Brooklynn did not wake up in a nice, eye-fluttering, gentle way that people wake up in movies. She wasn't refreshed and energised for the new day. No one really wakes up in a hospital like that. No, the instant she woke up she felt an overwhelming sense of bad hit her like a ton of bricks. Her head ached and her throat was dry. There was a dull but strong pain coming from near her stomach that felt worse than even the strongest period cramps she had ever endured. Her arms hurt, and her left hand was tightly wrapped for some reason. Her back was sore from the hard mattress and the blanket on top of her felt scratchy. The area around her was quiet, although she could hear muffled conversation and daytime TV coming from somewhere nearby. Blinking open her eyes, she was met with an unevenly-tiled ceiling dotted with harsh white lights.
"Brooklynn?"
Brooklynn turned her head slowly towards her mother's voice on her left side. Her mother's large eyes were staring at her, inches away from her face.
"Brooklynn, honey, are you awake? How are you feeling? Are you feeling okay?" Linda was sitting in a hard plastic chair next to Brooklynn's bed that she had not moved from all night.
Brooklynn blinked at her mum a few times. She tried to speak, but all she could manage was a quiet, dry cough.
"Do you need a drink? You need a drink. Here, have this," Linda fussed as she picked up a glass of water with a straw from the bedside table. She held it up as Brooklynn emptied the glass.
"Thank you," Brooklynn whispered. Feeling instantly better, she shuffled up on the bed and took stock of her situation. She guessed that she was in one of the hospital rooms of the Idle Hospital and Medical Centre, although she wasn't that familiar with the interior of the building. The room was larger and nicer than she thought it would be, but she guessed sleeping on cardboard would be more comfortable than the hospital bed. She looked at her arms; her left hand was bandaged completely, and an IV was taped to her right arm. Hidden under her oversized hospital gown, which she didn't remember putting on, she could feel more bandaging pressed onto her abdomen. Come to think of it, she didn't remember going to sleep in the hospital, either.
"Mum?" she asked, finding her voice again. "What happened?"
"Well, that's a little difficult to answer, sweetheart."
"Dad stabbed me!" Brooklynn gasped, her memory snapping back as her bandaged hand felt near the wound on her abdomen.
"I suppose it isn't that difficult to answer," Linda mumbled, a little relieved.
Brooklynn looked at her mum with big, pleading eyes. "Am... Am I gonna be ok?"
Linda sighed, a gentle smile growing on her face. "Yes, honey. You are going to be just fine. The doctor said it could have been much worse, but you're lucky the knife didn't cut very deep," she said, a smidge of pride in her voice. "If it had, we certainly wouldn't be in Idle. I nearly demanded they fly us to a real hospital in Phoenix, but apparently even our doctors could patch you up just fine."
Brooklynn's shoulders slumped, disappointment on her face.
Linda rolled her eyes, still smiling. "Don't look too happy. You'll still have a 'cool' scar after all, especially on your hand there. Honestly, I don't know what you thought would happen when you sliced yourself open like that. You know you faint at the sight of blood."
Brooklynn looked down. The blush was clear as day on her face, especially since Linda had carefully cleaned the old makeup and blood from her skin once she returned from the operating room. Brooklynn whispered, "Dad said it would bring him back."
Linda sighed. "I know, dear."
"He said he wanted to be a family again."
"I know, dear."
