Blinded by the Past
Eden
I blinked against the pain that thrummed inside my skull. Somewhere along the line, a marching band had decided that my skull was the best place to practice. I put a hand to my head, and my fingertips brushed against what felt like a bandage on my forehead.
“Good morning.”
I opened my eyes and warily lifted my head. When it seemed like I could sit all the way up without losing the contents of my stomach, I looked around the dimly lit room. “Chase?”
“I’m here.”
“Where am I? What’s going on?”
He sat down next to me, his weight shifting the bed and making my stomach momentarily lurch. “You’re in my bed. You’ve been out for a while. Want some water?”
When nodding my head proved to be painful, I croaked out a “yes.”
Chase brought a straw to my lips, and I sipped slowly. I had to keep myself from drinking too deeply, knowing if I did I could make myself sick. But the cold water felt like heaven against my parched throat.
I pulled back when I’d had enough. “Thanks.”
He set the cup on the nightstand and brought his gaze to mine. His eyes searched my face as though looking for something. “Do you remember the car accident?”
I thought back to the last thing I could remember before now. “Um, I remember going to help Stewie. Then we were headed back here…” I stopped, unable to remember much after that. Though it seemed like there was a memory of screaming and a jolt to my body that was just beyond my reach of remembering. But there was something pushing at my memory. Something that was important, that I needed to remember, but I couldn’t reach it. “That’s all I can remember.”
“We were hit by a car that ran a stop sign. The driver had a heart attack and lost control of his car. You suffered a concussion, a cut just above the ankle that needed stitches, and some bruising.”
That’s why my body felt like I had been beaten like a steak being tenderized with a meat hammer. “Wow. Okay. Well, no wonder I hurt all over. And why my foot hurts so much.”
“Yeah, it was trapped in between some metal that had caved in. No broken bones though, which is nothing short of a miracle, to be honest.”
I rubbed my bandaged temple. “That’s good at least. How’s the other driver?”
Chase’s mouth pressed together in a firm line. “They stabilized him long enough to get him to the hospital, but he died on the operating table.”
“Oh my God. Did you know him?”
He nodded. “Yeah, he owned the bait store in town.”
“I’m so sorry, Chase.”
“Shitty all the way around.”
“Yeah.” I sighed and looked around the room. “What time is it? It’s so dark in here.”
“It’s about eleven.”
“In the morning?”
“Yeah.”
I smiled. “Well, I guess that’s one way to get some extra sleep. I haven’t slept for ten hours or so in…well, I can’t remember how long.”
“Um, Eden. You’ve been out for two days.”
My mouth dropped open. “What? I slept for two days?”
He nodded. “You don’t remember waking up a few times when I helped you to the bathroom?”
