Chapter 7 - Doubting reality

Ally's P.O.V.

"Ally...?!" The blond man exclaims after a moment. This can't be real. Perhaps I'm hallucinating but it all seems so surreal.

"It... it's me Ally, Austin." The words slip off his tongue without a thought. Memories of the past two years cross my mind and confirms my theory of hallucination.

"I've missed you so much." A pang resonates deep in my heart. The very same words Austin told me in my dream are spoken by this man with the same passion hurt. This can't be real. Austin is dead. This person is just a product of hallucination.

"Yo- you." I try telling this person that he isn't fooling me but my voice fails me. Why is it so hoarse? It couldn't be but a few days since I used my voice last.

"Shhh, don't try to speak. You haven't spoken in a very long time." The man places a finger over my lips. I am fighting the urge not to bite his finger. It is almost repulsive the way this man acts.

Minutes tick by, the man still holding my hand and staring at me. I glare at him, telling him to leave with my eyes but he doesn't understand, all he does is smile at me like some drunkard. Finally he says something.

"I'll be right back , please don't fall asleep." He stands and turns away from me, lifting and gently pulling my hand until it falls from his grasp. The door quickly shuts after he leaves.

I pull my sheets closer to me, wanting a feeling of being hugged by someone. I'm tucking them under my legs when I see something strange. Where the bottom half of my right leg should be is nothing but a stump.

Panic is setting in. What could've happened that would warrant the removal of my leg? I run my fingers over the stump and notice another peculiar thing. The fingers on my left hand don't look the same. They're slightly crooked and flat; almost if they were crushed.

Before I have enough time to process everything, a nurse comes in and rushes over to me grabbing me by my wrist and checks my pulse. I look at her name tag as she waits looking at a clock on the wall. Shana Watkins; very interesting name. When she's finished she checks the machines that surround me.

"If you please wait a little longer," Shana address me while she studies the machines. "I'll get the doctor and he'll be able to get those tubes out of your chest."

Tubes? I didn't realize it til now but I am hooked up to dozens of machines and have tubes running from them to me. I take a breath and feel the tubes move slightly inside of me. How did I not realize those before? I guess that's why I couldn't speak earlier.

The nurse briskly walks back out and I am once again left to my own thoughts.

What parallel universe did I wake up in? The world that I've been living in has an Ally with two legs, perfect hands, and a boyfriend who has been dead for two years.

Shana is quick to return, along with another nurse and they prepare for removing my tubes. "The doctor will be coming shortly so will have those pesky things out in a little bit."

A few minutes later I hear loud voices outside my room. An argument from the tone of the person's voice. "Why can't I go back in there?!"

I look up, flicking between the door and the nurses asking them what that was with my eyes but they pay not attention to me and just focus on their work. After that one outburst, I hear no more. Instead, the door opens and a short, writhery man walks in.

"Hello Miss. Dawson, I'm Dr. Edison. It is nice to finally see you awake," Ugh, his voice matches his appearance perfectly and it's the same voice that I heard while I was asleep. "If you would be kind enough to oblige, we'll go ahead and remove your tubes."

The doctor and nurses quickly get to work on removing my tubes. The pain of having plastic tubes being taken out of my throat was the worst physical pain I'd ever felt. I wanted to vomit every time they pulled an inch out.

Finally, the pain subsides. I take a deep breath, tube free. How wonderful this feels.

"Now don't try talking just yet. Your throat is probably sore from having tubes in it plus you haven't used your voice for over two years." Dr. Edison tells me while checking things of my chart.

Wait, did he just say two years? How have I not used my voice in so long? I reach for nurse Shana as she walks by and grab her hand. She looks at me and I mouth 'I need a pen and paper' to her. Shana nods and walks out.

Shana comes back momentarily and hands me a blank notebook with a bag full of pencils, erasers, a sharpener, and pens. I jot down thank you and turn my book around for her to see. A bright smile appears on her face. "You're welcome Ally."

Hours pass, doctors and nurses coming in and out of my room, getting blood and doing tests. My dad comes in when I am finally allowed to have visitors.

"Ally, my baby girl!" Dad comes over and wraps me in a big hug. I lean into his embrace, focusing only on the fact of my dad holding me. "I'm so glad you're awake. I was so worried."

Dad sits down on the bed next to me and lays his hand on mine. "Is something wrong Ally?"

I lean over and grab my notebook and a pencil, and ask my dad why I'm in the hospital.

Dad looks at me confused but humors me and explains the accident let left me in a coma for two years. This cannot be true. Dad was just telling me what happened to Austin and got confused. Something else must've happened to me, something dad doesn't want to tell me just yet.

I wrote down and told dad that Austin is supposed to be dead but Dad shakes his head and tells me I just hit my head too hard.

I roll over, tired of the conversation. Dad stays with me for a little while longer, not once did he try to make conversation. I go still, pretending to be asleep. Dad needs to leave. I don't mind having him near but it feels like he's treating me as a child.

Finally, Dad gets up off my bed, the springs inside rise slightly at the weight loss. A hand brushes away hair from my forehead. The gesture causes tears well up even though my eyes are closed. Dad stop doing that shortly after Austin's death. Why is he doing it now?

The floor creaks and the door squeals as it's being opened. A soft click is proof that Dad left. I'm left alone for the first time in hours. I roll over and lie back, taking deep breaths as I try to process the events of the day. The door then opens annoying me. Can't people leave me alone for just five minutes. I look over and make eye contact with hazel eyes. It's him. He looks very winded almost if he was running.

He bends over clenching his chest as the door closes behind him. His breaths are shallow and he is on the verge of hyperventilation.

He finally stands up and walks over. "Are... are you alright?" The man reaches for me but despite everything I have been told today, I shy away from him. He is still a ghost to me.

The man stands dumbfounded. Can he please leave? He is a ghost that has been haunting me for years and I can't deal with it anymore.

"Ally, I missed you so much." Once again he says what Austin told me in my dreams and he reaches for me but I look at him in fear. This man has to be a ghost, how else would he be alive and saying things only Austin would know. I would go crazy.

I quickly reach for my notebook and start writing. The man takes a step towards me. I ignore him and continue writing. I don't care if this ghost of a man is doesn't know what I'm writing but I have to slay my demons.

I turn the paper around and hold it for him to see.

You're supposed to be dead.

The man stops dead in his tracks. I guess this must be news to him.

I take this time while my haunter is momentarily paralyzed to write something else.

You're not real.

All the blood drains from the man's face and he clutches the bed rail besides me for support. "Tha-that's not true!"

Before I realize it, the supposed Austin is holding my head in his hands and his lips are pressed against mine.

Hey guys. Sorry about another long update period. About two weeks ago I got strep throat or tonsillitis . It lasted until this past Monday. I had the hardest time eating, even drinking. Thanksgiving was awful. I forced myself to eat because my family had guests that I didn't want to worry and after all the guests left, an earache that I'd been battling for a few days came back.

Another reason why it took me awhile to write this chapter is because I wanted the right emotions and feelings.

This story might be longer than I thought it was going to be but more for you all to read.

Question. Have any of you met someone at camp, spent time with them and became good friends and after you left, you found out you had feelings for them but you might never see them again?

I did this past summer . I think about him a lot. My family doesn't know about him but I don't mind if they don't. I really miss him though. :'(

Let me know what y'all think about this chapter.

Later!

~ND~