Sparrow's Song | ✔️

Chapter Eighteen

<> <> Sparrow <> <>

I sat there and took it all. Every hit, every word. I had returned to my nightmare. I had returned to the real world.

I woke up by first feeling my heartbeat. It was strange. It started with a slow kaaa-thump, kaaa-thump, then gradually became a song-like beat. Ka-thump, ka-thump. I thought of all the songs I knew. They were all beautiful but for some reason, this one was more beautiful than any other.

Warmth spread from my heart to the rest of my body. It was a wonderful sensation, like eating after starving for a long time. I felt myself breathing in air. It was too small... I didn't like it. I tried to take a larger breath, but larger ones hurt. So, I continued with my small breaths.

Then, I felt cold. A shiver went up my spine as the cold spread. That's when my eyes fluttered open. I saw someone standing over me. I gave her a silly and sleepy smile, like a child waking up from a nap. Is she an angel...? She was surrounded by what looked like light, so I guessed so. I heard voices, and slowly, names labeled each one. Dr. Winters... Clara... Eveline... Jayson... Jayson! I snapped to awareness. Pain exploded in my head as I turned it, looking around. I was lying on a hospital bed, the white sheets somehow unreal.

"Ohh..." I groaned as pain pulsed with my heartbeat, a song turned sour. Dr. Winters turned to look at my face and smiled.

"So, our little bird decided to wake up, did she?" She chuckled. I heard Jayson say something, but it was muffled.

"Jayson..." I whispered quietly. I turned my head to where I thought I heard him. He was sitting in a hospital bed as well, raised so he could lean back but still be sitting. He was looking at me with an expression I had seen too many times: worry.

"Hey, girl..." His voice sounded a little raspy. What happened to him? What happened to me? I thought I... I closed my head. Right... Dr. Winters looked from him to me, then scribbled something down on her notepad.

"Right. Codds, let's leave these two for a while." Dr. Codds started to protest, then saw I was awake and nodded. The two left the room, leaving us to ourselves.

"Sparrow... it's good to see you awake." I nodded. Jayson smiled, seeing I was awake enough to move. "We were out for quite a while, but..." he trailed off, looking me directly in the eyes. Even from a short distance I could see the wonderful blue in them. They were full of worry and something else... something I never saw before in any eyes. I couldn't place a finger on it.

"Are you really alright?" I started to nod, but he stopped me. "And I'm not talking about physically." We stayed silent for a long time. I sighed and shook my head.

"I did't think so..." he closed his eyes and leaned his head back. I turned my head forward, looking at the ceiling. "Sparrow?"

I turned my head to look at him. He hesitated for a moment. "What happened?" I thought for a moment, gathering my thoughts, then started to tell my story. I might as well start from the beginning...

<> <> Jayson <> <>

She thought for a moment. Then, she started to sit up so we were facing each other. The drugs they had given her were still in effect, though I knew she was doing better than me physically. Mentally and emotionally, I wasn't so sure.

"Well..." she started. Her voice was quiet and quivering. She didn't want to tell this story. "I might as well start from the beginning." I nodded. That made sense.

"I was born pretty far away... I don't remember exactly where, I just remember the road trip we took when I was five. It took three or four days. When we finally arrived, I wanted to go straight to the neighboring houses and meet new friends. I wasn't like I am now..." she paused, then continued.

"I made a friend immediately. It..." she let out a shudder breath and took in a large breath. I could see it hurt. "It was Sally... she wasn't like she is now. She was a great friend. She was still a diva, but we got along great. We did everything together. Then..." she closed her eyes, then opened them again. There was newfound strength in them. Her voice was stronger too, more confident.

"My mom got sick. I didn't understand then, but she had stage four cancer and she never knew. Not until she almost died on a car ride home. That car ride killed my dad, and I almost died..." she bent down and showed me her leg. "There was a reason my leg broke so easily... it had already broken in five places already." Scars from sharp metal and the crash spiderwebbed across her leg; they were pale, but still shone out against her skin.

"My mom was in the hospital. The crash made the cancer worse. She was dying. I didn't know what to do... I... I..." She was on the verge of tears. I she was sitting on the edge of her hospital bed now, her legs hanging over the edge and her hands in her lap. I motioned for her to come over. She sniffled and got up, wincing but still coming over to sit next to me. I put an arm around her, trying to comfort her. After a minute she calmed down and continued.

"She died two weeks later. I decided to be silent that next day. Sally tried to find out what was wrong, but I didn't say anything. The next day I was gone. Brian and Clara had adopted me. After about a month or two with them I was happy again, and it turned out Sally had moved where we were in that time. We were best friends until I was about eight."

Sparrow ran a hand along her stomach diagonally, a faraway look on her face. "Brian started beating me one day. I didn't understand what was happening until Eveline was born. She was all they needed, so they didn't need me. Brian beat me most nights. I learned to deal with it for the most part, but it didn't stop it from hurting. Sally worked against me then in school too. Brian even..." Her hand stopped on her left hip.

After a moment of silence I put my hand on hers. She inhaled sharply as our skin made contact, flinching away from me. "Woah, hey, don't worry..." she relaxed and leaned against my chest. I resisted the urge to groan in pain from the slash on my chest. She needs this more than me. I closed my eyes, then tentatively leaned down and kissed the top of her head. I saw her smile and close her eyes. I can't believe the nightmare she's gone through.

Eventually, I pulled her off my chest. "So... what happened after? What were you thinking? You almost died! I don't know what... if you..." I trailed off, not wanting to think about what I might do.

Sparrow stayed silent. I could see she was no longer smiling. She looked down at our feet. Her small, bare feet close to mine.

Finally, she spoke again. "I... I just... couldn't... I didn't want anymore pain... all of the pain I caused... I didn't want that for anyone else..." tears fell into her lap. Since she was wearing hospital clothes, we could see the spot where it landed. I brought a hand up and lifted her chin.

"Hey, listen." I made sure she was listening carefully before continuing. "No one deserves what you're doing to yourself. You are beautiful, and perfect. None of this is your fault. If anything, it's Sally's." At the mention of Sally's name, her eyes fell. "Hey, hey..."

She looked back up. Tears were there, but she stayed silent and kept looking at me. "You deserve so much more than this. I promise, I will protect you no matter what, and you will never try anything like that again, alright?" She nodded, then threw her arms around me. "I promise." I smiled. God I love that voice...