She Said, She Said

Aunt Debra pushed my wheelchair out the front doors of the hospital and we were outside. I looked around and it suddenly hit me that I hadn't been outdoors for nearly two months! How was that even possible? As the cool wind hit my face, I took a deep breath, loving the way the air filled my lungs.

"Beautiful day, isn't it?" Aunt Debra smiled down at me. She was looking at me with her big, soft eyes and I winced, wondering why she was still here even after I'd practically told her to leave me alone. She must've noticed because the smile left her face and we were moving again. As we got closer to her car, I felt nervous. I don't think I'd ever be able to trust a car again. What if I got in and we got in an accident? What would happen then? Would I die?

"Are you okay?" Aunt Debra asked as she opened the front door.

"I-I don't want to g-get in." Since when had I started stuttering?

“What do you mean?” She asked, clearly confused.

“I don’t think I c-can.”

“Well,” she cleared her throat, “I don’t see how else we can get there.”

I nodded and wheeled myself over to her. She looked at me uncertainly but helped me get into the car. She took the wheelchair to the back of the car and appeared again a few minutes later.

As the engine roared to life and we started moving, I gripped the leather seats and closed my eyes. This seemed to make me even dizzier than I already was so, I opened them again. Seeing as I had nothing else to do, I looked out the window. Suddenly, the memories of the accident filled my head again. What if I looked out the window again and didn’t see the truck coming at us? I didn’t want Aunt Debra to get hurt.

“You okay back there?”

I nodded and fell back against the seat, sighing, and relaxed a bit. I felt somehow exhausted and tired, like I hadn’t slept in days. My back started to hurt and my thighs felt like they were going to break off at any minute. I wish I hadn’t left the hospital. Now I would have to get used to a whole new place, new people, new medications. I groaned.

“Hey Val? We’re here,” Aunt Debra said, relief clear in her voice.

The car eventually stopped and I looked out the window to see a big brown building. There was a fence around the whole place and a big parking lot where, I noticed, there weren’t a lot of cars parked. Aunt Debra must’ve noticed my expression of confusion, for she turned around and looked at me.

“I think the visiting hours are over which is probably why there aren’t many cars around,” she explained, with a smile.

I nodded and waited as she turned around, and got out of the car. She disappeared around the car and came back with the wheelchair. Opening the door to my side, she helped me into the wheelchair. I whimpered as a pain shot through my head.

“Oh, Val!” Aunt Debra gasped. “Watch your head, you’ll hit it again.”

I kept my eyes on the floor.

“You’ll have to wheel yourself in because I’ll be carrying the bags, okay?”

I nodded. She patted my back and we started moving toward the front doors of the building. The doors opened and we both went in, suddenly surrounded by the smell of cinnamon. I smiled.

“Come on,” Aunt Debra whispered and we moved to the receptionist’s desk. There was a small golden sign on the table labeled, “Cori Webb.” Behind the white desk sat a middle-aged woman, wearing a peach blouse. I couldn’t see the rest because of the table’s height so I looked around instead. There was a big hallway, and to it’s right was an elevator. There was also a stand with a map, covered by plastic. I wheeled myself over as Aunt Debra said something to the receptionist.

“Val,” Aunt Debra said and I craned my neck to glare at her. “Come on, we have to find your room and get you settled in.”

As she walked over to me, a woman came out of the elevator dressed in a white blouse, a white shirt, and white sandals. She was holding a clipboard and wearing a big smile, which she flashed at Aunt Debra and then at me. I wondered if her face hurt.

“Hello! I’m Clara!” She said and flashed me another smile. “Come on! I’ll show you your room!”

She turned around and stepped back into the elevator, motioning for us to do the same. Aunt Debra walked past me and stepped into the elevator. I did the same and watched as Clara pressed a button and then we were moving.

When the elevator doors opened, we were now in another big hallway with rooms on both sides. We kept on moving until Clara stopped at a white door which had the number “289” in gold letters plastered on top. Clara looked back at us smiling and opened the door.

The room had beige walls, two white beds at either side of the room, a window on the right wall, and a small refrigerator in a corner. There was a round table in between the two beds which held a round lamp, and a telephone. My eyes moved again to the second bed, which was on the left side, and noticed the sheets were wrinkled. It looked like as if someone had just gotten up and forgot to make the bed.

Clara looked to where I was looking and smiled. “Your roommate is having lunch so, I’m guessing you’ll get to meet her later. Right now, I want you to get settled in, make sure you have all your things and go to sleep. Are you hungry?”

I shook my head and wheeled myself into the room. As I looked around again, I noticed there was a flat screen television sitting on a long, black table with shelves. In one of the shelves was an old looking DVD player, and in another was a collection of DVDs which I couldn’t see the names of.

I looked at the window again and smiled, glad that it was on the right side. My side. There was also a cupboard in one of the corners and I noticed there was a same one on the left side of the room. My eyes felt heavy so I wheeled myself over to the bed. Aunt Debra helped me on to the bed and then started moving around, putting my things away.

“You can go to sleep, Val,” she said, turning around, “I’ll put your things away and make sure you have everything, alright?”

I nodded against the pillow and closed my eyes.