Eleven months and nine days.
She expected to see the birthday committee when she opened her eyes. There should have been cards, balloons, cake, and an abundance of presents just waiting for her. She'd laugh and blush, and say 'oh you didn't have to get me anything', when she was bursting at the seams to dig down in that gift bag and find an expensive diamond necklace waiting for her at the bottom of it. There should have been plenty to drink, probably an open bar, and all of her closest friends surrounding her.
There wasn't, though.
When she opened her eyes, all that she saw was the color white. There weren't any balloons, nor greeting cards. No one was pulling their hands from her eyes only to reveal all of her friends, "Surprise!". Everything was white; the walls, the floor, the blinds on the windows. Even the blanket on her bed was white. She was draped in a white, paper gown. Her skin was pale white, but held more of a blueish tint than anything.
It wasn't what she expected to say the least.
Hanging on the wall ahead of her, underneath the television, was a dry erase board. It caught her eye almost immediately with the bright red writing that read, "Good afternoon, Ms. Neville! Please press the red button on your remote when you wake up". She did what she was told and pressed the button. A confusion swirled in her mind; why was she here, how did she get here, why did she feel so weak? There were so many questions, but each one of them disappeared as a doctor and a nurse entered the tiny room, probing her with questions and needles and thermometers.
"What is today's date, Ms. Neville?" Her doctor sat on the edge of her bed, flashing a small light in her eyes to check for pupil dilation. He was an older man; dark grey hair, handlebar mustache, and wide hands. A shorter, younger man in a pair of light green scrubs stood off to the side; the soft smile on his lips never faltered.
She thought about it for a few minutes but her mind was empty. All that she could focus on was the speckles of black and white hairs in her doctor's beard. She cleared her throat and parted her lips, it was hard for her to speak, she wasn't sure how long she had been asleep. "I think," she immediately stopped after hearing the deep rasp in her voice. She swallowed hard, but her mouth was dry that it hurt. She sounded nothing like herself. "It's my- uh, my birthday. It's December 10, 2012."
Dr. Prescott dropped his shoulders and looked over at the young nurse behind him, "Would you please get me 10cc of Clonazepam?" His lips seemed to barely move under his thick mustache.
"A sedative?" Lenora asked. She knew medications after taking a brief course in her second year of college. She wondered why there would be a need for a sedative, though; she had just woken up. She didn't want to go back to sleep. She wanted answers. "Doctor, why am I here?"
He held his hand up to keep her from asking any more questions. "The sedative is just a precaution, Dear." He said and then scribbled something down on the chart in his hands.
"For what?"
His eyes were dark brown and sad when he looked at her. "What I'm about to tell you may be heard to digest."
Her muscles tensed, her heart began to race and her heart monitor began to beep loudly. Dr. Prescott scribbled something else down in his chart. The nurse returned with a small bottle and a syringe; the smile was gone, replaced with a frown instead. Whatever the doctor was about to say was definitely not good news.
"Ms. Neville, you were in a car accident. Do you remember?" Her skin froze immediately as she reluctantly shook her head. The information he was feeding off to her seemed almost impossible. She tried to grasp as much as she could, but only caught bits and pieces as her mind whirled; black SUV, head on collision, teenage driver, minor injuries. "You sustained massive head and spinal trauma, and you have been in a coma for eleven months and nine days. Today is November 19, 2013."
She didn't remember a crash. The last thing that she remembered was putting her makeup on as she got ready for her birthday party. "Where's my brother?" Her voice was a whisper. Her breaths were long and deep. she was trying her hardest to stay calm. She didn't want them thinking that she was going to spiral out of control and feel the need to sedate her.
"He's on his way." The young nurse replied. "He's thrilled to know you're awake."
Thrilled? Lenora doubted that 'thrilled' was the correct term to use. Eleven months and nine days. Almost a year of her life was gone. Just like that. She wasn't thrilled that she had woken up. In fact, she was starting to wonder if it would have been better if she never had. The thought of that sedative was warming up to her now, as she closed her eyes and tried to trace back to the night of the crash.
