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XXV. I Have A Guardian Angel, Dean Daniels
HEATHER
I finally wake up to a steady beeping noise, that for the last couple minutes, has been driving me mental. Will it just fucking stop already? It's only adding to the massive migraine I have right now. I can hear voices talking somewhere in the distance and the sound of busy footsteps walking back and forth. Where am I?
The first thing to hit me is the pain and not just from the migraine. I feel it all over my damn body. From the very top of my head, all the way down to the tip of my toes. I stir in my half catatonic state and feel a hand gently grip mine as I finally manage to flutter my eyes open.
There's a bright light above me that's blinding, not helping my migraine and making my head feel like it's splitting open like a cantaloupe. I squint my eyes closed and groan in pain. I move my left arm and that's when I notice a splint on my hand all the way to the middle of my forearm. It's like the ones you'd use for carpal tunnel syndrome. I look around and that's when I notice the person holding my other hand, my mom with tears in her eyes as she looks at me with concern. I look down at myself and notice I'm in a hospital gown. Why am I in the hospital?
"Heather honey, how are you feeling?" she softly asks me as she moves closer to the edge of the chair she's sitting in.
"What happened?" I croak and clear my throat. My voice is raspy and I laugh at the fact I sound like a frog. The laughing hurts my sore throat though so I take a deep breath and close my eyes, bringing me back to center.
"Nice to see even in this state you can still laugh," my mom smiles at me and gently squeezes my hand, being careful of the needle in the top of it for my IV drip.
"But to answer you question. You're at Summerhill Hospital. You were in a bad car accident. Do you remember what happened?" she asks and I try to think back to the last thing I remember before waking up just a few minutes ago. I remember driving down the highway heading home when suddenly there was a loud banging noise and the car swerved on me. I remember being hit hard by something as I started flipping, feeling like I was on a rollercoaster. After that I don't remember anything else.
I explain this to my mom and she nods her head in understanding, a hint of agony emanate in her expression. Everything happened so fast, it's hard to remember every single detail. There's a knock on the door and a man in blue scrubs comes walking in. He smiles warmly at me and my mom, grabbing the chart at the end of the bed.
"Hello Miss Daniels, I'm Dr. Mark Sheppard and I'm your doctor for the time that you're here. Can you tell me how you're feeling right now?" he walks closer to the side of the bed and gently grabs my arm with the splint, checking it to make sure it's snug.
"I feel like I was hit by a truck," I tell him and he chuckles with a sincere smile. He pulls out his stethoscope and places it to my chest to check my heartbeat.
"Well, you were hit by a truck, a big one," he smiles down at me and wraps his stethoscope back around his neck. Grabbing a flashlight, he asks me to look at him so he can check my pupils. I'm assuming I have a concussion.
"Can you lift your gown up a bit so I can check your stomach and make sure there's still no internal bleeding?" he asks me and I adjust myself to pull up the gown to right below my breast, exposing my midriff.
"You're very lucky to be alive Heather," he informs me as he gently presses down on my abdomen, checking for any abnormalities. I grimace in pain when he presses his hands down and that's when I notice the bruising and scraps all around my body. It must have been a pretty bad wreck if I'm this messed up. I hate to see what my face looks like.
"Well everything seems to be fine internally but I'd still like to keep you here another day just to make sure everything remains superb, especially with your concussion. If everything remains the same by tomorrow afternoon, you'll be able to go home. You have a hairline fractured wrist which will heal within the next six to eight weeks. Just keep the splint on for that time so it can heal properly. You're a very lucky woman Heather. You've got a guardian angel watching over you that's for sure," he smiles at me as he excuses himself. When I hear that, the first person that comes to my mind is Dad. The thought that he was there, keeping me alive, brings tears to my eyes. God I miss him so much. I was only eight when he passed away but it still feels like yesterday at times.
My mom sighs and stands up to sit on the edge of the bed next to me. Tears begin to fall down her face and I instantly feel guilty, knowing I'm the one that's making her feel this way. I scoot myself up further onto the bed so that I'm sitting up. I pull my mom in close to me and wrap my arms awkwardly around her. She sobs into my shoulder and I can feel her body begin to shake.
