Bright white lights strained my eyes so I could not view my surroundings.
Eventually my eyes could adjust to room. I attempted to stretch but my arm hit a wall close to my face.
What? I was surrounded in a hard plastic dome lying on a hard mattress of a sort.
My stomach was covered in an odd
light blue blanket. I dared to lift it off of my body.
Well that was a mistake! I forced myself to look away from the wound on my stomach. The pins pulling my skin together were so disgusting; I couldn't believe that was my body that looked like this. The nurses couldn't even have the decency to clean up the blood that had now dried to my skin. My whole situation looked ridiculous I could have been an alien experiment, or Frankenstein’s next generation of body parts.
"Hello, Alisha? How are you feeling?" This voice was familiar to me somehow.
I felt a soft warm hand graze the side of my face pulling my locks of hair away as the large plastic dome was raised. An oxygen mask was quickly placed upon my face.
"Alisha." I heard another voice speak. "Your friend Daff is here can you say hello?"
I managed to let out a grunt. "H-hej."
"Good job, I also need you to take a couple deep breaths for me ok?"
I tried really hard to but my ribs and muscles were refusing to let me.
"Can you please try to breathe deep?" I continued trying and began to panic when I couldn't.
"Don't worry it's alright. Just relax now, you should be fine." I rested my body back against the bed.
"How did this happen to me?" I asked him. He looked down avoiding my gaze; I knew he was embarrassed of what Katia did.
"She threw something sharp at you when you were at the studio, and it punctured you in the stomach." He shifted himself in his chair to sit closer to me. "You started bleeding internally since you left to find Oscar until you fell in the hospital hallway. You probably tore more of your abdomen when you pushed Oscar’s stretcher." He pulled himself closer to me and whispered. "Alisha, what you did to save Oscar was amazing and I want to thank you for being so courageous. If Omar hadn't have looked back, you probably wouldn't be here today."
"Wait... Omar?"
"Yes, he noticed that you were missing before we even left you ten feet! He saw you on the floor and was quick to get the nurses attention. He left Oscar's side immediately to help you."
I never thought Omar cared too much for me; this really shocked me but comforted me at the same time.
"Where is Katia now?"
"She's with Oscar at the moment with everyone else. Honestly, I know she looks tough but she is really scared to see you."
"I don't blame her; she has a lot to be scared about when I am stuck in a stretcher." Daff laughed at my comment. Obviously I couldn't hurt her at the state I was in.
"Can I go see them?"
"I'll call a nurse to see if you can." Daff left the room and soon returned with a young female nurse."
"Who do you want to visit?" she asked me kindly.
"Emm...his name is Oscar Enestad? He is my boyfriend."
"Alright miss, I am going to pull up your bed and we are going to try standing you up." Daff and her took my arms and slowly guided me off of the bed.
"This floor is freezing!" I commented, the chill shocked my feet, ran up my legs through my whole body.
"Can you please try to stand up straight? If it hurts at all then we cannot let you leave I am sorry." I nodded. Oscar was my motivation to do this. I straightened my back feeling pressure where my skin was stretching but surprisingly there was no pain.
"Wow, I feel fine." Giggled in shock.
Daff and the nurses let my hands go to let me stand on my own. But I began to lose my balance.
"Hey hey hey!" Daff called. I fell over in his direction but he brought me back stable to my feet. Relief crossed all of our faces. He continued to take my arm and guide me down the hall to Oscar's room.
"How are you feeling?" He asked me, he was very concerned about my wellbeing which I loved. I felt like I had a father who actually cared for me.
"I feel fine, seriously it's great."
"Would you like to try walking in on your own?" Daff suggested before opening the door.
I nodded just as he left my side and opened the door.
Oscar was sitting cross legged in his bed telling the boys a story in Swedish. They were all sitting around him on his bed captivated by his words as I entered.
"Hey guys." I tried to speak up but they were so consumed in Oscar's story they didn't even notice me enter.
Oscar did though, His eyes lit up the second I turned the corner to face him.
"Hey my Love! How are you?"
"Hi Alisha!"
"Oh my goodness you are already awake!"
Felix and OG grew intense smiles on their faces and rushed over to greet me. They all ran at full force.
"Guys wait-" They ignored my efforts to slow them down and continued approaching me with excitement like young puppies with no self-control.
"Oi oi oi!! STOP!" Omar warned. He rushed in front of them and held his hands and legs straight out in a strong protective stance.
