Under The Weather

4

It was over.

My life was over.

Within the tiny space of two minutes, my life had completely changed for the worse.

"Mr and Mrs Wyatt, Bailey suffered a delayed traumatic haemorrhage of the brain..."

My mother interrupted, "What does that mean?"

I folded my arms as I sat in my the bed they had provided.

I was now hooked up to more machines than before - I understood little about what they did.

"There is a bleed in her brain. Your daughter has pulled through, however, with the state that she's in at the moment, it's going to take months for her to recover. We're going to admit her to the hospital as an inpatient." Doctor Addison lifted herself out of her chair, "But she's very lucky, I've never seen someone with a brain injury like this have almost complete control of their speech without therapy."

"You're saying we should be happy, that our daughter can speak?" My mother retorted.

The doctor sighed.

"I'll leave you to talk to your daughter." She left the room.

I could hear, I could see, I could speak.

I was alive, yet it didn't seem to make me feel any less sombre.

All of this happened because Rachel was a huge bitch.

If I couldn't see it then I saw it now.

"Bailey?"

Turning my head, my eyes latched onto my mother's tearful ones, "M-Mom?"

My stutter had become more noticeable and frequent.

"You're going to be fine." Micheal, my Step-Dad got up, "You're a fighter."

"I l-love you g-guys."

My Mom held my hand tight, "I love you too, li."

***

"Bailey Wyatt!" Doctor Addison burst into my room, "You promised me you wouldn't stay in your room all day again."

Resting against the window, I watched the flood of rain pouring out of the sky.

It had been days since I was admitted and I hated it already.

Doctor Addison had been pushing me to make some friends and 'get used to the area', though I kept refusing.

I wasn't going to be here forever.

It was best to just wait out my sentence and be done with it.

But promising her seemed to be the only way out of her endless lectures about 'staying healthy'.

"I d-don't want t-to."

"That's not an excuse, Bailey." She marched toward me, sighing, "You're not going to get better if you don't keep using your body."

I snapped my head toward her, "I c-can't even w-walk."

After my fall, my legs had become jelly.

Useless limbs stuck to my body that I'd probably never use again even though everyone gave me hope that I would.

"One day you will be able to again. Have a little more faith!" She lifted me from the windowsill and into my wheelchair, "Now go out there and talk to someone."

I rolled my eyes in defeat, "F-fine."

The wheels at my side guided me out of the room into the saddening bland hallway.

As I arrived at the hospital cafeteria, my eyes scanned the room. People were laughing; doctors and nurses on their break.

The immense space seemed to become more daunting the more I looked around, "F-forget t-this."

I turned back to the door only to be stopped.

"Hey." There was a skinny figure looming above me "You seem a little spaced out."

"Oh, I-I'm o-okay."

The boy was quite skittish and had messy locks of his chocolate-brown hair hanging in front of his emerald orbs.

He sat down at the table beside me and pulled out a chair next to him for me, "I'm Lance, you?"

I slid into the space he created for me, "B-Bailey."

He furrowed his eyebrows together, "You must be the new girl? Doctor Addison told us all about you."

"Of course, she did." I groaned to myself.

Lance sat up, "Don't worry, she only told us that you don't like it here."

"D-do you?"

"I don't think anyone does." He chuckled, "It's not like this is the most cheery and joyful place on earth."

There was silence.

Lance's eyes were trained on me.

He leaned forward, "You'll get used to it though. Everyone does after a while."

My eyes dropped to the matt white table, "I-I don't t-think I'll ever r-really g-get used t-to the s-smell."

"That is something that nobody can adjust to, Bailey. Not even me."

"G-glad we're o-on the s-same p-page." I nodded at him.