silhouette | jhs ✓

50. Change

Her mouth moistened, and she could swear it was the first time she ever found a simple cup of water so appetizing.

Seren watched as the nurse made her way to the door.

Curiosity struck her mind, wanting to ask one last question.

"Wait, I'm sorry, can I ask one thing?" She questioned, her voice quiet, surprised that the nurse even heard her.

"Of course." Her welcoming smile prompted her forward.

"The man on my emergency contact list..." she swallowed, terrified to ask her next question. "Is he really behind bars?"

She nodded. "Yes, I'm not too sure I can disclose much information, but the police found that he was the one responsible for your condition. He's waiting to speak with a judge, but that won't pass for a few more days." Her eyes were drowned in sympathy, feeling sorry for Seren.

Seren licked her lips, blinking. "Okay. Thank you for letting me know."

"Of course, I'll be here with your water right after I call your friends, and little brother." She informed with one last reassuring grin, leaving the room.

She let her eyes trail back to the blank ceiling, her eyelids weighing down on her eyes. She would have never thought a simple conversion could lead her to the brink of exhaustion, so much information was taken in, wearing her out further. She fought to keep herself awake, she needed to see everyone. To let them know that she was okay and that she hadn't given up.

No matter how much she wanted to reach the bliss of the afterlife, she stayed.

Her eyes began to close, falling into a trance of sleep.

The door opened, abruptly waking her.

"They answered, and they're on their way." Her nurse informed softly. "Why don't you rest, and I'll wake you when they're here, alright? Don't push yourself to stay awake."

"Okay. Thank you." Seren tried on a smile, watching her nurse leave the room yet again.

She slowly blinked, staring at the drip in her arm. It numbed the pain of her wounds, feeling nothing. It slightly worried her, she thought it would be worse. But, she knew the worst would come when she had to take a look at the marks he left on her body, how she would have to accept them as if she's always had them.

When she would have to inevitably face him in that courtroom, the judge and jury counting on her to sentence him accurately.

That's when real pain settled, something morphine couldn't numb. Something that no medicine could make better.

It was the pain of her new reality. Her new life. The new struggles she would face, and the attention she would earn for being a survivor of Jack.

The pain she would endure from being lied to by someone she thought was the love of her life. The one person she thought she could always trust would protect her from the claws of peril.

No doctor could stitch up that bleeding wound.

***

A voice called out to her, a gentle and appeasing tone lacing the woman's voice. It was warm, and soft, wrapping her in a cradling blanket as she awoke from her brief nap, meeting eyes with the caramel-soft brown pair in front of her that was her nurse.

"You've been sleeping for twenty minutes, but they're here to see you. I figured you wouldn't wanna have them waiting." She spoke when she saw Seren open her weary eyes.

Seren agreed, nodding her head at her statement.

"I also replaced the morphine, it seemed like it was running low." She informed, checking the new bag. "And, I was thinking, why don't we have them come in one at a time? So as not to overwhelm you, I spoke to them about it and they all seemed to agree, just as long as they were all able to stay in your room afterward."