FLY [ongoing]

O N E

My head stung.
A large pain pounded at my skull, making it ache. It throbbed - almost angrily. I felt sick. The agony was nearly unbearable. I felt sticky with sweat and my limbs felt weak. I couldn't concentrate on thinking about how I ended up here, or what happened because my mind was blank. I couldn't think straight.
I saw faint stars, dizzying my vision and making me confused.
Where even was I?
My eyelids were heavy, as I opened them to see a dimly lit room. The curtains seemed to be drawn, leaving a small ray of light. They seemed old and tatty, almost like no one had bothered to change them. The room I seemed to be in was small, just enough to fit a single bed, a desk and a cupboard. There was a drip, and a few sets of medical equipment. I lay quietly, desperately trying to re call where I was, and how I got here.
I heard a siren blaring outside, most likely from an ambulance. I sat up, leaning over to the window, trying to draw the curtain to look. All of a sudden, a sharp pain stabbed my skull, almost like a knife.
I fell back, almost instantly, smashing my head on the wall. I screamed out in discomfort.
My head throbbed badly - more than before - making me wince and clutch my head. There was fabric covering it though, quite like some sort of bandage.
I winced again. My muscles around my stomach felt weak and they hurt when I tried to move, making my stomach churn violently.
I lay back down slowly, in need to stop the pain.
I closed my eyes, taking a few deep breaths.

My brain began to wander.
Suddenly I realised - my dad must be looking for me. Or.. what if he isn't.

My dad seemed not as close to me, since mum had gone, kind of spaced out and quiet in the mornings. At the most of times he would be angry, smashing beer bottles on the floor and shouting at me if I hadn't done my homework. I was scared to argue. He regularly went out to the pub at night leaving me in the flat alone. He'd get back in the early hours of the morning, tripping over the coffee table, sending cups to smash on the floor. I never got much sleep on those nights. He'd forget about it and go to bed, and then wake up with a hangover and a nasty attitude, asking me why I smashed all the cups.

I wanted to get away, it had got to the point where he was never at home - always betting all our money on football, always getting drunk and sleeping with random women, or always spending my college savings on alcohol. He wonders why we're getting evicted in a few months. He'd be out at the pub until early mornings, and sometimes he would never come home. I'd call him to find his phones died or he'd turned it off, then get home from school and see him sat on the sofa with another woman.
Most of the time, it seems like he doesn't care about me. He forgets he has a daughter. He constantly gets drunk and he never pays attention to me. Never.
Ive got used to him being like this regularly, so I don't even remember what it used to be like when he was happy. When mum was still here-

My thought stopped. I heard someone. Outside. Unlocking the door. I heard a click, and the door creaked open. I could hear distant mumbles as the door opened. The person who had opened the door seemed to be talking to someone on the phone, quietly murmuring. They seemed to be complaining about something, before the person hung up.

I immediately closed my eyes, pretending to be asleep. The person walked in, shoes squeaking on the shiny floor tiles. I heard them flick through what sounded like a clipboard with paper, writing on it.
I could hear them breathing heavily, and I felt their glance fall to me. I opened one eye,to see a young looking, brown haired man in a lab coat staring at me. As soon as he saw my eye open, he quickly looked back at his paper and forms, sitting down on a black swivel chair in the corner.

'So.. you're awake now.' He said bluntly. He bit his pen, moving his swivel chair toward me. He sat at the end of the bed, anxiously chewing the pen-lid.
'So, any pain?'
There was a silence.
Propping my pillow up against the wall, I looked at him. We stared at each other for a minute, him trying to work out my perplexed expression. He hung his head, before looking back up with a smile.
'Huh, you really don't say much do ya girl?' He smirked, laughing slightly. He clicked his pen again.

'Where am I?' I croaked quietly. My throat was dry and I could hardly speak. I felt kind of faint.
'You are in the Royal London hospital, in London, of course, having just woken up from a coma you've been in for about 18-19 hours. Roughly.' He flicked his hair back, messing it up slightly.

My mind blurred. How did I get in a coma, what the hell happened about a day ago?!?

He saw my slightly confused face. He clicked his pen lid on, putting it in his top pocket and looking out the window. He watched the cars drive past the window, all in neat lines beeping and honking at the rush hour traffic. I sat up too - despite my dizziness - watching them move along slowly. All the families, all the elderly, all the young adults just leaving work going home to maybe see their cat, or partner, or fiancé. How I'd love to have a normal family that love me, and care for me.
I heard a distance Nee-Naw and one by one, all the cars desperately, drove to the side, some trying to find a space on the pavement. Yet another ambulance drove past, high speed, flashing lights, before turning into accident and emergency, next to the hospital.

I began to wonder again where my dad even was - surely a normal parent would already be here, desperate to see their teenage daughter if they found out she wasn't at home. They'd call the police right?
To my best friend, Haley, that part of my life was like a dream, because I can literally go anywhere I want and my parent wouldn't kill me. My so called 'parent' wouldn't even care. She wishes she could do that, after her dad set a super-strict curfew. I don't think my dad would even notice if I went to live with my nan though. Or went to live on the streets.
I regularly visit my mums mum, because she's like a second mum to me, she is always ready to listen and give me advice when I'm going through rough times. She lets me stay over whenever I feel like it, and she also treats me when I'm with her.
I tell her everything-

I suddenly felt a stab of pain in my head again (which had been gradually getting worse over the last 10 minutes) and a lay back in the bed, holding the place where the agony was. I began to sweat, and my heart speed up.
What's happening?
'Uhm... Mr doctor... I...' I mumbled faintly.
I silently screeched in discomfort.

'Are you alright?' I heard the man ask, with a slightly panicked tone, moving closer trying to examine my head. I looked at him, feeling a current of dizziness wash over me. I moved away from him, clutching my head. The room began to spin, and I couldn't see properly.
Suddenly I felt a sudden tiredness flow over me and my eyes started to close, heavy.
No, Cora keep your consciousness. Stay awake. I tried to keep them open.

The guy began to shout, his yells getting fainter and fainter. He was shouting for a doctor, crying out in urgency. I heard his shoes squeak on the floor and the door slammed. I could hear a loud BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP which was speeding up.
What was happening? Was this just a dream, or is this reality? Surely I'm just dreaming right? Some horrible nightmare it must be, and I'll wake up sweating and burst into tears.
It's all alright.
.....
ITS REALLY NOT ALRIGHT CORA

It seemed so real, I seemed real. I gently pinched myself, and my arm — it suddenly stopped working. It dropped helplessly by my side. I felt the pinch though.
Wait. That means I'm not dreaming.
I squirmed uncomfortably.
I heard the guy run back in with 2 other, older men, who both had a panicked expression, frantically rushing round. 'ARE YOU OKAY, CAN YOU HEAR ME?' One of them shouted to me, looking at my face.
The other one put his hand on my chest, near where my heart was, trying to feel the beat. He then grabbed my arm, trying to feel a pulse in my wrist. After a few seconds, he looked at the other man, sweating.
My eyes closed properly, feeling droopy. I couldn't hold on any longer. I let my arm drop.

No, Cora no. Don't do this Cora. Don't-

Spots of darkness clouded my vision.
I saw a light shine into my eyes.
Everything went black.

———

I hope you liked my first chapter!
I'm hoping to get more chapters out asap, but I have to fit it around school and homework, so I'll try my best. New chapter next week hopefully!
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Vote, comment and add my story to your reading list and that would be a massive help!!
~author