Darkness in the Light

Chapter 2

I woke up the smell of antiseptics that reminded me of a hospital. I hated hospitals, so that woke me up quick. My eyelids fluttered open and I was blinded by a brilliant white light. I tried to raise my hand to shield my eyes but something tugged on it and instantly my eyes moved to see what it was. My vision was all wonky because for a moment it looked like I had two left arms but it focused enough for me to see the tube that had been attached to the crease of my elbow. It took me a few seconds too long to realize it was an IV. Why did I have an IV?

I blinked several times to try to make my vision go back to normal so that everything wasn’t just a smudge. It cleared after a few moments and my eyes shifted over the rest of my body so I could try to remember what happened. A soft blue blanket was covering me but from what I could see and feel, my right leg was in a cast and so was my right arm. I was confused, I didn’t remember anything about how I got a casts.

The baby blue walls made my head spin and there was an annoying beeping sound that kept getting faster and faster. The door suddenly opened and my brain struggled to recognize my mom.

“Tyler!” She cried. Her shriek made my ears ring and I winced.

“Quieter, Mrs. Price.” An unfamiliar female voice said gently, but her voice was scratchy. “She may be a little sensitive to sound.”

My mom ignored her and she ran to my side. “Oh, honey,” She whimpered.

Her makeup was smeared from crying and her hair was now in a messy bun. She had changed shirts, though. I could’ve swore she was wearing a Christmas sweater, but now she had on an old ratty La Follette T-Shirt.

“Mom?” I whispered.

My dad’s face appeared from behind her. His face was usually cleanly shaven but he had some stubble as if he hadn’t even tried to shave for a few days. His close-cropped blonde hair was in a disarray, also, and even though he smiled it didn’t touch his brown eyes.

“Hey, Tyler.” My dad murmured. He seemed a lot more controlled than my mom whose body was racking from trying to contain sobs.

My eyes darted back and forth between my parents and that gave me a headache. “What-What happened?” My voice came out raspy and I tried to clear my throat. “What did I do, now?” I asked. There had been many incidents where I injured myself in some way so this must’ve just been another one of those times.

“Tyler, you didn’t do anything.” My dad said gently and he laid his hand on my left, the one not in a cast. I noticed how, usually, my dad would be wrapping his arm around my mom by now but instead he seemed to be trying to make sure they didn’t touch. Okay, something serious had happened.

His eyes became watery but he shook his head to keep them at bay. “You really don’t remember?”

I shook my head slowly as in to not make the world spin again.

My dad rubbed my shoulder soothingly. “You and Danny got in a car accident a few days ago. We don’t know who the other guy was because he fled the scene but almost everyone is here to see you. Your grandparents, your aunt Eryn, Uncle Leo, and even Uncle Jason. Your friend, Natasha, is here too. She’s been waiting for you to wake up.”