Falling Apart

Chapter 2

My body ached. A dull constant ache.

A violent throbbing in my skull forced me to stretch my sore arms up to massage my temples. I have never felt so... swollen. It was as if I had been injected with gallons of burning liquid and all I could do was just sit back as it burned through my body. 

After several minutes of ache filled moans, I finally managed to pry my eyes open. The room I was in was dark, but bright white lights from the hallway cast a soft glow onto half of the room.

The room was stark white, to the point to where it was unnerving. A couch was pushed up against the back wall, it's deep navy color standing in dark contrast to the pure white wall behind it. A table stood to the left of it, a couple of teddy bears and a few decaying bouquets of flowers messily placed on its surface.

The soft beeping in the distance and slight pinch on the back of my right hand confirmed my thoughts. I was in a hospital.

For a moment I had wondered if I had been injured during one of my lacrosse games, but our season has been over for weeks.

And then the memories of the crash came flooding in, almost as violently as the water that drowned my families car.

"Elena" a small voice faintly whispered from beside me.

I slowly turned to the side, the motion aggravating my already debilitating headache.

"Hey, little man" I whispered softly as my eyes met Lucas.

His dirty blonde hair was oily and knotted. His eyes were surrounded by a purple hue, which only made the redness from crying stand out even more.

I reached up and wiped a tear from his cheek.

" Are you hurt?"

Lucas shook his head quickly, grabbing onto my hand and squeezing it close to his chest.

I ignored the pain and instead motioned for him to climb onto the hospital bed with me.

His head lay down in the crook of my arm, and his small arms draped around me.

"They gave us to aunty Lisa and uncle John" 

I nodded my head, letting Lucas know I heard him. My mom had mentioned her sister Lisa a few times, but they were never on good terms. Aunt Lisa was a 'free spirit', according to my mother, and when she met uncle John it only got worse. 

While my mom loved her sister dearly, she could never understand her lifestyle. 

If I remember correctly, I think Lisa had been at the hospital while my mom had given birth to me, and was named my godmother. However, apart from that, I've had no contact with either of them for most of my life.

"Hi sweety, how are you feeling," a man asked as he pushed open the door to my room. His small figure and kind smile made me instantly feel at ease.

"Umm.. I'm fine, just a small headache"

"That's completely normal after an accident, and the headache will most likely pass soon. I just want to run a few tests to make sure everything is ok, sound good?"

I nodded my head and helped Lucas off of the bed so I could sit up. I followed the nurses instructions and breathed in deeply.

But as the bright light of his small flashlight flashed across my eyes, my chest clenched.

"It's ok Elena, it's completely normal to experience heightened stress after a crash. I need you to focus on your breathing and listen to the sound of my voice. We will get through this together."

The nurse comforted me as memories of the crash clouded my mind and spiked my adrenaline levels. I tried to breathe as deeply as I could, but nothing could stop the panic that was coursing through my body. 

But it didn't last forever. And after a few excruciating moments, I could feel my body relax. 

I felt Lucas' hand as he moved it to hold mine. I sent him a warm smile and mouthed that I was ok.

The next few hours consisted of meetings with hospital staff and social workers. It was a chaos of questions and health evaluations. 

Finally, after a couple of days, our plans had been settled. By the end of the week, we would be on a plane to head to Massachusetts to live with Lisa and John- who have been backpacking across India these past few months and have been rushing to get back to America since the accident. 

We had no time to pack, it would be done for us by a moving company John hired. No chance to visit our town before we moved to say goodbye to childhood friends, Lisa wanted us in Massachusetts, with family, as soon as possible. 

There was no talk of my parents or the car. I could only assume they hadn't been found yet. 

It seems as if my entire life had sunk to the bottom of the ocean that day, and I had no idea how to cope with it.