Status: keep or kill?
Happenstance
waking up
“She’s waking up!”
“Really? You’re gonna pull that shit again, Grayson?”
“No, seriously! Look!”
“Oh, fuck. Nurse!”
I open my eyes slowly, finding it hurts to just blink – the simplest of tasks. I stare blankly into the fluorescent lights above my head and wince in pain at the pounding in my head. A brunette boy, whom I recognize as the much-skinnier version of my friend, Grayson from high school, places his hands on my shoulders and looks into my eyes. A nurse is standing beside him, dressed in non-descript hospital scrubs. There’s a blonde girl on the other side of my bed, and she’s looking at Grayson, worried. I’ve never seen her before.
“What’s wrong with her? Why can’t she speak?” Grayson asks.
“People coming out of comas recover at different rates, depending on the individual,” the nurse says. “It’s completely normal for her to be a bit slow.”
“God, Grayson. She’s been under for two and a half years. Of course she’s going to have to take her time,” the blonde girl says.
“Where’s Ahren?” I manage to mutter. My voice is thick with sleep and my head is still pounding.
“Who’s Ahren?” Grayson asks.
“My husband,” I reply.
“Your… what?”
“My husband. Oh God, I hope the kids are alright.”
“The kids?” Grayson says, incredulous.
“Ava and James?”
“Arianne,” Grayson says, placing his hand over mine. “You are twenty years old and you are not married. You don’t have any kids, either.”
“Yes, I do. Ava and James. Just ask Ahren. He’ll tell you. He’s so proud of them. He’s got a bunch of photos on his phone that he shows everyone,” I say.
“Arianne. There is no Ahren, Ava or James.”
“Really? You’re gonna pull that shit again, Grayson?”
“No, seriously! Look!”
“Oh, fuck. Nurse!”
I open my eyes slowly, finding it hurts to just blink – the simplest of tasks. I stare blankly into the fluorescent lights above my head and wince in pain at the pounding in my head. A brunette boy, whom I recognize as the much-skinnier version of my friend, Grayson from high school, places his hands on my shoulders and looks into my eyes. A nurse is standing beside him, dressed in non-descript hospital scrubs. There’s a blonde girl on the other side of my bed, and she’s looking at Grayson, worried. I’ve never seen her before.
“What’s wrong with her? Why can’t she speak?” Grayson asks.
“People coming out of comas recover at different rates, depending on the individual,” the nurse says. “It’s completely normal for her to be a bit slow.”
“God, Grayson. She’s been under for two and a half years. Of course she’s going to have to take her time,” the blonde girl says.
“Where’s Ahren?” I manage to mutter. My voice is thick with sleep and my head is still pounding.
“Who’s Ahren?” Grayson asks.
“My husband,” I reply.
“Your… what?”
“My husband. Oh God, I hope the kids are alright.”
“The kids?” Grayson says, incredulous.
“Ava and James?”
“Arianne,” Grayson says, placing his hand over mine. “You are twenty years old and you are not married. You don’t have any kids, either.”
“Yes, I do. Ava and James. Just ask Ahren. He’ll tell you. He’s so proud of them. He’s got a bunch of photos on his phone that he shows everyone,” I say.
“Arianne. There is no Ahren, Ava or James.”
♠ ♠ ♠
I haven't written a full-length original for what feels like FOREVER. I haven't done much since Alexis, actually, so this is my new project. Keep or kill?