Collide To The Sound Of Our Heartbeat.

Ani’s Point of View
My eyes burned, even though they weren’t open. I guess that the burning sensation was the only comfort to me, letting me know I wasn’t dead.
My right leg ached. Wouldn’t my left leg feel the same? I couldn’t move anything. I tried opening my eyes, and felt a hand on mine.
“Ani…?! Are you waking up?”
Bob! Thank fuck he’s okay.
“Ani, come on, please try and open your eyes. I miss you so much,” he whispered, his fingers wrapping around mine carefully. I started to lift my heavy eyelids, until they collapsed, scared of the bright light.
“Come on…” Bob whispered, his hand stroking over my hair.
I let them slide open gently, the harsh light making me squint, but I gradually got used to it.
“I’ve missed you so much,” Bob whispered, squeezing my hand gently. I looked down on at him, his features looking sullen and grey. He looked like a skeleton.
“What’s wrong?” I croaked, immediately regretting it. It felt like a cat was clawing at my throat. Bob passed me a small, plastic cup, motioning for me to sip the water. He didn’t say anything.
“…What? Bob, just…” I started, not really knowing what was going on or why I began to argue.
“The doctors just wanna check over you and tell you what happened. I’ll… go get them,” he mumbled, standing up from the pale blue chair, letting my hand drop. I caught a glance at the IV, making me cringe. It looked awful.
“No, Bob, I want to talk to-” he ignored me, walking out through the white drapes that concealed me from the rest of the ward. What was stuck up his ass? Something was definitely wrong, and I had a small inkling of what. I tried to think of who else was on the left side of the van, who else got hit directly?
…April was behind me, Mikey next to her in the back on the floor. I was sat in the row of four seats next to Bob, Frank on his right and Sazzy next to him. Hannah was in front of me, Ray next to her. Gee and Syd were up front.
Gerard? It that why he’s upset? Worried about Gerard? …Or Hannah? …April?
No, April will be fine. She has to be.
But then why did he walk away like that? He would’ve said if it was Gee or Hannie.
…Wouldn’t he?
I don’t know anymore.
“Ms. Healy?” I looked up, to the soft female voice. The first thing I noticed was her long blonde hair.
“How are you feeling?” she said, picking up a clipboard from the end of my bed.
“Confused…” I mumbled, making her chuckle.
“I’m sure everything will come together soon. I’m Dr. White, I will be assisting you and your friends whilst you’re admitted to this hospital,” she explained, scanning over the clipboard, “alright… well, you have a broken leg and wrist, three… cracked ribs, and severe damage to the base of your neck, with ten stitches. So I wouldn’t try to move your neck too much,” she said, as my eyes widened.
“You’re fucking joking.”
A small smile appeared on her face, shaking her head.
“I’m afraid not. Mr. Bryar has been extremely worried about you,” she said, putting the clipboard back on the end of my bed.
“Bob… where is he?”
“I think he just went out for a cigarette for a while. I’m sure he will be back in a few minutes.”
“Uh… Are my friends okay?”
She just smiled weakly, flipping through pages on the clipboard.
“Just concentrate on yourself for a while, and on getting better. Your friends will be fine,” she said softly, placing the clipboard back on the end of my bed, “if you need me, don’t hesitate to ring the nurse bell, and someone will be with you right away.”
She walked out of the white drapes, only for them to flutter again, Bob emerging from the other side, accompanied by Frank, who was in a wheelchair.
“Oh my God, Frank! Have you broken your legs or something?” I said, shocked. He was wheeling it himself with his hands.
“Nah, they’re just fun to use,” he said with a grin, Bob chuckling quietly.
“How’re you?” Frank asked, flicking his head slightly to get the hair out of his eyes.
“…Alright. What the hell is going on?” I asked, looking at the boys for an answer. Frank hesitated, sighing slightly as Bob scratched the back of his neck.
“We’ve been talking. The van’s crushed, obviously-”
“Dude, just tell her what she wants to know first,” Frank cut over, wheeling over to the corner of my bed, near my head.
“Okay… well, everyone’s pretty much alright. Though…”
“No one’s heard anything about Mikey. We think he’s in a different ward…” Frank explained, breaking Bob’s pause.
“The doctors can’t tell us anything about him,” Bob finished, looking into his lap.
“…Oh… w-well… how’s everyone else?” I stammered. That must be why Bob is so cut up about everything. Everyone’s in a really bad state, apart from him and Frank, it seems, and they don’t even know the state of one of their closest friends.
“Alright, I guess. April’s the worst. Both her legs are broken,” Bob explained, as Frank did some weird, wheelie-thing. He kind of tipped all his weight onto the two back wheels, spinning the two front wheels with his hands really fast, while he balanced himself on the back wheels. It was pretty epic.
“Both her legs are broken?! Are you serious?!” I cried, shocked. Bob nodded, “yeah.”
“Ray’s got a broken wrist and a fucked up ankle, this huge gash across his chest. He lost loads of blood and he’s still knocked out,” Frank said, setting all four wheels on the ground.
“Oh, god! How did that happen?”
“They think from the glass of the windows and windshield. Glass flew everywhere…” Bob explained, Frank nodding along, standing up and stretching. I noticed a tan coloured brace covering his right arm, from the middle of his palm and up to his elbow.
“What happened to your arm?”
“I tore some ligaments in my wrist, so I have to keep it in this for six months,” he replied, showing me that half of it was made out of metal, covered in leather-like material, matching the tan coloured fabric.
“It’s to keep my affected arm straight, for it to heal.”
“Fucking hell… what about you, Bob?” I said, sighing slightly.
“Nothing, really,” he shrugged, “minor bruising. You and Frank cushioned me from any damage.”
“Anytime, man,” Frank mumbled, grinning, as he slapped him on the back lightly.
“Who else is okay?”
“Sazzy… Gerard is quite bad, but he refuses to stay in bed all day, so he wanders around the ward in a wheelchair. Sydney is alright, too, they finally put a cast on her arm, so she’s good.”
“Yeah… thinking about driving, Sazzy, Bobbers and I are the only ones able to, anymore,” Frank added, making Bob look up attentively.
“Listen, that’s what we’re talking about, I don’t think that we can even go anywhere, I mean, the van-”
“Bob,” Frank mumbled sternly, making Bob scowl slightly to himself, his eyes set to the floor.
“…What?”
“Nothing, it’s nothing,” Frank said, then muttering to Bob, “just wait, at least for everyone else to… gain consciousness. It’s not fair.”
Bob nodded, eyes still locked on the floor, before he turned around, walking through the white drapes.
“Don’t worry about him. He’s just got a lot on his mind,” Frank explained, an arm on my shoulder.
That’s when I knew, things are going to get tough.