Chapter Six
Taleah
WEIGHTLESS. FLOATING. SURROUNDED by dark with no light in sight.
It’s like I’m stuck between being awake and remaining asleep with no nightmares or dreams. Images of Bhodi come and go as I relive memories of the years we were lucky enough to spend together.
A few images of Rex and Elara fill the space as well.
Everything is disjointed and doesn’t make much sense.
I wouldn’t know what’s going on if I hadn’t lived through the memories.
I don’t feel any pain or my body as the blackness tries to keep me locked up tight in its grip.
I’m struggling and fighting to find any source of light, but it’s as if I’m chasing nothing but shadows and lost images from my past. Part of me knows I have to continue fighting the hold keeping me locked away from my life and family, but I’m not sure how much longer I can.
I’m so tired. Exhaustion fills every part of my body in a way I’ve never experienced before.
After what feels like an eternity, I finally spot the smallest pinprick of light.
I follow it as it starts to grow larger and brighter.
The closer I seem to get to the light, the more of my body comes back to me.
Unimaginable pain fills me and I want to cry out but it seems as if I can’t.
I can’t move any part of my body when I try.
It’s like I’ve been strapped down by something and I can’t break free from the restraints.
An incessant beeping noise fills my head.
It reminds me of a heart monitor but that’s impossible.
I wouldn’t have any reason to hear a heart monitor beeping.
It’s still a little too early for Elara to have her baby and she’s the only reason I’d be in the hospital.
Did something happen to my parents? Is that why I’m in the hospital?
A million questions race through my mind as I struggle to open my eyes.
It feels like they’re glued shut as I try repeatedly to open them.
Finally, they come unstuck and I’m greeted by the brightest lights ever.
It hurts my head to look at them as I close them immediately and wince in pain.
“Taleah? Tally, are you awake?” I hear Elara’s rushed voice fill the air and I try to open my eyes again. “Let me turn down the lights, Tally. Give me a minute.”
“Where. Am. I?” I ask my best friend, my voice raw as pain fills my throat.
“Don’t talk, Tally. The lights have been dimmed. Try opening your eyes again and see if that’s better,” Elara says, her voice gentle and coaxing like she’s talking to one of her kids instead of me.
I slowly open my eyes and the pain isn’t as intense as it was before. There’s only a dull throbbing in my head this time. I look to the side of me and find Elara sitting in the seat next to my bed. She has a notebook in hand which she pushes toward me.
“Write down what you want to say, Tally. The doctors don’t want you talking yet. That might change when they come in to check on you, but for now, no speaking,” she says as I shakily grab the notebook with one hand because it’s the only one I can move.
Resting the notebook in my lap the best I can, I pull off the pen she attached to it and write on the paper she has it open to.
What happened? Where am I?
Elara reads what I’ve written and answers me.
“You’re in the hospital. You’ve been here for three days already and this is the first time you’ve woken up since you were found in Fantasy Realm.
We don’t know exactly what happened to you.
Well, I don’t know what happened to you.
The cops have been here a few times to see if you’ve woken up so they can talk to you.
I know they have evidence they collected from your store and video surveillance has been turned over by the security company.
I believe they already know who did this to you, but I’m still left clueless. ”
Did someone find me in the store? I can’t remember what happened.
“The doctors were afraid you might lose some of your memory. It might come back in time. They really aren’t sure at this point and won’t know more information until you are awake for a while and they do more testing.
Rex is the one who found you, Tally. He stayed with you until the ambulance arrived and then rode here with you so you weren’t alone.
I’m not sure if he’s still at the hospital or not.
What I do know is he’s the one who called your parents and me the day it happened.
He was a mess. I’ve never heard him that way before, Tally,” Elara answers me and I’m filled with shock because that’s the last name I expected to hear from her mouth.
Rex is in Glendale?
“He is. I’m not sure if he’s on leave or if he’s left the military at this point.
We really haven’t gotten a chance to talk.
I’ve been focused on you and have rarely left your room unless it’s to get something to eat.
There is a guy standing outside your door and he’s been here the entire time.
Doesn’t ever come in the room or say anything, but he remains vigil in his post guarding you.
I think he knows Rex because I did see them talking yesterday,” she answers me as I try to look at her but my eyes want to close as exhaustion overtakes me.
I’m tired.
“Rest, Tally. I’m not going anywhere,” she says as my eyes slide closed once again and I let sleep pull me back in.
When I open my eyes again, the room is still darker than if all the lights were turned on.
Elara is still at my side but there’s also someone on the opposite side of me.
Turning my head that way, I find my mom and dad sitting in chairs as they whisper among themselves.
My mom has her hand resting on my arm and it feels as if there’s more pain filling my body than before from her loving touch.
“Baby Girl,” my dad says before I can move to alert them that I’m awake again. “Don’t talk yet. You were asleep when the doctors came in to check on you earlier and haven’t cleared you to speak yet. Are you in pain?”
I am. I hurt all over.
“I’ll get a nurse in here,” my mom says, reaching above my head to push the call button.
Has Elara gone home yet? She needs to rest.
“She’s been here since Rex called her the day you were brought in,” my dad informs me as I look at Elara sleeping in the uncomfortable hospital chair.
“We’ve been here a few hours. We would have been here days ago, but it took longer than expected to get a flight home.
Then both of them got delayed when we already had a four hour layover.
I’m so sorry it took us so long to get to you, Baby Girl. ”
You’re here now. That’s all that matters. Has Rex been in to see me?
