Noah's Winter

Chapter Two

An annoying beeping sound awoke me. I squeezed my eyes shut one last time before opening them, but quickly closed them when a bright light blinded me. I went to bring my hand up to my eyes when something seemed to be holding it down. I quickly glanced at my arm and realized it was attached to an IV. That was when it all came back to me. I had vomited blood and now I was in the hospital. My heart began to beat faster and I noticed that annoying beeping sound fastened to my hearts pace. That baffled me for a moment...why did I need to be set up to a heart monitor? I shrugged it off; it was probably just a precaution.

The door opened slowly and I looked over to see my mother walk in quietly. She came over and sat in a chair next to the hospital bed I was in. Her eyes were red and puffy.

"Mom?" I croaked. I brought my free hand to my throat...it was so dry and sore and it hurt so much. Momentarily I wondered if I had strep throat. She forced a smile to her face and handed me a clear cup with a red straw in it. I reached over to grab it but my hand was too weak to hold it, and it slipped out of my grasp. My mother caught it quickly and brought the straw to my mouth. I began to drink the water gratefully, ignoring the stabbing pain as it made its way down my throat. After I drank the whole cup my mom put it on the side table. She stroked my face gently. So I tried again.

"M-mom?" my voice came out in a hushed whisper. The look on her face made it feel like a weight had dropped in my gut. Had someone died in the amount of time I was asleep? How long was I asleep anyway? New tears formed in her eyes. She was about to speak when the door flung open and Jake and my father rushed in, both worried expressions masking their faces. If I wasn't so afraid of the looks on their faces I would have commented on how alike they looked, knowing it would really grind Jakes gears.

My father rushed over to me grasping my face in his hands. He knelt down beside the bed and just began to...sob. I had never seen him cry like this before. I began to grow frantic. What were they not telling me? Was something wrong? Had someone gotten hurt?

"It will be okay, Winter baby. It will be okay" he said between tears.

"John! I have not even told her yet!" My mother yelled. I looked up in shock. My mom never yelled and my father never cried.

"W-what's going on? Mom...Dad?" I looked at them but neither one met my gaze. I looked up at my brother for the first time. He wasn't crying but you could tell he was in pain. Was it him? Did he do something bad?

"Jake?" I whispered. He inhaled sharply and looked like he was going to speak but shut his mouth quickly. A single tear fell down his cheek.

That was when I got frustrated. Everywhere on my body was in pain and my head felt like a brick had slammed into it, I didn't have the patience for this.

"Someone tell me what in the world is going on!" I yelled weakly. Everyone looked up at me with startled eyes.