I've tried opening my eyes. I've tried moving. I've even tried speaking, but nothing seems to work.
It's as if I'm awake, but I'm trapped inside my mind.
The worst part of all of this is that I'm one of the nosiest people in the world, and I'm having to lie here while people are havingconversations all around me without knowing what they're talking about.
It's torture.
I could be missing out on some prime gossip, and I wouldn't even know.
Thankfully, each day that I'm here, the pain swarming my body is starting to reduce, and I'm starting to be able to decipher who's around me by the tone of their voice, so I'm hopeful that I won't be like this for much longer.
The icy-cold feeling that has been cemented in my veins is finally starting to trickle out of me. My body is starting to feel warm again, and I can no longer hear the wheezing in my chest that I've been listening to for the longest time. Add in the fact that I'm now able to feel whenever people are touching me, I'd say these are all good signs to me being on the mend and hopefully back to normal sometime soon.
I feel pressure on my arm, then on my head, and I know it's my Auntie Lou squeezing my arm and kissing me as she does every day when she says goodbye.
I feel my sisters hand leave mine and my heart clenches as a wave of sadness sweeps over me at the realisation I'm going to be alone again until they come back.
I don't like being left alone whilst I'm here.
I like it when people are around me because I can put all of my focus and attention on trying to decipher what they're doing and saying, but when they're gone, I'm surrounded by a haunting silence, and I have nothing to distract me from my thoughts.
I hear the distorted voices grow distant, knowing my family is starting to walk out of my hospital room, and when I hear the door thud against the wall when it's opened, my heart drops.
That is until a voice enters my mind.
A voice I've never heard before.
It's sweet and quiet, and with every word spoken, it becomes clearer until I'm able to hear the exact words that are spilling from the woman's mouth.
"I'm sorry, I just transferred here, and Mr King has been assigned as one of the patients for me to check on, but I can request for someone else to be his nurse if you'd prefer."
My heart picks up, beating rapidly inside of my chest as her voice swims around my mind, seemingly awakening all of my senses that have been dormant for so long.
Chapter Two
Rory
My hands tremble slightly inside the pockets of my scrubs as I stare at the people standing before me, hoping that they can't see how nervous I am to be in this room with them after being told who they are by Lola – one of the other nurses here.
As I silently berate myself inside my head for being so nervous around them, the older woman stares at me, her brows drawn down into a frown as her eyes scan my face.
I gnaw on the inside of my cheek, praying that the make-up I applied to my face and neck this morning is still covering the fading bruises scattered across my skin.
"Of course we have no issue with you being his nurse," she says, gently placing her hand on my arm and smiling at me sweetly. "All we care about is Jaylen getting better and I'm sure you'll do everything just as well as Rayna did."
I nod, agreeing with her.
"Well, you'll probably be seeing a lot of us during your time caring for him, so let me introduce myself. I'm Louise, Jaylen's aunt. It's nice to meet you," she says, pausing as she waits for me to tell her my name.
"Oh, I'm Rory. Rory Daniels," I tell her, releasing a shaky breath as the unfamiliar name seems to echo around the room.
She nods, her smile still plastered across her face as she turns to the man beside her.
"This is my son, Dominic, and this is Jess, Jaylen's sister."
I glance over at the man beside her and gulp when he stares at me blankly. Lola's voice swims around inside my head as I stare at him.
He's only recently become the leader of the organisation, so there's really no need to worry about him. He seems like one of the nicer ones.
