Behind My Sister's Back

Chapter 35 [part 1]: Turning Point

-- Ali's POV --

                 I woke up the boring white ceiling of a hospital. I felt strange, kind of disorientated. Why the heck was I in a hospital bed? Why couldn't I remember anything? What happened?

                 I raised a hand to my forehead and realised my arm was covered in bandages. Panic coursed through me, and I struggled to sit up. Something hurt in my ribs, causing me to whimper.

                 "Ali?"

                 My eyes snapped up. "Summer!"

                 My sister, who had apparently dozed off on the second bed, jumped up. Her beautiful light brown hair was dishevelled and full of tangles, and her eyes were red from crying.

                 "Oh my God!" she shrieked, wrapping her arms around my neck and trapping me in an embrace. Pain shot through me and I groaned, trying to pull away. She immediately released me, looking horror-struck. "Oh no, did I hurt you?"

                 I grimaced. "A bit."

                 Tears spilled down her cheeks as she dragged a chair up to my bed and sunk down into it. I'd seen Summer cry before -- she'd always used crocodile tears on my parents -- but never had I felt so... lost. 

                 Why was she crying? Was it because she was happy, or because she was sad?

                 I lifted up my blanket and felt shock pour into me. I had so many stitches and bruises and bandages. It made me feel sick.

                 "Summer," I said, "what happened?"

                 She paused, using the time to mop her eyes. "You don't remember?"

                 I shook my head. "No..." My head felt funny, but it wasn't due to pain, it was dizziness. I had no idea what I was doing here. "It's... a blur."

                 And then she stopped crying long enough to explain everything to me. Of how I had left the apartment that night, of how a car had hit me when I was crossing the road... I started remembering at that point. She told me of how the driver ditched me and it was a while before somebody found me. She rambled an awful lot, and it was hard to pick the necessary details, but I did find out that I could have died from loads of thing... Internal bleeding... Broken bones... But I didn't. And then, most shocking of all--

                 "I went into a coma?" I cried. No. Freaking. Way.

                 Summer nodded. I wondered if she was joking, but there was a serious look on her face. "Yeah, we were so worried. We thought you might not come out of it."

                 I swallowed, trying to take all this new information in without freaking out. "Erm..." I hesitated. "How long was I out for exactly?"

                 "Only a few days," she answered.

                 I smiled in relief. So I hadn't missed too much.

                 "You could have died," she told me, sounding almost angry. 

                 "I know." The idea scared the shit out of me. "But I didn't."

                 She pulled me into another hug, a more gentle one. I hated that I was so fragile. "I'm so glad you're okay," she whispered.