I tried to open my eyes but it was too bright. A white light blinded me. My eyes stayed closed to adjust to the light.
I opened my mouth and let out a breath. My mouth is so dry. At attempt my hand moved, it felt sore and stiff. Desperately my legs stretched. In general my body feels sore and uncomfortable. I feel like I've been laying the same way for too Long.
I raised my hand to my face and covered my eyes from the light. I tired opening them again. The room was still bright, But I could at least see now. I'm in the hospital?
I looked around and I was in a private room. There was no one here. All I could hear was the beeping of my monitor. I lowered my hand when my eyes adjusted. There are flowers on the table next to me. Daisies.. My favorite. I reached to grab one out the vase but the doors opened and a nurse walked in.
She was looking at her clip board and when she looked up she was already standing by my bed. "Oh!" She looked startled.
I opened my mouth to say hi but my throat was so dry nothing came out.
"You're awake! What wonderful news! Let me just check everything here and then we'll run some test." She smiled at me. I looked at her confused.
"Let me go get you some ice water." She said.
While she left I found the buttons to move my bed. I sat it up and sighed. Why am I here?
"Okay, here's some water." She handed me the cup when she walked in.
"I'm nurse Darla and I'll be your nurse in the mornings till 5pm. I'm just gonna ask you a few questions while I check your vitals and everything, is that alright?" She smiled at me.
I nodded as I took sips from the cup. I felt it rehydrate my tongue. It was so refreshing.
"Okay lets start with, are you feeling any pain?" She asked.
"I shook my head" I cleared my throat to prepare to talk.
"Can you tell me your name?"
"Jade." I spoke, my voice was low and raspy.
"Last name?"
"Greene"
"Okay great! Do you know why you're here?"
"No"
"Okay, no worries. You were in a car accident, and you were put into a coma. Unfortunately you've been in a coma for 5 months. Which you are very lucky, 5 months in a coma can be very risky. You are a blessing Miss Greene."
"A coma?... For 5 months?... Is that normal?" I asked.
"It's not common to pass only a few weeks and wake up with full recovery. So far you seem fully functional." She said and smiled.
"I was in a car accident?" I tried to remember. My last memory was... Was?... Seth? We were driving. We were moving. I-
"My baby!" I looked down to my stomach. I touched it and there was no bump.
"I would be 6 months! Where's my baby!?" I looked to the nurse. She looked at me worried. Her eyes were sad.
I began to cry. "Where's my baby?" I begged.
"I'm so sorry Miss Greene, The baby did not survive the crash." She said.
"My deepest condolences" She added.
I cried. I sat there and bawled my eyes out. My chest is in pain. I was taking deep breaths to keep myself from going into a full panic.
"Eat some of that ice, I'll be right back with the doctor." She said.
My baby. I lost my baby. Why? Why did this happen? Where's Seth? Is he okay?
The doors opened and another lady came in. "Hello, I'm doctor Walsh and I'll be taking care of you. Nurse Darla told me she caught you up on some things. How are you feeling?" She asked
"Broken. I lost my baby. I've been in a coma for 5 months. I don't even know where everyone is. Where's Seth? The guy that was in the accident with me. Is he here? Is he okay?"
"I will check and see if we have someone under his name. As for your family, I called your father and he's on his way. Do you know where you are?"
"The hospital?" I questioned.
"You're at West Hills hospital. Now can you tell me your age?" Oh I'm only the next town over from my home town.
"Um.. I should be 18 now" I answered.
"Very good. Are you feeling any pain?" She asked
"No... Why was I in a coma?" I asked.
"Well a coma can be caused by many things but considering you've been in a pretty bad car accident the cause here was a head injury. You also broke two ribs and your right femur. We were able to get you into surgery and you've healed while you were in your coma." She said.
"Femur?"
"It's the bone in your thigh" She answered.
"Ow" I thought about how much that would hurt. I don't remember any of it. Thank goodness.
"How much longer do I have to be here?" I asked
"We will keep you for 48 hours, just to keep an eye on you and run some test and make sure everything is going okay before we let you go home." She said.
I sighed. "Any more questions?" She asked.
"I Just wanna know if Seth is okay."
"What's his last name? I'll check for you." She said.
"Seth Preston" I said.
"Okay, I'll go check on that now. Let me see about getting you something to eat as well." She said.
"Okay"
When she left the nurse came back in and did stuff on the computer and then took some of my blood. She checked my blood pressure and temperature and all that Jazz before leaving again.
The nurse came in again after about 10-15 minutes. "You're good to go on eating. So here's lunch. It's turkey sandwich, apple sauce and cranberry juice. Let me know if you want something else. And Doctor Welsh mentioned you want information on Seth Preston." She said
"Yes!"
