Cherry Swirl (Rated R)

10: Blueberry Blast

That was the news that made the weight on my shoulders double, not because I had to think about my insurance, my business, my car but because of the other driver- was he okay? Did he make it? What was left of me?

"When you were brought in here you had a collapsed lung, eight broken ribs, and a wound to your head, arms and legs. Considering the circumstances you were very lucky, however we will need to assess you for any memory loss or abnormalities, as well as try and get your weight up you were extremely malnourished and dehydrated when you came in here.

We are going to need you to stay here whilst we make sure that your lungs are expanding as they should, only a small portion of your lung collapsed so we will needed to monitor you with x-rays and such for the next week or two. With this and your ribs you may feel like you can only take shallow breaths but try to breathe as normally as you can.

We currently have a tube supplying you extra oxygen however now you are awake we will get another nurse to come and remove that for you, as well as sit you up which should help breathing. Your other wounds are simply bandaged and stitched where we could, others are surface but you still need to be careful. If you are in pain buzz a nurse and we can do something to help, I'll be popping in to see you regularly but if you need me tell a nurse and I'll be there as soon as I can." He tells me the nurse is going to come in now to remove my oxygen and check my vitals.

The time it takes for Nurse Skye to take this thing out my throat making it feel even more hoarse and sore, even with water barely soothing my vocal chords I struggle to answer the list of questions she asks me about my name, date of birth and who's the president of the united states, and then finally siting me up; makes me feel exhausted.

"I'll let your visitors in, press the button if you need me, Sweetie." She says with a soft hand over mine as I look myself over.

"Thanks." My voice cracks with emotion, she had given me a mirror and my face resembled a plum or a blueberry, battered and beaten with cuts and grazes from the glass. I have to remind myself that it could have been worse. Looking down I see bruising on my arms from where I had been pulled out of my car, cuts that had been from where my body scraped the glass in the broken window I was pulled from, a large bandage wrapped around my wrist on one arm and the other swollen and sore. I had yet to see my legs, under the thin blanket over me I could see their shape and I could wiggle my toes. I was thankful, thankful that I had made it and that the other driver had too and the effected had been reversed within the three hours of being taken from his car that had been pressed up against mine in the ditch at the side of the road.

"You still look beautiful." She says as she slips out the door, leaving it slightly cracked open, as I shift a little in pain. I could live with it, I could handle the pain, just like I had done before.

I see the door open slightly wider and look up hopefully, Riley steps in with a large duffle bag which she dumbs at the side of the bed.

"I'm so-" I go to apologize for the argument we had, I didn't mean to act the way I did, I didn't mean to show my true colors.

"Don't even bother. You wanted attention and you sure as hell got it, pathetically getting into an accident like that. I want your shit out of my house." She accosts me with this speech, my chest tightens with hurt, my heart constricts in pain, I'm left with my mouth bobbing open and closed like a fish.

I don't know how long I'm sat there, long enough to have Skye come in to change my bandages over the big gashes in my legs and arms, sides, I'm put into another hospital gown and I see that the rest of me is covered in bruises like my own form of camouflage. I'm given a type of paste to eat, until my stomach is used to larger amounts of food, I didn't realize how hungry I was until I started eating. I had a drip in my arm to give me fluids and pain relief, I had been unconscious for over two days, yet my belly growled like it had been more.