A Numb Nutshell

Chapter 13 ~ Guess Who

I jerk my eyes open, being blinded by the amount of light shining in my face. Squinting, I try to get a grip onto my current whereabouts. I try to listen closely to my surroundings, all I can hear is a beep sound and a loud ringing. I wonder..

Almost as if on queue, someone barged through some sort of door or gate and sending things crashing. I feel someone's hand placed on my left one, with another on my back of my head. I hear whimpering. 

"Please wake up Erin, tell me they weren't lying babygirl," the voice says, almost in a whisper. Assuming it as a favor, I try to open my eyes again, preparing for the blinding light, only, there wasn't as much light this time. Whoever is here must be blocking the blinding radiance, signalling that they really are there. I try to focus on the blurred figure standing above me. 

I see a blended olive tan, with a blue tint in two places. I stare for a second as the picture becomes clearer. Almost immediately I process the beautiful human being hovering above me. 

"Hey gorgeous, how you feeling?" Mathieu says through tears. "I missed you."

I smile, almost causing me to sneeze when the breathing tube in front of my nose rubs my upper lip. I look around the room, noticing the door opened just a crack, the chairs laying sideways -- that's probably what knocked over. I notice a small window beside the door. There's shadows on the other side of the blinds moving around, almost pacing. I look at the other side of me. There's a heart monitor, oxygen concentrator, and an IV stand, connecting to my right hand, chest, upper arm, and face.

I look back at Matt, who hasn't seemed to take his eyes off of me. He smiles as another tear falls onto his cheek. I reach my free hand up to swipe the freshly fallen streams of tears from his face. He reaches up at my hand and holds it to his cheek. He kisses my palm and smiles. 

"I'm so glad you're okay Erin. I don't know what I would've done if I lost you.." He trails off, slightly sobbing. 

"What happened?" I mumble as I try to readjust, noticing the absurd amount of numbness throughout my body. Letting out a small whimper, I quit moving. "Shit..." 

"Don't move too much, you don't wanna make it worse." Matt said softly, adjusting himself around me and the tubes. "Here, I got you." 

Feeling my hip move, my foot burn, and a ton of weight in between, I glance down. "Holy hell..." I look to the ceiling faster then the one time I seen a dead squirrel when I was 6. Hesitantly, I glance down again, seeing all the bandages, ice, and casts. 

"Here, allow me..." Matthieu trails off as he reached for a blanket, covering me up to where my arm lays. I noticed the blood-stained bandages around my arm, all the way up to my elbow. I slump down, closing my eyes, hoping it was all a dream. 

"What the actual hell happened Matt?" 

"Don't you want to wait for the doctor first lovely?" He smirked, I rolled my eyes. 

"No, quite frankly, I want to get out of here right now, but that doesn't look promising. Please, just tell me."

"Well..." He trailed off, looking down at my arm covered in bandages. He takes a deep breath. "Jane... She, well," He nudged his head towards my leg. "Did that. And damaged the back of your head, and forehead, and a few ribs, and kinda tore open a bit more then a few of your, well, arm..." He trailed off, not taking his eyes off a spot in the distance. 

Shit... I didn't think she could do something as bad as this. "How long have I been in here for?" I asked. 

"Only a day or so, not too long, thankfully. The doctors were saying not to be surprised if you slipped into a coma or something, but that was just after you got here. Once you started screaming in your sleep, well, they knew you might've been okay enough to recover consciously."

I looked back at the ceiling, confused. Screaming in my sleep? What the hell? I take a deep breath, pausing when the pain kicks in. "What do you mean I was screaming in my sleep?" I stared at the ocean in his eyes. 

"I mean, I dunno sugar. You were just screaming, almost like you were getting murdered or something. Everyone was scared, but had some hope, seeing as you obviously weren't in a coma, or whatever..." He trailed off again, facing the door. He rubbed the back of his neck before looking back at me. 

"Maybe I should get the doctor, let him know you're awake. Maybe get the others in here, let them come say hi, would you like that?" He seemed anxious, nervous almost. What was up with him? 

As I open my mouth, about to say something, a sharp stabbing pain floods through my body, causing me to scream in agony. Matthieu ran for the door immediately, screaming for some doctor or nurse to come. I grasp at the sheets and move the clothing around enough to see some bruising forming fast across my hip, going down my leg underneath the cast. I look up as some people run in, tearing off the blanket, sending a cold chill painfully up my spine. Tears are streaming down my face. I look around and notice that I don't know a single person in the room. I begin to call out for Matt.

"Matt, Matt where did you go? Who are these people? Are they the doctors?" I continue crying. A woman puts her hand of my forehead, and glances at me. 

"Do you know where you are sweetie? Where's the pain?" I nod and release the pressure of my free hand, exposing the great amount of bruising. I hear someone mutter "Shit" under their breath. They start wheeling me out of the room. 

"Wait, where are we going? Whats wrong with me?" Nobody answers. I look slightly above me, noticing Matt and most of the gang trailing behind the bed. Matt was crying again, reaching for my face to wipe off some of the tears. One of the nurses stop him and the others as they turn into another room. 

"Get the Neurosurgeon down here, stat. I think it could be her spine." Says one man with a very deep voice. Assuming it's the doctor, I stare directly at him until he makes eye contact.

"My spine? How could it be my spine, the bruising is around my hip and legs!" I start panicking.

"Your lower back and tailbone area was injured from some sort of trauma. Do you remember anything that has happened in the past 48 hours that could have done this?" He stares directly at me. One nurse taps his shoulder and hands him a clipboard with my name on it. "Oh, I see, you're the one who came in with the multiple fractures and wounds. Was it a dog, or an animal of some sort?" He starts rushing around with the other nurses. 

"My sister" I mumble, starting to feel the pain medication one nurse is pushing through my IV. "She attacked me... At court..." I trail off, prepared for whatever happens. 

As I begin to drift, I hear words like "Small incision" and "Internal bleeding", as well as "Broken spinal cord". I would begin to panic, but there wasn't enough energy or strength to continue listening, let alone worry.