She Said, She Said

This time when I opened my eyes, the light didn't bother me as much, but it still hurt my eyes. Squinting, I looked at the white ceiling and wondered what the hell was wrong with me. I still didn't know what was going on but I felt a little better knowing that Aunt Debra was here.

Aunt Debra was one of those relatives I knew but didn't really know about, even though she was my mother's only sister. Just last month, we - Brandon, Sabrina, Mom, Dad, and I - had gone over to her house for dinner. When we had gotten home I had asked Mom why she lived alone; Mom hadn't answered, for some strange reason. And now that I think about it, she had tried to avoid the topic any other time I brought it up.

Cautiously, I sat up and looked about. I knew I was in a hospital but I hadn't taken the time to actually look around the room all the while I'd been here. Which brought up another question: how long had I been here for? Days? Weeks? Months? I looked around the room again, slowly taking everything in.

The room was medium sized, not too big and not too small. The walls and ceiling were white, as was the table and two chairs beside my bed. I noticed that there were a lot of paintings on the walls. I slowly scanned them when I heard footsteps. Looking up, I saw it was none other than the nurse that had come in the first time I woke up. What was her name again? I couldn't remember.

"Ah, Valerie, I see you're up." She smiled at me and brought over a glass of water that I hadn't noticed she was holding. I tried to smile at her but I don't think I succeeded. And anyway, what reason did I have to be nice to her? I didn't know her. All I wanted was some answers.

"Where's Mom and Dad?" I croaked out.

She looked uncomfortable and I wanted to yell at her. She was supposed to answer me. What was with this place? I scowled at her. She looked down at her shoes, then back up at me. Her eyes screamed it all: she pitied me. For what, I didn't know. Placing the glass down on the bedside table, she walked out of the room without another word.

*

Later that day, I was still confused. About myself, about what was going on, about my parents and Brian and Sabrina. I smiled to myself when I thought about Sabrina and how she'd looked so peaceful when she'd fallen asleep in the car. I hoped she was okay.

"Valerie," a voice interrupted my thoughts and I looked up to see a tall, lanky man. He looked to be in his early forties, with dark brown hair, and kind gray eyes which were covered with thin-framed glasses. He had a long white coat on with a light blue t-shirt underneath, and black pants. I noticed a name tag was on his breast pocket, but I had no clue what it said since he was standing so far away. I stared at him.

He smiled, "I'm Dr. Hernandez."

I tried my hardest not to scowl and nodded. After all, he might be able to give me some information about my family. He walked towards me and stood by my bed. Clearing his throat, he explained that I was in a hospital because I had been in a serious car crash. I gave him a 'no duh' look and his cheeks reddened slightly. Without hesitation, I asked what I really wanted to know.

"Where are my parents? And Brandon? And Sabrina? Are they okay? Are they hurt? What's wrong with me?" I looked at him in the eye, hard, willing him to tell me everything.

"Well," he started, then stopped. He looked away from me and sighed, "Everyone here has done their best but we couldn't . . . we failed to save your legs."

I looked at him like he was a moron. What was he talking about? I could feel my legs. To prove my point, I took the covers off myself and almost screamed. Instead of seeing my full legs, all I saw was half of my legs. My knees were covered in bandages and nothing else after that. That's where my legs ended: at my knees! I felt my eyes watering and knew I was going to start crying soon but I held them back. Gulping, I covered the bottom half of my body again and leaned back.

Dr. Hernandez patted my shoulder, mumbling, "You should get some rest, Nurse Laura will be here with your medication soon," and walked out of the room.

It didn't take long for Nurse Laura to come. I didn't pay any attention to her, though. I saw her mouth moving but I didn't understand what she was saying. It was like she was speaking another language. I saw her lips turn into a small frown as she put down the tray she'd brought in on the bedside table. She picked up two pills from the tray and a glass of water, then handed them to me.

"Take these," she muttered, and stared at me.

Slowly, I raised the hand with the pills up to my mouth, drank water, and gulped them down without another word. Nurse Laura seemed shocked that I hadn't tried to ask her any more questions but I ignored her, plopped back onto the soft pillows, and stared at the ceiling. She left soon after.

Finally, the tears came - and for the first time in years, I cried myself to sleep.