Joe
I woke up and found myself in an unfamiliar atmosphere. It felt as if someone just ripped out my lungs and beat me to the pulp. Every breath I took would hurt more with the next. Where was I? My head didn't start thumping and if I moved, I felt an immense ammount of pain almost everywhere. I opened my eyes up a little more. I saw cuts all over my arms and an IV and other needles sticking in me. One leg was covered with a blanket while the other was hanging from a sling to keep it elevated. I guess I broke my leg. I would try to move to get comfy on the bed but it would hurt too much. What happened? I didn't remember much and if I thought about it for too long I would get a headache. My memory was all fogged up. I looked at my left arm and saw that was bandaged up too. Where's Demi? She wasn't in this room with me. I didn't remember much of what happened to her. I just wanted her here with me. What day was it? It felt as if I've been sleeping for years and I just woke up from a coma. I didn't remember getting here and I don't remember how or why I'm here. I looked around the room and saw my parents sleeping on the couch with Frankie in between them. Kevin was sleeping in a single chair and Nick was leaning against the wall. They all looked restless. I tried to speak but every time I did and everytime I took a breath it would just hurt even more. I tried to get enough energy into me to speak out for them.
"Mom.. Dad" It barely came out. But it seems as if they heard me. My mother's eyes and my dad's eyes opened and welled up with tears. When they came closer to my bed I finally noticed how red and puffy their eyes were.
"Joseph. I'm so glad you're okay." My mom hugged me tightly as she was sobbing into me. When she hugged me tightly it was hard to breathe.
"Mom.. can't.. b-breathe.." I let out. She quickly let go and soon my brothers were around my bed and their eyes were puffy and red too. Nick looked like he hasn't slept in ages. He slightly glared at me and I didn't know why. He almost seemed mad at me.
"Are you okay sweetie? Let's call the nurse in to check up on you." She pressed the button by the side of my bed. It was harder to keep my energy up and I felt lightheaded. Speaking even took up most of my energy. The nurse came in and checked up on me.
"Well Joe. Everything right now seems to be good. I'm gonna have the doctor come in here in a minute to see how you're doing. Would you like anything?" She asked me and gave me a warm smile.
"Water." I croaked out. My throat was so dry it seemed as if I haven't spoken in ages.
"I'll get that for you in a second." She then walked out and closed the door behind her. My mother brushed my hair back and held onto my hand. I've never seen her or my dad cry this much. I still wasn't sure what happened. The nurse came back in with a bottle of water and I quickly drank it. It burned a little at first but after a while it was refreshing. She left the room again.
"Mom, what happened?" I asked her once I had enough energy. Her smile quickly faded and my dad looked down to the floor. I looked at my brothers and neither of them were making eye contact with me. Nick just sat in the chair away from my bed with his hands on his knees, occasionally dragging it to his face to wipe some tears away. That was the first time i've ever seen him cry so much.
"Joe, you don't remember?" My mother asked me and I nodded my head slightly no. Everything still hurt even when I nodded my head. Just then the doctor came in.
"Joe. Glad to see you're awake." The doctor smiled warmly at all of us. He tried making the situation and the atmosphere more pleasant but it wasn't working.
"Joe says he doesn't remember what happened." My mother told him.
"Yes well I think he's still in a state of groginess so it may take him a little while to remember what happened." The doctor told my parents while writing some stuff down and inspecting me.
"What did happen, doctor?" I asked him softly. He looked up from his clipboard and looked at me through his glasses.
"Joe, you and another person got in a severe car accident. It's a good thing we got you on time. The conditions we found you both in were horrific and took a while. It took most of the night and once we got you and the person in the passenger seat out we quickly rushed you here. It's possible you don't remember much of it but that's okay. I'm sure your family can help you remember. As of right now you have a broken leg and arm. Part of your skull was cracked open and your lungs may seem inflammed but that's normal after the condition you were in." He reads it off his papers.
"When can I leave?" I ask him rather slowly. I hate the pace I was talking in but it would have to do for now.
"I wanna keep you in here maybe for another couple days and we'll see about it then. I'll get the nurse to give you some pain medication for your leg and arm and anywhere else that aches. Have a good day." The doctor leaves without another word and closes the door behind him. The nurse came in shortly after and gave me my medication. She brought some more water and left.
"A car accident?" I asked them reassuring that's what happened. They nodded.
"Your mother and I were in shambles when we saw your car smashed against the telephone pole. We thought you weren't gonna make it with the conditions that you both were in." My mother was crying again and my dad was trying to stay strong.
"How did it happen?" I asked him. He took a breath before he spoke again.
"You lost control of the car, Joe. You and a semi truck collided and the car spun, making you crash into the telephone pole." That part of my memory came back to me as I remembered hitting the semi truck. But I felt as if there was something before that. Before I hit the truck.
"The truck driver is okay and is suffering from a few minor injuries." He told me. I tried so hard to remember what happened beforehand but I couldn't. We sat there in complete silence.
"I'm gonna get something to eat." My mother said. Just then almost all of my family except for Nick left. I looked at him as he glared at me. We stared at each other for a while before he spoke.
"I'm glad you're okay Joe." He came up to my bed and his eyes softened when he looked at me again.
"Thanks." I told him. It was quiet between us again before I asked him.
"Where's Demi? Is she alright?" He looked up from the ground and the tears started to build up again. He took a deep breath and didn't speak. It was starting to worry me.
"Nick, where's Demi and is she alright?" I asked again this time with a little more power in my voice. When he didn't respond I looked at him again "Nick answer me."
"Demi's a few doors down." His voice cracked when he said it. He was crying again and sat on the chair near the bed his hands in his face.
"Is she alright?" I asked cautiously. I was remembering now that she was in the car with me. She must have been the other person who got in that crash with me.
"Joe... Demi didn't make it." He spoke out quietly. I barely heard the words before it hit me. Demi didn't make it. No. This couldn't be. She was suppose to make it. She was suppose to be okay like me. She's suppose to live. I couldn't believe the words that just came out of my brother's mouth.
"No.. you're lying she can't be." I told him. Demi's still alive. She's still here with me. I know it. Nick's obviously playing a cruel joke on me.
"I'm not lying Joe. She's gone. She didn't make it. She died at the scene." His hands went to his face again. Now I was crying. There's no way she's dead. She's suppose to be alive. She's suppose to be here with me and she's suppose to live like me.
"Stop lying to me Nick! How could you say that to me!" I yelled at him. Just then the rest of my family stepped into the room.
"Joe! I'm not lying to you! She's gone! She's dead!" Nick yelled back at me. I've never seen him so upset and hurt. My parents broke us apart and I was slowly losing energy from all the yelling. My voice started to hurt again and my lungs were felt inflammed. I couldn't stop crying as I didn't want to believe these words.
"Mom.. is it true? Is she really gone?" I croaked out once I got enough energy within me to speak again. She choked in her sob and looked at me. She nodded her head. That's when my whole world came crashing down. I lost her. She's gone and there's no way I can get her back. She's suppose to be alive and we were suppose to be graduating from high school and we were suppose to go to college. We were gonna get married after college and have a family of our own. But now that wasn't the case. It seemed as if everything around me just crashed and the tears never stopped coming. We were suppose to be together forever. I can't describe how I'm feeling right now. I don't know how to feel right now it seemed as if my whole body was numb from all this pain. My eyelids started to get heavy and I closed my eyes.