A Bid Farewell

The midmorning sunlight streamed in through the plastic window blinds. Jeremy was now nowhere to be seen. I felt an emptiness inside. Not from hunger, but from guilt. It seemed like my fault that Jeremy and I were no longer on speaking terms. If I weren't so nosy and didn't ask about the accident, then Jeremy would probably be here now, eating breakfast with me. But maybe it's better that I asked. At least I know that whatever happened was probably really bad. 

A nurse dressed in brightly patterned scrubs walked in. She smiled a fake smile and adjusted the wires in my arm. She walked over to the monitor and checked the numbers. As she was about to walk away, I gathered up the courage to ask her about the accident.

     "Nurse, what happened to me? Why won't anybody tell me." I said. My throat was burning again.

She pretended to look down at the chart, then said, "Don't be silly. We've already explained everything to you, before the surgery. Remember?" She actually sounded concerned.

     "S-s-surgery?"

     "The brain surgery. You still have the bandages on your head." She sounded like she was waiting for me to know what she was talking about.

My head was spinning and I tasted vomit in the back of my throat. I had brain surgery. Why couldn't Jeremy tell me that? Did I still have my memories or were they erased? I realized that the nurse was waiting for me to say something. I forced a smile. "Oh yeah....that. I remember."

The nurse tucked her chart under her arm and smiled a tight, unbelieving smile. She walked away briskly, leaving me to think about my recent discovery.

Brain surgery. I thought. This accident must have been pretty bad. But why can't Jeremy tell me anything? Was he somehow involved? Is he walking around with the guilt of hurting someone he loves? I cringed at the thought of Jeremy blaming himself for my pain. I wanted to reach out and hug him, to tell him that it's okay. I wanted to be his "little sis" again. Now he was treating me like a complete stranger that he wanted nothing to do with. I rested my head in my hands, wishing that Jeremy would walk in and things would somehow be back to normal. In the back of my mind, I knew that nothing could be normal again. 

I sat, defeated, in the hospital bed. Through the window, I could see birds swooping by. They were so free, with no worries. At least that's what we think. Maybe the birds have the same problems as us. They have families, and birds die all the time. Did birds mourn the loss of their brethren? Or did they accept it easily as another fact of life? I didn't know why these morbid thoughts were crossing my mind. Maybe the loss of my control on life symbolized death. And maybe-

A small white light caught my eye. It was a cell phone, left in the crack of Jeremy's chair. It was ringing. I looked at the door, making sure a nurse wasn't about to walk in and tell me to sit down and rest. The coast was clear, and I sat up and reached for the phone. The screen read: Incoming Call From: Jonathon.

As soon as I pressed "Answer", a steady stream of words started. I only caught a few sentences, but it was haunting. The voice said "Jeremy, it's all over, man. She knows. We're caught. You can say goodbye to your sister. She'll hate you after this." After a few more hurried sentences, I hung up. My hands were shaking. This accident was a big deal. It was eating me up inside that I didn't know anything about what happened. My heart almost stopped as the door opened and Jeremy walked in.

     "Hey sis." he said, apologetically. His eyes suddenly jumped to his cell phone in my hand, then to the shocked look on my face.

     "Did somebody call me?" he asked casually, walking over to the bedside.

I handed him the phone, with sweaty, shaking hands. He clicked a few buttons, and I assumed he was looking at Received Calls.  He looked up at me with angry eyes. "So, you spoke to Jonathon."

Reviews

[February Kapusniak]

It keeps draging me in to read more and I keep feeling like it's a real book

[Coyote Poetry]

You set-up this chapter with great skill. I like the gentle way she was told of her accident. The discussion and story was very good in this chapter. A very good third chapter.
Coyote

[Middling]

you should try and make the sections flow together, its not particulary fast paced and some of these things happen quite suddenly.

[Samantha Young]

darn it! I want more! What was the accident all about!? This is a really good story.

[Justin Street]

Wow, this story is eating me up from the inside. All the tension and confusion drag my mind through the scene. I hope you can follow through with your natural skill, and finish your work in a book.

[Alex Thomas]

The story is really picking up quickly. Not to question your knowledge of head bandages but if she still had the bandages on her head after the surgery, was she able to run her fingers through her hair? The emotions are really strong in this chapter. All of light humor that eased the first chapter is now gone leaving raw feeling.