Chapter 28
(Liams POV)
I watched Annie as she slept. Wondering when she would wake up, I still couldn't get over the fact she was found upside down in her mom's car! What was she doing in it, in the first place? She knows she can't drive without a licensed adult in the car with her! I had told her, I would take her out driving when I got back from my next concert. I shook my head, she is just too damn stubborn and won't listen to reason, when she gets a whim in her head, no matter how crazy it is, she goes for it head first, and it ends up being something reckless and dangerous. With no thought about herself or others, that is mostly what lands her in trouble. I wanted answers for why Annie was in the car, and I knew where I was going to get the answers I seek. I was finally well enough to get out of bed for little breaks here and there, thank goodness because I couldn't stand being stuck in bed! I was however cautioned by the doctor and nurse to still take it easy and not get too excited or over-exert myself.
Amber had been admitted to the hospital with cuts, scrapes, abrasions, and a concussion. I don't know her very well, only what Annie told me about her, that they were really good friends and hung out together a lot. I knew I needed to talk to her and get some answers, I wasn't sure who was at fault for this accident, but I knew that Annie was not innocent in any way, but I thought that Amber most likely would have had to have some kind of push in that direction, all of there shenanigans were from Amber talking Annie into doing things that she knew was wrong. I found out from the nurse at the nurse's station that Amber was in a room just down the hall from Annie's room, and that she was driving all the nurses crazy, badgering them all the time, asking if Annie had woken up yet, or what the status of her was.
I walked back over to the boys that were writing down lyrics on a napkin to a new song, they seemed to always be working, Niall was always saying, you never know when inspiration will hit, and you have to be ready at all times to write down what comes.
"I'm going to go talk to Amber. I'm hoping she can shine some light on why Annie was driving her mom's car illegally." I say to all of them, watching their reaction. They had all been put in charge of me to make sure I took it easy.
They all expressed their worry about me not getting the answers that I was seeking or not liking the answers I did get and that I would go off on Amber and lose my temper and yell at her.
Louis looked skeptically at me. "Come on Liam, are you sure that is a good idea? We all know how you get when you don't get an answer you like or are expecting. You lose patience very fast, you snap, yell, and worse of all you react, as in spank when it comes to Annie. We are supposed to make sure you don't overdo it!" he said as gently as possible, again watching my reaction closely.
I stopped for a minute to think, Louis was right, I had a bad habit of losing my cool really fast when I don't get an answer, or I get ignored, because someone is refusing to answer my questions, or I don't like the answers I get. How would I react if Amber gives me the cold shoulder? I hated to admit it, but they were right, I couldn't go off on her, no matter what, then I had an idea. Louis had been going and seeing Amber ever since she was admitted to the hospital, it was said by the hospital gossip mill that Louis was sweet on her. Maybe Louis could break the ice for me, and it would be smooth sailing from then, on and I could get my answers.
"Louis, why don't you come with me?"
Louis's face brightened up, and all the dudes expressed that it was a good idea, he could keep me out of trouble. Trouble me? I laughed on the inside, I don't get in trouble ever! I kept laughing silently to myself as we walked down the hallway in the opposite direction from Annie's room. Amber's door was partly opened, and I could hear the low hum of the tv, while she was surfing through the channels, she didn't look our way as we quietly knocked and entered her room.
Her room was the same size as Annie's
"Hi, Amber," I said taking a seat in the chair by the window, Amber had still not acknowledged my presence, and it made me bristle with impatience.
"Why the fuck can't they have better channels on tv!?" she practically yelled slamming the remote down on the tray that was in front of her.
I jumped a little startled at her outburst and was taken back by the language she was using, but it wasn't my place to correct her.
"Amber, could you please refrain from using such vulgar language!" I heard Louis say as he sat down in another chair opposite from her bed. Amber looked over at him, and huffed, glaring at him, you could feel the tension in the air as Louis and Amber both looked at each other, glaring. OH boy! Seriously? I need to defuse the situation!
I leaned forward resting my elbows on my thighs, clasping my hands together. "Amber, could you please tell me what happened the night of the accident?" I asked calmly looking at her.
She looked at me for a minute, and then frowned, looking at the television, I waited patiently for what seemed like an eternity, and I wasn't sure if she was going to cooperate and answer me, when she finally said in a quiet voice, almost too quiet, looking me straight in the eyes.
"It was horrible, the sound of breaking glass, the blood, the screaming, that is all I remember." I was really confused.
"I already know all that, what happened before that? Why was Annie driving her mom's car illegally?" I asked her, trying to stay as calm as I could, but feeling my patience slipping away. She broke eye contact with me and whispered.
"You'll have to ask Annie." My pulse jumped, my heartbeat started beating so bad I thought it was going to pound right out of my chest.
