Skin

“Is she alright?” I hear Matt’s worried voice say somewhere far off. I wanted to tell him I was fine, but I couldn’t find my lips to say anything. I felt a soft touch to my forehead. Matt’s lips, I could make that much out.

“Matt,” I finally manage to squeak out. Straining to open my eyes.

“I’m right here baby,” he whispers, kissing my temple again. I finally get my eyes open and look at Matt, worry etched over his face.

“Raphael?” I ask, wondering where my brother was.

“I’m right here,” he says, sighing. I look over towards the end of my bed and see Raphael leaning against the wall beside the door, mom was asleep in the chair and dad was outside the door talking to a doctor. Standing at the window looking in was Lou, Zacky, Jimmy, Johnny and Brian. Jimmy forces a smile and I try and smile back.

“What happened?” I ask, my voice horse. With one great pound my headache reminds me of it’s existence causing me to wince and groan.

“You fell,” Mom’s voice says as she slowly wakes up yawning. “I’m so glad you’re finally awake, you were at volleyball practice and you passed out,”

“What?” I ask bewildered. Wracking my brain trying to figure out when that happened. I couldn’t remember anything past lunch…

“Ah, Miss Newton,” The doctor says as he walks into the room closely followed by my dad, he looks over at mom and Raphael and shakes his head lightly. “How are you feeling?”

“Disoriented and tired,” I mumble, squeezing Matt’s hand as my head pounds again. “And sick.” Something that I said made the doctors face tense lightly as he closed his eyes as if whishing what he was going to say would go away.

“I’m afraid we’re going to have to run some tests Audrina,” he says.

“Okay,” I say, taking a shuddering breath.

“We’re going to start them right away so that you can get out of here faster,” he says, looking at everybody else as he says this, I look over at Raphael, his face grim. Sighing I nod. Matt leans down and kisses my forehead before they all leave the room and three nurses rush into the room and they pull the curtain across so that I was shielded from the view of everybody else. I groan as I look at the tray full of needles and cotton swabs. I close my eyes as the doctor wraps an elastic around my bicep and then starts to draw blood. I turn my head the other way.

Three and a half hours later they were finally finished the tests, all the CAT scans and x-rays they made me go through made me feel all woozy. I was currently sitting on the bed, my legs hanging over the side as Matt helped me down.

“Okay, Miss Newton, we’ll call you back as soon as we have the results back, okay?” The doctor says, walking into the room. “Take care of yourself until then,” with that I nod in acknowledgement and he leaves the room, Raphael sighs before standing up from the chair, everybody else was gone, having to go sign me out and get the meds that they prescribed me and parents wanting their children home.

“Did they say anything?” Raphael asks, worry etched over his face as I get to my feet and wobble slightly.

“The CAT scan they did a lot of whispering and writing shit down,” I say, shrugging, not knowing what to think and also being unable to think because of the sudden wave of nausea that had just hit me.

“Fuck,” Raphael groans out, running a hand over his face, a reaction to stress. Dad walks into the room and smiles nodding, indicating that it was time to go home. I smiled weakly as Matt wrapped his arm around my waist, effortlessly supporting my weight as we walked from the room and out to the waiting car.

After a ten minute drive from the hospital dad pulls the car into the driveway where Matt gets out of the car and carry’s me into the house before setting me softly down on the couch. As if I was made out of precious porcelain.

“I love you,” he whispers, kissing my forehead as I yawn.

“I love you too,” I say before I cover my mouth and start coughing. Groaning as my lungs keep heaving, as if trying to fly out of my chest. Worry creases my mothers normally calm face. She brings me a glass of water and I smile my thanks to her. I felt like I was going to pass out again so I leaned back and closed my eyes, trying to take deep breaths and stop the headache that was currently playing inside my head in time with my breathing. Sighing Matt sits beside me, wrapping his arms protectively around me as I drift off to a dreamless pain filled sleep.