Shock

-27-

"Do I have to go?" I sighed. I was struggling to get my hair up into a decent ponytail without forgetting any strands. This was my third attempt.

"It's an important game for your brother. He went to your science fair too, didn't he?"

"Yeah, but that's once a year. His basketball games are every week!"

Mum stopped applying her makeup and squatted down a bit so she reached my height.

"I'll make you a deal. You only have to go times as Gregg goes to something of yours. Is that cool?"

I nodded.

Suddenly, the sound of sneakers on hardwood sounded outside the bathroom, and a few seconds later, Gregg poked his head through the doorway.

"The bus is here, I'll see you there!"

My rubber band broke as I craned my neck to look at my big brother.

"See you there!" I responded.

"Bye sweetie," my mum said.

And with that, my brother rushed down the stairs and out the door.

"Can you believe it? His first game in the U16!" mum said.

"Time flies, doesn't it? It's like just yesterday he came home for school and told us he wanted to be in the BBL." dad laughed.

They always did that. Whenever one of us had a big event, they'd get all nostalgic and proud. I guess it was a parent-thing.

Mum turned in her seat.

"Do you remember what you said then? You were so little, I think three or four, was it?"

I smiled as I tried to remember my exact words, but dad answered for me.

" 'Isn't that some kind of sandwich?', she said."

Mum and I both laughed, but then, her expression changed.

"Watch out!" She screamed.

Everything happened at once. My dad slammed the brakes, the tiers shrieked. I was frozen in shock as I looked out the window and saw a two bright headlights skidding closer at a tremendous speed.

"Charlotte? Charlotte, can you hear me?" I didn't recognize the voice.

I tried to open my eyes, but my lashes felt as if they were glued together.

"She's waking up," a second voice remarked.

I'm trying to, at least.

There were beeping sound at short intervals, sounding nearby. My heartbeat.

"Charlotte?"

"It's... Charlie." I wasn't sure if they could hear me. My words were quiet and slightly jumbled, but I was happy I was at least able to speak.

As I continued to struggle to open my eyes, there were whispers, sounds of rustling paper, and more beeps.

Finally, I managed to lift my left lid a few millimeters.

All I saw was white.

White walls, white bed sheets, white coats. And wearing those white coats were two doctors, who were staring at me like I was a wounded puppy on he side of the road.

When she noticed I was opening my eyes, the right doctor, a blonde woman, smiled.

"Charlie, is it? Hello."

I blinked and my eyes shifted from the woman to the walls behind her.

"You're in King's College Hospital. You've been in a car accident. Do you remember?"

"Y... Yes." My voice was hoarse.

"You were lucky. You have a slight whiplash, a broken ankle, and some bruising in the neck and chest area. We will run some extra tests later to rule out any possibilities of concussion."

"Where are my mum and dad?"

The woman looked at the other doctor, an indian man, somewhere in his early fifties.

"Your dad is in the room right above this one," he pointed to the ceiling with a friendly smile on his face.

"And my mum?"

His smile faded a bit.

"Your mum's in surgery."

Surgery?

"Will she be okay?"

"Well..." The doctor began, but then he apparently remembered he was talking to a child.

"She'll be fine."

I knew he was bending the truth, but at that point, I was too hopped up on pain killers to fight.

"I'm tired..." I mumbled.

"That's okay." The doctor said. "You need to rest anyway. We'll leave you alone now."

Before they had even left the room, I was pulled back into dream land.

The next time I woke up from my hazy sleep, I barely opened my eyes, but I could feel someone standing near my bedside.

"I'm sorry, Charlie," he said.

I recognized the voice, but in my fuzzy state, I couldn't place it. I wanted to respond.

The figure sighed and left, and I fell back into unconsciousness.