"Ask Annie! Are you freaking nuts or something? It is because of you! That Annie is laying in a hospital bed, hooked up to so many machines, in a coma! It is because of you that Annie is hurt so badly that they don't know when she will wake up!" I yelled at her, I had lost it, completely lost it, I was shaking, sweaty, and I was angry! I was now advancing on her, as I thought about all the terrible things that Annie was going through right now. Amber the whole time, didn't look at me, she gave no sign of being scared, or remorseful, just sat there in her bed as still as a statue, before I could get any closer to her, Louis put his hand on my shoulder.
"Calm down bro!" I glared at Louis and tried to shrug his hand off my shoulder. "You can't yell at Amber, she is after all just like Annie, not as bad, but she is hurt!"
I backed down, still feeling like my chest was going to burst, I apologized to Amber, stumbled out the door into the hallway, my head started pounding again, I started feeling dizzy, what is happening? I was holding onto the railing on the wall trying to steady myself, as soon as Louis was in the hallway closing Ambers door, I grabbed onto Louis, he looked at me with a worried expression. Every step we took, my head was pounding, my eyesight was getting fuzzy again, as we entered Annie's room, and Louis was helping me back into bed, a nurse came in to check Annie's vitals, she took one look at me and frowned.
"Mr. Payne, didn't the doctor order you not to exert yourself? And here you are, sweating, flushed in the face, and breathing hard." She clicked her tongue in a way that told me I had been bad, as she took my blood pressure.
"Your blood pressure is way too high! And you need to relax, now stay in that bed!" She said giving me one last stern look while putting the blood pressure kit away.
She gave me a pill, and as it dissolved on my tongue, it made me extremely sleepy and I couldn't fight it, and in no time I was asleep.
(Annie's POV)
Why is everything so dark still? Where is the light that I saw before? At least the pounding in my head was gone! But where is everyone? I can hear sounds, like the beeping of machines, but I still can't see anything! I'm able to move my arms and legs, which I had moved just slightly to test them out, but I couldn't wrap my head around, why it was so dark. I felt with my fingers, that I was in a bed, I could tell by the sheets and the way they felt. Then my fingers explored the edge of the bed and I felt something cold, and hard, and as I moved my fingers upwards, I realized it was bars, a bed with bars!? I wanted to open my eyes, and I tried so hard to tell myself to open my eyes, but they didn't cooperate, and I still couldn't see! I moved my left hand, and with my fingers, traced my mouth, there was something in my mouth, I started freaking out, it felt like a hose of some sort, I went further tracing my nose, and then I got to my eyes, and literally started panicking, my heart started beating so fast and so hard, I was freaking out! My eyes were open, I could tell by my fingers touching my eyelids, and I was blinking! OH MY GOD! I couldn't see! I was blind! No, maybe the lights are just off! My mind tried to reason with me, but I knew the truth, I felt like my heart was going to explode with how hard it pounded in my chest, the tube that was in my mouth was making it hard to breathe and it felt like a giant pressure on my chest, I knew I had to get it out! I started moving against the tube, trying to get it out, all of a sudden a loud alarm went off somewhere to my left, it hurt my ears! Where the hell am I? I suddenly felt someone grab my left hand, and hold it tight, Liam? I thought, hoping it was him.
"Annie, I'm here! Oh, my dear Annie! Louis went for the doctor he will be here any minute." I heard him say to me, and his voice cracked with emotion before I felt tears on the knuckles of my left hand, which he had pressed to his cheek. Doctor? Oh, I'm in the hospital? I tried to remember what happened, and nothing came to me.
I tried talking, but I couldn't around the hose in my mouth, I soon heard more people talking over people, I couldn't tell what they were saying or who they were, and it was driving me crazy! I finally heard a voice that I couldn't place, but I was hoping it was a doctor to get this awful hose out of my mouth.
"Oh, my dear! You have come back to us at last! You gave a lot of people a horrible scare!" he said, as he pulled the hose out of my mouth, I started gagging and choking. Came back? Where did I go? I thought as I coughed a bunch of times, then once I thought I could speak, at first nothing came out, then I tried again, then a squeak, the third time I tried to speak I said.
"Where am I? Why is it so dark? Will someone please turn the lights on so I can see?"
I heard a bunch of people gasps.
(Liams POV)
I was asleep in my hospital bed because I was put to sleep after exerting myself to complete exhaustion.
I had a funny feeling, call it intuition that something was going on with Annie, I opened my eyes and looked over and I saw Annie looking straight up at the ceiling, she was moving her hands and legs slightly, then frantically trying to get someone's attention. I grabbed hold of her left hand as the alarms started going off on the machines that she was hooked to. I told her I was there and that Louis had ran to get the doctor. The one thing that didn't seem right, was that Annie's eyes were not focusing on me, or anything.
The doctor came in and removed the breathing tube since Annie was now breathing on her own and was awake. I watched as she tried to speak, she was having difficulty at first, then it came out a squeak, the third time, she looked really confused, like she was trying to figure something out, then the next thing that she said was.
"Where am I? Why is it dark? Will someone please turn the lights on so I can see!"
We all gasped. Annie is blind!?