Felix stopped dead in his tracks while OG stumbled over a bit but saved himself from crashing into my weak body by the shield of Omar's body.
"You guys can't rush her like this! She is so fragile right now!" Omar scolded the boys. He turned around calmly to take my arm to support me and walk me into the room to sit in a chair beside Oscar's bed.
"Nah! You guys are pretty much as good as new we can take you out!" OG laughed.
"I don't think I am quite there yet bro." I pulled up my hospital gown to show them my stomach.
"Oh." OG's face became serious; he was trying to hide his disgust which I found amusing to see his face change. "I guess we got a while then."
"Don't feel bad! It doesn't even hurt anymore. I glanced over to Oscar, his face filled with horror.
I didn't even realize it but Katia was also in the room, she sat in a chair in the corner avoiding me. I saw Oscar give her the death glare.
"Oscar, it's ok. Really." But he continued glaring at her until she stormed out of the room.
"I can't stand what she did to you!" He expressed.
"Or you could ignore her and be happy that I am alive. I have Omar to thank for that."
"Yea." Felix commented with his arms crossed. "Without him Kat would have been charged with murder."
The room went quiet, we all realized the seriousness of what happened.
"I am glad you are alive." Oscar turned over trying to kiss me, I turned along with him to meet his lips in my chair but it caused too much strain on the both of us to reach each other. He sat back in disappointment.
"Don't worry about it." I assured him, but that didn't make it any better.
"It's not right; I should be able to do that..." The fact that Oscar and I were too weak to kiss really upset him. He breathed out heavily and looked the other direction too upset to face me.
I kissed my hand and held it out to him to take. He did the same and took my hand releasing a short fake smile.
"How is your head?" I asked.
"Well, it's ok now; I just needed
A blood bag and about 30 stitches in the back of my head." He turned his face away to show me.
"Well I am glad you are ok." I pursed my lips rubbing my thumb across his hands to comfort.
"What about you?" Oscar attempted to move closer to me in his bed and he pulled my gown off my legs.
"Don't look at it. It's just going to make you mad." I told him hiding my body away from him. I felt kind of insecure to show Oscar the pins and stitched holding me in one piece.
"I can't believe I wasn't there for you."
"You don't need to worry about that ok? We are all alive nothing is wrong. Anyway we need Katia to be our lawyer to put Kale in jail for what he did."
"He is the real person to blame for all of this." OG agreed.
Oscar nodded his head he was trying really hard to understand where I was coming from.
"Daff do you think you could bring Katia back here?" I asked.
He nodded and left to look for her. Within the hour he came back with Katia behind him.
"Hej Katia."
"Hej, Jag är ledsen." She apologized to me and gave me a weak hug.
"Come sit next to me, I have two hours before my last surgery and then we can get out of here!" I exclaimed happily.
We all fit our little bodies along Oscar's bed and began watching a movie together.
I turned to the look at the people laying down all around me. These people are the ones who will stand by me no matter what. They love me more than my parents; and will actually spend time to see me in the hospital.
"Alisha Crue?" A nurse questioned peeking her head into the door.
I raised my hand towards her. "The one and only."
"It is time for your surgery, after this is complete; you are free to leave." She said holding some paperwork.
I nodded; Omar quickly rose to
My side and stood me up walking to the door.
Looking back I saw all the faces that I would spend the rest of my life with.
"I love you all." I stated out of the blue.
"We love you." OG said with a smile glancing back to the television. I knew they did, but they didn't love me like I loved them.
Omar guided me down the hall over to the room where I would have this procedure done.
"Please lay on this bed if you can." The nurse stated. Omar helped me pick up my legs and shift my body onto the hard mattress.
"These drugs are going to help put you to sleep during the surgery ok?" the nurse slipped a vile of clear liquid into my arm. It stung slightly as it entered my bloodstream.
"Omar!" I panicked frightened to be alone.
"I am here, don't worry." He held my hand and sang me a song until the medicine came into effect.
"Jag vet en dejlig rosa, och vit som liljeblad...
När jag på henne tänker, så görs mitt hjärta glad...
Dess stämma ger en hjärtans tröst, likt näktergalens blida röst, så hövisk och så ljuv..."
He sang something about a lovely rose, and how it made him happy to think of her, and what a beautiful voice she had.
"Alisha, I need you count down from ten please dear."
I turned my face over to Omar he was holding my hand against his lips and humming me a lullaby that soon sounded like blurred noise.
"Tio....nio....åtta....."