"He was a patient here about 5 months ago. He was here for about a week and was discharged." She said.
"Oh okay thank you." I said.
"Just press this button if you need anything." She handed me a remote with a bunch of buttons and pointed to a big button.
"Okay, thank you" I said again. She left the room. I sat and ate my food. When I finished I heard the door open.
I looked and seen my dad. "Dad!" I smiled when I seen him.
"Jade, my angel! You're okay! You're awake! Thank you thank you thank you!" He said walking over and embracing me in a hug.
"I'm so sorry daddy."
"Don't be sweetheart. It wasn't your fault. I'm just glad you're okay and you're alive and awake. The doctors kept saying you were loosing your chances of waking up but I didn't want to lose hope. I knew your mother wouldn't let you leave me so soon" He said still hugging me.
"They said I lost the baby." I said I felt dread fall over me.
"I know and I'm so sorry Jade. But your mom is taking good care of the baby for you." He said.
I let a small smile reach my lips. "You're right. Mom gets to have a piece of me while she waits for us." I said.
"Where's Seth? Is he okay? The nurse said he was here for a week." I asked
"Yeah, He's okay. I haven't seen him in a while. I used to run into him up here but he moved from Kelly's and I haven't seen him. I'm sorry Jade." He said.
"How is everyone else doing?" I asked.
"Well, Holli and Max are in the waiting room." He said.
"Have you heard from Carter and Hunter?" I asked.
"They come visit you as much as they can. They're in California right now. I called them on the way here. They said they'll take the next flight out. They call me frequently to get updates on you. They've been doing good. They've been doing their college thing." He said.
"Good. I'm glad" I said.
"What about you? Are you okay?" I asked
"It was rough at first. But I didn't lose hope. None of us did. We knew you were strong enough to pull through." He said.
"Dad, I love you." I said.
"I love you too angel" He said. I gave him another hug.
"Do you remember the accident?" He asked.
"Not really, I don't remember what happened." I said.
"I guess that's for the best" He said.
"Yeah. I just remember darkness. I feel like I've just been sleeping." I said.
"I'm so sorry Jade that this happened to you."
"Don't be! It's not your fault. You couldn't have done anything." I said.
"You didn't do anything to Seth did you? I know he was driving but he didn't deserve any punishment." I said.
"No. Seth was going through a lot, I let him be. Plus I know it wasn't his fault. A semi truck went off road and hit your vehicle. You got the worst of it but Seth his mind wasn't in the right place." He said.
Oh no Seth.. Where are you?
~~
"Heyyyy"
I woke up the next morning to Hunter and Carter at the hospital.
"Hey guys" I smiled at them.
"How are you feeling?" Carter asked.
"I feel fine. I can't believe that I was in a coma for 5 months." I said.
"Jade we were so scared for you." Hunter said.
"I'm sorry" I said and reached my hand out.
"It's okay Jade. We're happy to see you're okay." Carter said.
"I guess this time no one could save me from almost dying" I joked.
"That's not funny Jade" Carter looked at me with a serious face.
"Jade it was terrifying out here. We thought you weren't gonna make it." Hunter said.
"Thank you for not giving up on me" I said.
Carter tighten his grip on my hand. "Never" He said.
"Did they tell you I lost my baby?" I asked trying not to cry.
They nodded with sad looks on their faces. I didn't like seeing them this way. It was my turn to squeeze Carters hand.
"I can't believe this is actually happening" I said.
"Has Seth been here to see you?" Carter asked.
"No, do you know where he is?" I asked.
"No, we haven't heard from him in a while. We tried to keep him updated." Hunter said.
"How are you guys? How's college?" I asked them.
"College is okay. It was hard to try and have a good time when your best friend is in the hospital." Carter said. I frowned.
"How's Lily? Did you get a girlfriend yet Hunter?" I teased.
"Me and Lily broke up." Carter said.
"Why?" I asked confused.
"It was for the best. She was in high school and I'm in college." He said.
"Plus she couldn't get over the fact that he was so attached to you" Hunter added in a whisper.
"What?" I asked.
Carter sighed. "She didn't like that I was constantly coming to see you and she kept telling me to move on, that you were a vegetable." Carter said.
"She got really mean about it" Hunter said.
"What about you?" I asked Hunter.
"What about me? I don't have a girlfriend. How could I think about girls? I was worried about you and I've been focused on my classes" He said.
"Fair enough. I'm sorry guys. I didn't mean to ruin your lives." I said.
They pulled up chairs and sat next to my bed. "Jade you could never ruin our lives. It's our choice. We are way too close to let you go. We knew you were strong enough to pull through." Carter said.
"I love you guys." I said and reached for a hug. They both gave me long tight hugs.
"We've missed you Jade" Hunter said.