Part of me wonders if he’s been in the room or is even still at the hospital.
He’s always hated hospitals and I can’t really blame him.
No one likes them, but with Rex he avoids being in one at all costs.
I have a feeling it’s because that’s where his grandma took her last breath and he never recovered from her death.
“Rex hasn’t been in your room to our knowledge.
He is still in the hospital though. I saw him when we got here.
He’s in the waiting room down the hall,” my mom answers me with a soft smile on her face.
“Elara said you didn’t remember what happened when you were awake earlier. Has that changed at all?”
No. The last thing I remember is calling the cops to get TJ removed from the house. I don’t know how long before this happened that was, though. Can a doctor come in and talk to us? I’d like to know what’s wrong with me because of this pain.
“We’ll ask the nurse when she comes in to check on you,” my dad promises me as he looks at me with guilt-ridden eyes.
Just as he finishes speaking, the door opens and a young nurse enters the room. She immediately walks to the end of my bed.
“It’s so good to see you awake. You’ve been out for three days.
Your friend said you woke up for a few minutes earlier, but she didn’t have a chance to call us so we could come see you,” the nurse informs me.
“I’m sorry. My name is Tonya and I’ll be your nurse until tomorrow morning.
I pulled a double shift today. Are you in any pain? ”
Since I’ve been told not to talk, I nod my head when she asks me about the pain.
Tonya lets me know she can give me more pain medicine now and will be right back.
Before she leaves the room, my dad asks her if the doctor can come in to see me tonight or if we have to wait until tomorrow.
Tonya assures us she’ll get the doctor in to see me immediately.
She’s been waiting for me to wake up so she can give me a true exam with my input.
I don’t write anything else as I lay back in the bed and go to tap Elara on the arm so she can go home.
My parents are here now and she can go check on her kids and husband, Tim, before sleeping in a real bed.
My mom stops me and walks around the bed to wake Elara up gently.
We all know she’s hard as hell to get up when she’s fallen asleep.
It’s been that way for as long as I can remember.
It takes several tries, but my mom finally wakes my best friend up and sends her home.
Elara tries to fight her, but loses. We always lose against our parents when it comes to stuff like this.
My best friend promises to be back first thing in the morning and will bring me some clothes from her house that will work while I’m in the hospital because I need stuff that’s loose while I’m recovering.
The doctor enters the room just after Elara leaves and I get my first glimpse of the guy standing outside my room. I can’t make out many details of him, but I know he’s young and just standing there like a guard dog.
“Hello Miss Winslow. I’m Dr. Keen and I’ve been overseeing you since you were brought in three days ago.
You’re a very lucky woman if I’m being honest. I know you’re all wondering what injuries you have so we’ll go over that first,” Dr. Keen says as she remains looking at me.
Tonya enters the room and starts working so I can have my pain medicine while Dr. Keen talks to us.
“You did hit your head. Your friend said you don’t remember what happened and that’s normal.
We thought you might have some memory loss.
I’m hopeful that it will come back but we’ll do more imaging to be sure the damage isn’t worse than what we’ve seen so far.
There’s bruising to your throat and vocal chords.
With time, it will heal and we don’t foresee any prolonged side effects.
Your left shoulder was dislocated and we put that back in place without surgery.
I’d like to do more imaging there to be sure we didn’t miss a fracture when you were first brought in.
The rest of your injuries are superficial and none of them needed stitches. ”
“When you say the rest of her injuries, how many are we talking about?” my dad questions Dr. Keen.
“There’s a lot. She has bruising and cuts on her arms, back, side, stomach, and legs.
We were worried her ribs were bruised or broken, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
Most of the cuts appear to be from an object that was used to hit Miss Winslow while the bruising appears to be from kicks.
I believe she was kicked with a steel-toe boot.
I’ve seen the damage they can do to a human body before and this repeats what I’ve previously witnessed on patients.
We do have her on IV antibiotics to prevent any infection from starting and she gets pain medicine every four hours.
We’ve been keeping on top of it even though you weren’t awake.
It’s important you continue taking it for now because you’ll be in terrible pain if you don’t and it might take us a while to get it back under control,” Dr. Keen answers my dad as tears well up in my eyes.
“For now, I don’t want you talking. Rest your voice tonight and tomorrow I’ll give you a full exam.
Your body is just waking up and the last thing you need is for me to prod and poke you when you’re already sore. ”
“Thank you, Dr. Keen. It was nice to meet you,” my mom says, placing her hand back on my arm as I close my eyes and let sleep claim me once again.
“You’re welcome. Right now, you’re going to be sleeping a lot.
Don’t fight it. Your body needs rest and it’s the best thing for you.
If you sleep the day away, that’s okay. For now, we’re going to keep you a few more days at least. It might be longer depending on what we find during tomorrow’s exam,” Dr. Keen says before leaving us alone in the room.
The pain medicine is kicking in and making me very drowsy.
This always happens when I have to take this kind of medicine and I hate it.
Right now, I’m glad I have it to aid my sleep because I don’t want to feel the pain every minute of the day.
It’s bad enough that I'm experiencing it when I wake up for short periods. My mom tells me to sleep and they’ll be right there when I wake up again.
They aren’t leaving my side and I know it’s the truth.
This has to be bringing up reminders of Bhodi and it breaks my heart for them.
And myself. The last thought I have before drifting deep into sleep is of Bhodi smiling at me right after he won the football championship his senior year of high school.
It was a great night and one I won’t ever forget.