Collin?
What?
Where’s…
“Listen to him, sweetheart. Just open your eyes and breathe. Just keep breathing for me.”
There he is.
“You’re sleeping so I won’t beat your ass inCOD.”
Robbie? What’s he doing here? He’s overseas.
“Please, baby, open your eyes. Please.”
Why does he sound so heartbroken? Is he hurt? Is his mom hurt? My worry for him and the need to comfort him finally drags my eyes open and I blink against the dim light. It’s not bright enough to hurt, but my sore eyes still rebel against what little light there is.
“Baby?” His voice is soft, worried. “Can you hear me?”
Why does it still sound like everything is muffled? Like I’m underwater?
I try to speak, but I’m wracked by coughing which causes the most intense pain I’ve ever felt to seize my lungs. My gaze sweeps back to him, terrified. What’s wrong with me?
“Get the doctor,” he says, keeping his voice calm. “Rob, we need water.”
A plastic cup is placed in his hand, and he holds it to my lips. “Take a sip, sweetheart. Not too much, you’ll get sick.”
The water is like heaven to my cottonmouth, but he pulls the cup back before I can drink more than a swallow. My throatburns as the water slides down. It’s on fire. My hand tries to go up, to grasp it, but they’re heavy. I look down to see them both encased in casts.
What?
I don’t understand.
“Easy, baby. You’re okay. You’re in the hospital. Do you remember what happened?”
What happened? I…I don’t know…
“Hey, Sis.”
Robbie’s voice comes from my other side, and I turn my head to look at him. He’s here. He’s really here. Why does he look so worried? Why do they both look worried?
“Try to stay calm. We don’t need your blood pressure spiking and them trying to put you back to sleep. I’m here, Hutch and Collin are here. Your friends are in the waiting room. We’re all here.”
My friends…images and sounds flicker at the edge of my memory. I can hear Lucy screaming and screaming. Will trying to help and falling and then…
“What’s wrong?” Hutch sounds scared. “Your blood pressure…”
“Everyone out.” A blonde woman comes into the room followed by several men, one in scrubs, and two wearing a white doctor’s coat. Do people actually still wear those?
“Cora…”
“Don’t Cora me, Jonathan Wayne Hutchinson. We need to assess her, and you cannot be in the room this time. All of you out.”
While all of this is going on around me, all I can see and hear is Lucy screaming and…and Joseph. He was there. He hit me and I fell. I couldn’t move. I saw him stomp Will. And Lucy…she was screaming until she wasn’t. Did he kill her?
Tears stream down my face.
“Hey, hey, it’s okay.” The blonde, Cora, she’s right there. “What hurts?”