"Heather I was so afraid that we lost you. All I kept thinking is it wasn't fair. You're finally starting to get your life back on track, wanting to better yourself after all that you've been through. It wouldn't be fair to take you before you achieved that goal. I'm so proud of you sweetie and I know your daddy would be too," she leans back and smiles warmly at me as she wipes her tears away. I can feel tears falling down my face at her words.
She gently wipes them away as there's another knock at the door and my brother walks in with Bex right behind him. I expect to see Carter walk in too but he doesn't. Maybe he doesn't know yet and is still busy at work? No, Bex or Nate would've called him already to tell him what happened. I frown as I realize how upset I am that he's not here. There's no obligation for him to be, we aren't together, and he doesn't need to worry about me like that.
Nate walks up and sits on the other side of the bed next to my fractured wrist. When he gently picks it up and sits it in his lap, I can see his eyes watering and I instantly begin to cry. I can't stand seeing my big brother cry because he doesn't do it often, so when he does, it's usually a heartbreaking scene.
"Hev, I thought I lost you forever. I'll never get the image of you in that car out of my head," he sobs as he leans in and wraps an arm around me. It hurts from the soreness of my body but I don't say anything, he needs this right now.
My mom moves out of the way to let Bex come sit down next to me and tears are trailing down her face as she watches her husband break down. I reach for her hand and awkwardly hold it. Very carefully she curls up on the bed next to me and lays her head on my shoulder.
So many mixed emotions are flowing through me right now as I think of the last time we all three curled up in a bed like this, it was when Bex's mom died. We were all broken hearted and Bex was handling it badly and wouldn't talk, eat, or drink anything. She was in this catatonic state of losing her mom at only fourteen. Both Nate and I went to her house and curled up in bed with her and the three of us cried together as we mourned the loss of a great woman. To think this could've been just the two of them curled up together as they mourned me, brings me to the realization at just how lucky I am. I lean my head on top of Bex's as I close my eyes. Nate sits up and turns so he can lean back against the head of the bed next to me. He sniffles and wipes his hand over his face.
We sit like this for a while as we talk about anything other than the accident. Bex gets the remote for the television and attempts to find something to watch to keep our minds occupied. Nate's phone goes off and he answers it using his Chief Deputy title, which tells me it's work calling. He excuses himself and goes out into the hall. I'm busy watching the television when Bex speaks up beside me.
"Carter was here earlier," she smiles at me as she changes the channel on the tv.
"He had to go back to work so he could collect his car. Being all dirty from work, he wanted to shower and eat before coming back. He should be here any time now," she reassures me, making me feel a little better that he was here for me and plans to come back.
"You know it was him that arrived first and found you?" she looks over at me with a small smile before turning back to the flatscreen on the wall.
"Nate said he laid on the hot asphalt and held your hand until the tow truck arrived to flip the car so they could cut the roof off. He even was the one that lifted you out of the car and carried you to the ambulance. He's worried sick about you Heather. I just thought you should know that," she looks at me knowingly as if to tell me how Carter feels about me. That I need to knock the whole playing hard to get thing off. The only thing is I'm not playing hard to get, I'm scared. I'm scared to let him in and be a big disappointment that he'll eventually end up leaving me. I'm not right in the head at the moment and maybe when I am, we can move forward in whatever it is we are.
Nate comes walking back in to the room and has a look of utter disappointment on his face. I don't like the look, especially since he's looking directly at me. Bex notices and sits up straight right away. She asks him what's wrong and he immediately holds his hand up, silencing her. I've never seen him act like that with her and I know whatever it is, it's serious.
"Heather, I'm going to ask you this once and one time only, so tell me the truth. I already put an order in for testing to confirm the truth, but I want to hear it straight from your mouth," he approaches the end of my bed, giving me a stern look. At this present moment, he reminds me so much of Dad when he'd be getting onto us as kids. His scolding look makes me cringe back into the bed as I wait for him to ask me his question.
"Heather, were you drinking and driving again?"
The look in his eyes tells me I'm in the biggest trouble I could ever be in if I don't come out and tell him the absolute truth, that for the first time in three months, Heather Daniels took the higher road and put the bottle down to face her demons head on.