cart to revive me.
“You dick,” Miles exclaimed, processing what I’d done. “I thought you were dead! You fucking dick!”
“I tried to wake you up, but you were too busy snoring to hear me,” I replied, totally unapologetic.
Then he threw himself at me, lifting me halfway up from the bed as he hugged the stuffing out of me and made me instantly regret scaring him like that.
“Noah, you fucking asshole, I thought you were dead. You nearly died. What the fuck, dude?” Miles was sobbing into my tangled hair, and I weakly patted his back.
“I’m okay,” I assured him. “I think. Or, I’m alive, right? So that’s good. What happened to me, anyway?”
Miles released me, but his brow was dipped with worry as he studied my face. “You don’t remember? Shit, Noah, you were in an accident.”
I rolled my eyes. “I know that much, the nurse told me when I woke up. Did I fuck up a jump or something?”
My brother shook his head, confused. “What? No. You were in a car accident. The taxi you were in crashed over the side of Hollow Bridge and into the river. The driver died on impact, but a bystander managed to pull you out of the water. Why the fuck were you even in a taxi, Noah?”
Shock froze my tongue, and my jaw dropped. Why was I in a taxi? We never used taxis. Either Miles or Rich drove everywhere, or I used our car service. “I have no idea,” I admitted, feeling scared.
The door burst open and a man entered wearing scrubs, followed by Nurse Katie. She gave me a comforting smile when she saw me awake, and the man—my doctor, I had to assume—quirked a brow in question.
“Oh um, I knocked the thingy off,” I mumbled, waving my finger monitor. “Sorry.”
“You’re fine, it happens all the time. I’m Jeffrey, by the way. I’m your primary physician here. How are you feeling?” He gave me an open, interested look, and I found myself offering a smile back.
“I’m okay. Sleepy, and kinda sore, like I’ve fallen down a flight of stairs.” Or off a bridge, as was apparently the case. “My headache from earlier isn’t so bad, though.”
He nodded, like this was all routine and expected. “Good. That’s good. Can you tell me your name?” He pulled out a little flashlight from his pocket as he spoke, leaning over to check my pupil dilation.
“Noah,” I replied, understanding that he was checking for brain injuries. “Noah Fearly, age eighteen, and I live at number seven-oh-six-nine Lacey Drive, Rainburst Springs.”
The doctor, Jeffrey, flashed me a smile. “Very good. I’m just going to check a few things, if that’s okay with you?” He pulled out a stethoscope from his pocket and held it up, offering me a chance to decline.
I nodded, though. “Sure, go for it.”
He started running through some fairly normal shit, listening to me breathing, when my mom rushed through the door with Rich behind her.
“Noah!” she exclaimed, rushing over to the bed and almost shoulder checking Dr Jeffrey out of the way to hug me. “Oh my God, baby, I’ve been so worried.” She started sobbing, and I patted her back comfortingly.
“Mom, I’m okay,” I told her in my weak, croaky voice after she’d hugged me for an extended amount of time. “Promise. You can let go.”
She squeezed me again, sniffing, then reluctantly released me to let the doctor continue his checks. As my mom circled around the bed to where Miles waited, Rich gave me a lopsided smile, seeming hesitant.
“Hey, Peaches,” he greeted me cautiously. “How are you feeling?”
I wrinkled my nose, glancing up at the doctor. “Okay, I think. Am I okay?”
Doctor Jeffrey hummed. “Seem to be. We do need to keep you for observation another day at least, since you’ve been unconscious so long. There might be some lingering effects yet to show up, and it’s better if you’re here where we can treat you straight away.”
“She doesn’t remember the accident,” Miles offered, making doctor Jeffrey raise his brows slightly.
I frowned. “Uh… how long have I been unconscious?”
“Three days,” Miles replied, his brow dipped with worry. “Since they pulled you out of the river.”
Shock rippled through me. What the fuck?
“What’s the last thing you remember, Noah?” Dr. Jeffrey asked in a kind voice. “Before waking up here, I mean. Do you remember getting in the taxi?”
“Or why it crashed?” Miles asked, folding his arms with frustration.
I shook my head, the dull ache of headache returning. “No, I have no idea why… sorry, I don’t remember. The last thing was…” I looked to the ceiling, thinking. Searching my brain. “Shit, I don’t know. Miles, we were—” I cut myself off, flicking a pointed look at my brother.
He shook his head ever so slightly, which clued me in to the fact that my accident had nothing to do with the free-climb and base jump day we’d taken in Greensborough National Park.
Licking my lips, I tried harder to piece things together. “Oh, wait, it was at that party. The gala thing that we got invited to at the library?”
Miles nodded, and I gave a small sigh of relief. Okay. We were on the right page.
“Okay, that’s good,” Dr. Jeffrey encouraged. “You were at a party… anything else?”
I blinked, trying to clear the haze in my mind. “Nothing about getting in a taxi… I just remember being on the red carpet and feeling super uncomfortable.”
“That’s it?” Rich asked, his expression shifting from hesitant to relaxed in an instant. “Nothing about the actual party?”
I thought for a moment, then shrugged. “Nothing. I don’t even remember walking inside.
Was it a total bust? Why would I have left without you guys, though?
” I glanced from Rich to Miles and back again.
The two of them were locked in some kind of staredown, though, and I got the feeling there was more I should remember.
“Noah,” Doctor Jeffrey said, bringing my attention back to him.
“Some memory loss is totally normal, and to be expected. You were underwater for quite some time before you were rescued and needed to be resuscitated by paramedics. That’s why I’d like you to stay for more observation, all right?
Just to keep an eye on whether that oxygen deprivation might have done any lasting damage. ”
“She’ll stay as long as necessary,” my mom answered for me with a pointed stare, “won’t you, sweetheart?”
I nodded, feeling numb. What happened at that party that I didn’t remember? And why was anxious dread filling my gut just thinking about it? Dr. Jeffrey told me he’d be back to check on me again later, then made some notes in my file and left the room.
“Okay, I think we should let Noah get some rest,” Nurse Katie suggested, corralling my loved ones out of the room.
“I can stay, though, right?” Rich argued, dodging the nurse as she herded Mom and Miles out. “You want me here, don’t you, Peaches?”
Nurse Katie gave me a look that said she had no issues tossing my boyfriend out on his ass if need be, but I smiled and nodded. “Of course, Rich. If that’s okay?”
“Just for one hour,” Nurse Katie warned. “Then she needs to sleep.”
Rich ignored her, dragging the armchair closer to my bed and reaching out to hold my hand. The door closed, leaving us alone, and a weird tension settled between us. Maybe he was just really worried about me?
“I’m so glad you’re okay, Peaches,” Rich told me in a rough voice, his head dipped. He pressed kisses against my knuckles, careful to avoid the IV line attached to my hand. “I’ve never been so scared… I thought I lost you.”
My heart filled with warmth and affection. “You’ll never lose me, Rich,” I replied, gazing down at his dark hair. “We’re in it for the long haul, remember?”
He raised his head, his eyes studying me with an expression I couldn’t make out. Then he nodded his agreement. “Absolutely, baby. I love you so much; I won’t ever risk losing you again.”
Exhaustion washed through me and I yawned. “I love you, too, Rich.” Because I did. With my whole heart. And yet for some reason, when I slipped back into sleep, my dreams were plagued by dread and pain, my imagination turning Rich into the villain of every scene.
Maybe I did have brain damage after all, because Rich would never hurt me. Not intentionally. He loved me, and one day we’d get married, just like we talked about as kids.
I was so lucky to have him
TO BE CONTINUED…
NoFear
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