Who is Perri West?

Chapter 28

An annoying beeping sound was interrupting my peaceful sleep. I didn't want to wake up yet, this bed was so comfortable. I tried to roll to my side, but my hand was stuck on something, and my left leg felt heavy. What the heck was going on?

Then it all hit me. Hiking, the storm, the tree, Mallory, the coast guard, the ambulance ride, and the look of fear on everyone's faces as they rolled me away. I was struggling to get my eyes open. I could hear faint whispers around me, but I couldn't quite make out the voices or what they were saying.

Finally, voices became more distinct, and I could make out who was nearby.

"When is she going to wake up?" Eric asked frustration evident in his tone. I wanted to be able to reassure him that I was fine, but I couldn't wake myself up fully.

"She needs time Eric, the Dr said surgery was a success she just needs to heal, and rest is what she needs most right now. She has dealt with a lot the last few weeks. Her mind probably needs to rest just as much as her body."

Mama St. Clair? What was she doing here? She had her business to run! I don't want to be an inconvenience for anyone. She didn't have to come like she said I was fine. Right? I needed to wake up!

"Mom? Are you sure she is going to be, ok? She looks so pale." Mallory sounded defeated. Kinda made me wonder what I looked like right now.

"Mrs. St. Clair thank you for coming here. Our mom wanted to stay but she had to get back and help Aunty Miranda." Colton sounded scared.

I tried again to open my eyes, this time I succeeded! I had to blink a few times. The light over me was blinding and I couldn't focus.

"Perri? Ohmygoodness Perri! Your awake I've been so worried! You lost so much blood, and your leg was like totally messed up. Oh my gosh I'm so glad you're up" Mallory once again was talking a mile a minute and made me smile. I felt bad for worrying everyone.

"Mal..." I couldn't talk, my voice was hoarse. I knew I needed something to drink, or I wouldn't be able to say anything.

"What's wrong Perri?" Eric was by my side holding my hand tightly. I pointed at my throat trying to get him to realize I just needed a drink. He caught on and grabbed a cup that had been sitting next to my bed. It had a straw making it easier for me to get a drink.

"Thank you, Eric. I'm sorry if I worried you guys. Mama St. Clair what are you doing here?" As I was asking her, she had come up to the bed and carefully hugged me.

"Oh, my precious girl. Never think you must apologize for getting hurt. And I will always be here for you whenever you need me darling. I wanted to be here. When Mallory called me, she was so scared so I got in my car and hurried to get here as fast as I could."

"Does my mom know I'm here?"

"I tried to call her, but she still hasn't returned my calls. I tried going to your house before I left but there was no answer when I knocked on the door. I'm sorry sweety."

"It's ok. You tried. I just don't know what I expected."

"Maybe she tried calling you. I can check your phone if you want me too?" Eric asked me.

"Maybe later, right now can someone tell me what happened after I was knocked out?"

Just then as if on cue the Dr came into my room.

"Well, well, look who finally decided to wake up. You gave us all a scare missy. I suppose you want some answers?" He addressed it like a question, and it made me want to laugh. I mean come on who wouldn't want to know what happened to them?

Instead of being sarcastic I simply nodded.

"Ok, well once we were able to fully examine your injury, we found you have a broken tibia-fibula. We had to do surgery right away and we had to realign your bone's and place a rigid screw inside to hold it together. You will need to stay in the cast for several weeks. We will need you to come back for several appointments to watch your progress on how well you are healing. Once it starts to heal, we will eventually remove the cast and replace it with a boot until it fully heals. As of right now no putting pressure of any kind on that leg. We will give you crutches when you get ready to leave here to return home."

"I heard my friend mention there was a lot of blood. Was my leg bleeding that bad?"

"Actually, we were all surprised to find that where the tree had been on your leg it did not break through your skin. The bleeding came from a large scrape on your hip. Most likely where the tree scraped it on its way down. You do have 23 stitches on your side. You will also need to come back for those to be removed. Do you have anymore questions for me dear?"

"When can I leave?"

"You can go home tomorrow. We would like you to get some more rest and it is already getting late anyhow."

"OK. One more question. How long was I out for?"

"You have been asleep just over 51 hours. You arrived around 4:30 Sunday evening, it is now 7:46 Tuesday evening. I know that sounds like a lot. I see the look of shock in your eyes but according to your friends you have been under a lot of stress, so your body just needed some rest. Also, you were out in that storm for several hours. Over the next few weeks, you need to take it easy and let yourself heal. Your body and mind need time to heal. If everything looks good you can go home tomorrow. We will most likely discharge you around 2 pm. But you must go home and rest, it is very critical to your healing. I would highly recommend not returning to the Island. The walk alone will be much too strenuous."

"Thank you, Dr., I will have to make some arrangements then for someone to get my things and find a place to stay. I know I can always come with you Mama St. Clair but unfortunately you are a little too close to home." I said with a smile and a small laugh.

"And Eric, I know you and Jayden would let me stay but I highly doubt I will be able to manage the stairs to the loft."

Eric smiled sadly, but softly looked into my eyes, bent down, and kissed my forehead. "Don't you worry about anything! We will take care of everything for you. You're not alone Periwinkle."

I looked around the room making sure to make eye contact with every one of my friends. They each smiled or nodded as I looked at them, silently confirming what Eric had said.

"Thank you! All of you for helping me and each other through this. I guess there is only one thing left to figure out now."

Mama St. Clair looked slightly concerned "What is that Hun?"

"I want to meet my parents. But I can't do it alone."