The Isolated

Chapter Ten

Everything after the accident happened really fast.

The man standing above me talked to me for many more minutes, but I couldn't hear a single thing he said most of the time. For a long time, the ringing in my ears continued. I was mostly out of it while the ambulance came. My hearing slowly came back but it was still muffled some. Everything around me sounded more like whispers. After needing him to repeat himself three times, I finally gathered that the man was calling Alice and explaining to her what happened after I gave him my phone and pointed at her contact. I didn't even hear the ambulance coming. I hadn't known they arrived until the EMT was leaning over me.

I tried sitting up for the gentle EMT lady to attempt to converse with her, but immense pain shot through my chest, making me gasp for air. As I fell back to the ground, I started dry coughing from my breath being taken away. The woman waved someone else over with a stretcher to put me on. I waved them off. "I'm fine. I'm fine," I told them. "It's not that bad. Just give me a minute."

"I can tell you're in a daze darling. Let us help," she replied. I had to mainly read her lips to understand what she said.

On the ride to the hospital, they were able to tell me that I had a concussion and at least one broken rib. As time went on, my hearing got better. "It was just a car wreck, though, right? Is the other person okay?"

The woman's blonde brows furrowed. "Honey, the other person rear-ended you then got out and attacked you according to the man who saw it happen."

I breathed deeply, which shot more pain through my chest. She was right. I had briefly forgotten about the whole getting kicked in the ribs part. "It hurts to breathe," I told her urgently. Each breath was a stab.

"I'm pretty sure that's just the broken rib. We need to do a scan and make sure your lungs aren't collapsing." Well, that didn't sound pleasing.

"Call Alice and tell her what happened." I moved to get my phone out of my pocket.

"It's already been done, Hun." I had forgotten that, too. "There's no doubt you've got a concussion."

I wanted to huff, but I knew the response would hurt. "No kidding."

By the time we reached the hospital, someone else was still getting a lung scan so I still had to wait my turn. Until then, I was allowed to rest. I ended up easily falling asleep in the short time span. It seemed easier to sleep off the horrible headache. I had permission, of course.

The sound of voices woke me up. Through my barely awake, foggy vision, I witnessed a woman lean down over me and kiss my forehead. "You're okay, Baby...I'm so glad you're okay," her voice whispered. By the time my vision cleared, and I was awake enough to actually distinguish people, the woman was gone. I wiped my tired eyes, putting aside the event. It was probably just Iris.

A few hours later, all my scans were done, and I was getting ready to leave. My lungs were fine, and only two of my ribs were broken. A kind nurse had helped me change out of the gown and back into my clothes. Now, I was sitting on the bed I had been laying in, struggling to get my sneakers back on. It hurt to bend down.

Dean walked in with impeccable timing with an amused grin stretching his closed lips. "You really know how to give me a heart attack, don't you?"

I rolled my eyes at his words, finally giving up and sitting straight up to relieve the stress on my ribs. "Get over here and put on my shoes."

Without saying another word, he just chuckled and did so. Kneeling down, he slipped them on my feet and tied them with two bunny ears. They were tied too tight for my liking but I figured now wasn't a time to be picky about the fit of my shoes. When he was done, he released my feet and faced me, but stayed kneeling down in front of me. "You okay, Birdie?" he asked, looking at all the features on my face. I just nodded, smiling at the nickname he once gave me. "Your head hurting?"