The more she thought about it, the more it felt like she was just putting her make up on in the bathroom. The memory was so vivid. She could see her ocean themed shower curtain, feel the plush rug underneath her feet, smell the sweet perfume that she had just sprayed on her wrists. Somehow she ended up here, in a colorless hospital room, wearing a paper dress.
Dr. Prescott advised her not to move too much, but as soon as he and his lime green clad nurse left the room, she inched herself off of the tiny cot. There was a catheter strapped to her leg, which made the experience of moving for the first time in nearly a year all the more uncomfortable. As soon as she moved to stand, her legs began to give out on her. She grasped for the bedside table, trying to steady herself, and eventually was able to stand completely straight without her legs shaking.
She let go of the table and stood alone for a few moments, balancing herself out, only barely holding on to her I.V post. She took one step forward, then two, then three, and soon found herself at the window. She was greeted with a hazy Chicago skyline. Snow was falling lightly, leaving a blanket of ice over the streets and people that walked them.
In the window, she could barely make out her reflection. She wondered how much she had changed in a year. The weight loss was significant, that much she already knew. She had lost muscle, too. Just looking down at her lower body made her cringe. It wasn't until she looked in the mirror of the small bathroom that she was able to see the rest of the changes. Her face was ghost like; pale and thin. Her eyes were bland, not the vibrant Hazel they had been before. Her hair was flat and greasy, the color was dull. It no longer reached to the middle of her back, but stopped short just below the tops of her shoulders. And peaking out from underneath, right by her left ear, was the beginning of a long scar that swiveled around her ear, along the base of her hairline, and down her neck to the top of her spine.
This time, she couldn't keep her legs from falling out from beneath her, and that's where Adrian found her; crying on the cold, tiled, bathroom floor. "Lenora, what happened?" He asked her as he rushed to her side. She didn't answer, she only continued crying. It was all that she could do. She couldn't talk, her voice sounded like that of a seventy-six year old chain smoker. She couldn't think, because her mind easily spun out of control if she tried to focus on too many things at once. She couldn't move, because her body wasn't strong enough to support her. All that she could do was lay there in her brother's arms, and cry. She had to have been there for hours. Her skin was ice cold.
"I called them," Adrian said after she had calmed down. He had carried her back to her bed to get her up off of the floor. Lenora sighed and hung her head. "They're your parents, Len. They needed t'know."
"And Phil?" She asked.
"He's in Atlanta, but yes, I did call him." He replied. "He's going to jump on a plane as soon as he's finished taping Smackdown. He's very-" Her brother paused for a moment to think of the right word. "Relieved t'know that you're okay."
"What about Sami?" She then asked, referring to her best friend. The question took Adrian by surprise, and his eyebrows drew together in confusion. He thought back to what the doctor had said to him before he entered her room; "Be careful with what you say to her, she may not remember some things that happened before her accident".
"Of course I called him," he played off smoothly. Adrian was never a good liar, and if anyone knew that, it was the young woman sitting in front of him. "He would've flown up with me, but-"
"He's so dedicated to his job," Lenora finished for him. "I know." Adrian nodded his head, but chewed on the inside of his cheek nervously. He didn't like lying to anyone. Especially his little sister. "I can't believe it's been a year." She said as she flipped through television channels. Adrian was thankful for the subject change. "So much has happened."
"You have no idea."
I honestly cannot get this idea out of my head. It's been brewing for a while, and I hope that you all really like it because holy moly, I've got some good things planned for this one. I don't want you guys to worry, because Bored of Your Love and the new Paradise City one-shots will still be updated.
1. Hello My Old Heart - The Oh Hellos
Title credit for this story belongs to Running Down The Aisle by Morning Parade.
Reviews are appreciated and encouraged.