The Girl Who Fell For Her Best Friend

Chapter Three

Chapter Three... Christmas Blues

 

I opened my eyes suddenly to see I was in a white room with bright lights. The last thing I remembered was being in Dean's car, feeling myself slipping from consciousness. I could hear the annoying beep of the machines, which indicated to me that I was in hospital. I turned my head to look around, and noticed that it was nighttime. Snow could be seen falling from outside in the dark winter night.

I heard footsteps approaching, and moved my head to face the door. A nurse stood over me, smiling weakly.

"Hello, Alexia," she whispered. "I was watching you from the nurses' station just outside the door. Glad to see you're finally awake."

"What day is it?" I asked weakly.

"It's Christmas Eve," she replied. "Do you remember being in a serious accident?"

"Yes," I breathed. "Vaguely."

"I'll get the doctor for you," she said, smiling again. "She'll explain everything."

"Okay," I mumbled, looking down at my arm to see there was an IV in it. The other arm was in a cast.

I heard the nurse leave, and then a different set of footsteps approached.

"Good evening, Alexia," the doctor smiled. "I'm Dr Harrison, and I've been tending to you for the last four days."

"Four days?" I asked.

"After the accident," she began slowly. "Uhm... we had to place you into a medically induced coma due to your injuries. You had severe internal bleeding which required the removal of your ruptured spleen. You had a severe cut to your leg that you lost a lot of blood from. You had a bleed to the brain which has since resolved itself. Your left arm is broken, you have a fractured pelvis, several rib fractures, a collapsed lung..."

"Sounds like I was a mess," I joked. She laughed.

"You were lucky, Alexia," she whispered.

"Where are my parents?" I asked.

"They're on their way," she announced.

"And Dean?"

"Uh... in the accident, your brother sustained a lot of injuries. He was trapped in the car for several hours, and he had to have a leg amputated to get him out. He developed sepsis, and we tried everything to save him, but he'd lost too much blood."

"He... he died, didn't he?" I said tearfully.

"I'm sorry," she said sympathetically.

"How are my parents?" I sobbed.

"They're okay. They're as expected. They wanted to see you awake, as they feared losing you, too. And we almost did. You went into heart failure when you first arrived here, but we managed to revive you. You were technically dead for about thirty seconds."

"Holy..."

"I'll let you get some rest, and I'll come back. You need time to process this."

As Dr Harrison turned to walk away, I wondered curiously.

"What about the people in the other car?" I asked through the stream of tears.

"They all survived, and they're alright," she replied. "I'm sorry about your brother."

"Me, too," I sobbed in a whisper.

My heart ached. My twin brother was gone. Just... gone. I felt empty. Dean had been there for me through everything. Tears rolled in a continuous stream down my face, and I couldn't bring myself to believe that my brother was gone.

A light knock on the door startled me, and I turned to see Angus standing there.

"Hey, Lexie," he smiled weakly.

"Hi," I sniffled.

"You just heard about Dean, didn't you?" he said, walking over and sitting on the bed. "I'm so sorry, Lex. He was amazing."

"He was the best brother a girl could ask for," I said, fresh new tears flowing.

"You're lucky to be alive, you know," he smiled.

"I know," I frowned. "Why are you here?" I asked suddenly.

"I've been here with you since it happened," he announced. "You're... I've known you forever. I couldn't leave my best friend alone. And the doctors were happy to let me stay."

"What about Jade?" I asked.

"We broke up," he sighed. "Not that she didn't deserve it. You saved me from... well, she was gonna dump me anyway."

"I don't know why," I gasped. "She didn't deserve you. At all."

"No," he agreed. "She didn't. And you stood up for me like nobody would have. Thank you."

"Hey, what are friends for?" I smiled weakly, tears still streaming from my eyes.

"I think we're more than friends, Lexie," he winked.

"What's that mean?" I asked, frowning.

"Oh... it's nothing," he said awkwardly.

"Okay, then," I sighed, looking away.

"Your parents are coming soon," he whispered. "I... my parents want me home for dinner, and my sister's in town for Christmas... I'll come visit you tomorrow, okay?"

"No, don't be silly, Angus," I smiled. "Spend Christmas with your family. They wouldn't have seen you much over the last few days if you've been here."

"I... alright, I'll visit you on Boxing Day," he announced, kissing my cheek lightly. I felt an odd spark.

"Okay," I managed to breathe in my surprise. Angus wasn't usually so close to me...

He left, and it wasn't long before my parents burst into the room, tears of joy on their faces. The doctor did some annoying tests, which made me irritable. But my parents and I talked about Dean. He was truly the most amazing brother I could have ever had. He protected me, as brothers do. And I loved him dearly.

The clock struck twelve, and it was Christmas. I fell asleep with mom on one side of me, and dad on the other. Our first Christmas without Dean and with me in hospital was sure to be a dull, depressing one.