You And Me

Bright flourescent lights, sirens, voices all around. There was no up or down, and it was if gravity was rendered useless. Fuzzy, soft shapes danced before her eyes, that is, if she was seeing anything at all. She was content to believe for now that this was another puppet show in her mind.
Familiar faces came in and out of focus, but never stayed sharp. Was she in another world, another reality? Had she finally made it? Did she have wings? Was she an angel? Was she really young forever? Would the hole in her heart finally heal? Would her insecurity fade, would her memories lose their bite, lodged inside her very being?
There were all of a sudden harsh, stabbing pains in her stomach, as if something inside her was desperately trying to claw it's way out. She groaned in agony, a tangible sound that reached her own ears. Her skin was alive again, she felt more and more aware with each passing moment. Her eyes began to focus at last.
Annabelle looked down at her hands and felt tears prick her eyes. There were needles stabbed in every possible vein in her arms, inbetween her criss-crossing scars. She was lying down somewhere bright, but she wasn't entirely sure where.. But it was moving.
An ambulance.
She was alive.
The salty tears flowed softly down her cheeks and made their home in the crevasses of her lips, a desperate, helpless sob escaped her chest. This turned into a cry of longing. The hole in her heart burned like the butt of an ashy cigarette, smouldering and deadly. Her head throbbed.
More tears, endless tears. Failure. Pathetic. Worthless.
Alive.
Alive..
A nurse hovered above her face like a helicopter, unwelcome.
"She's come to." Annabelle heard her say, but it was distant. The pain in her stomach still rolled and churned like a deadly waltz.
"It hurts.." she heard herself mumble, almost inaudiably.
"It's going to be okay, we're going to get you there as soon as possible."
Annabelle nodded absently and then stared up into the lights above her for a few brief moments, before reality escaped her grasp again.
~
When she awoke a second time, it was anticlimactic to say the least. She was in a soft bed of thin blankets and a fresh coat of dewy rain had sprinkled the windows beside her head. Her eyes trailed a droplet as it sunk down the glass, accumulating others before disapperaing out of sight. With a sigh, Anna glanced around the room.
It was neat and clean, with white walls and tiled floors. She was in a four bed room, hers in a corner near the window, which suited her just fine.
There was a beside table with a glass of cool water resting on it. Anna's dry throat suddenly burned at the sight, and she almost lunged for it with weak limbs. Her fingers shook as she struggled to hold it in her hand, and it slipped and landed with a small crash on the floor.
Anna cursed under her breath, and with the same trembling hand, nervously brushed a trail of her red hair behind her ear.

A nurse came shuffling in awkwardly and sighed when she saw the broken glass.
"What a mess." she muttered quietly, before contacting another nurse to fetch a broom, and then approaching Anna with a cautious smile.
"Hello there sweetie, finally awake!" she grinned with crooked teeth. Her smile made her brown eyes light up like fireflies and slight wrinkles adorned her skin.
Annabelle smiled back softly and nodded slowly. "How long was I out for?"
"Oh I'm not entirely sure... About a day?"
Anna's jaw dropped.
"An entire day?"
"Yes sweetie, the doctors gave you some medicine that made you very tired so that your body could concentrate on recovery." She glanced back down at the mess on the floor as the second nurse came in to clean it.
"What happened?"
"Oh," Anna stopped, suddenly embarresed. "I tried to get a drink of water, but I had some trouble holding it."
The nurse tutted. "Okay, that's alright then. I was worried you were going to try and hurt yourself. I keep telling them we should use plastic cups instead!"
Anna raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think I would want to do that..?"
The nurse bit her lip as if she had realised she said too much.
"Nevermind. Would you like me to get you another drink of water?"
Annabelle nodded enthusiastically and the nurse walked away.
The other nurse left a few moments after that, and Anna was alone again.
Or so she thought.