They both sat down and began chatting about things. Hunter kept asking me what it was like in a coma. He wanted to know if it was like being in another world. But to be honest there really was nothing. I felt like I was sleeping, dreaming. I couldn't begin to imagine what death would be like. Would it still be like dreaming? Or is it actually nothing. Just darkness. You can't feel sad or lonely and you can't feel happy and at peace cause really you wouldn't feel anything.
I tried my best to keep the topic off me.
Later that night Hunter tried to beg the nurse to let him stay on the couch in the room but because he isn't immediate family he wasn't allowed to stay past visiting hours.
The Next day I was filled with worry about Seth. Finally I clicked Seth's contact and called him. The phone rang and rang. But finally there was an answer.
"Jade?" His voice confused.
"Seth?" I spoke.
"Oh my god. You're awake." He said.
"Yes. Where are you?" I asked.
"I'm coming right now. I'm on my way!" He said. I heard moving from the other side And then the phone hung up.
Is he okay?
I put my phone down and pulled my table over to eat. I grabbed a daisy out the vase and took a sniff. It smelt so fresh. I wonder who got these. I turned around the vase and seen a little card stuck into the flowers.
"We miss you out here." - Car
Carter got me these? They're still fresh... But he was in California.
"Hello." The nurse walked in.
"So since you're doing so well and the Test are coming back good. We're gonna try and get you up and walking around. Build those muscles and bones back up and just stretch everything. Okay?" She said.
I nodded. She moved the table and I sat up. I slid off the bed and onto my feet. I have gotten up to use the bathroom a couple times but I knew she was gonna make me walk further than that.
"I know it's a little wobbly but that's why we gotta do it" She said.
"Yeah, it's okay" I said. She got my IV ready to go.
"Here hold on to this for support and I got you on the other side." She said. With my right hand I grabbed the IV stand and with my left I held onto the nurses arm.
"Oh, sorry." I looked up to the door. Carter was standing there.
"Oh it's okay, we were just about to go for a walk. You can join us." The nurse said.
"I don't wanna intrude on getting her better." He said.
"Just walk with us Carter" I said.
"Here, you can walk her. She's just gotta stretch those legs and really build the muscle and bones back up." The nurse said reaching for him to take my left arm.
"Oh-okay" He set his jacket down and came over so I could hold onto his arm.
"I'll let you guys take the walk, I'll come back and check on you when you're finish. Just go down the hall and back or if you feel like you can go farther then go ahead. And walk slowly please you are fragile right now, if you fall you may break a bone." She said.
"Okay" We both said.
We walked out the room and started down the hall. My body felt so stiff, my knees were achy. And if it wasn't for the IV stand I sure in the hell couldn't keep my balance, the floor and I would become one.
"I see you're doing better" He said.
"Yeah." I nodded. Now that Carter was here I couldn't help but think about the card I just read on the flowers.
"Car? Can I ask you a question?" I asked
"Of course."
"We're you in town already when my dad called?" I asked.
"No why?" He asked confused.
"The flowers."
"Oh... I was just in town. If I would have known you were gonna wake up I woulda stayed another day." He didn't look at me.
"You're telling me that you took a flight home and then had to come right back the next day?" I asked processing what he just said.
"Yup."
"You must be exhausted! Why would you do that?" I was generally worried, it can't be healthy to fly like that... but then again a lot of people fly all the time for work and stuff. But it definitely has to put some kind of toll on you. Especially if you're dealing with time difference. But I'm not an expert.
"Cause I'd do anything for you Jade, I wanted to be here when you woke up." He said.
"You didn't have to do that" I said in a sigh.
"I wanted to." He said.
I looked over at him and he was smiling at the floor. When he noticed me looking the smile disappeared.
"What?" He asked.
"Nothing, just thinking" I said and looked away from him. What a weirdo..
"Hey, do you know why Seth was in the hospital for a week? I mean obviously because of the accident but I wanna know what exactly happened to him." I asked.
"Um.. Yeah. I believe he broke his arm in multiple different places. Oh and his knee, it popped out of place. I kinda wish I was there to see it get popped back into place." He said.
"Eww" I cringed.
Carter chuckled at my reaction and I couldn't help but laugh too. It's contagious.
"Jade?" I turned and seen Seth standing in the middle of the hall.
"Seth!" I felt like my eyes were deceiving me. Seth looked like a wreck. He has a beard.. I didn't know he could grow one. He looked tired and his clothes look like he slept in them for multiple days. And he's wearing a cast on his right arm.
"I'm so sorry I wasn't here when you woke up" Seth ran into my arms. I hugged him tightly as I could. Which wasn't very tight cause I wasn't strong enough, but that didn't stop him from squeezing me. At least he didn't smell bad.
"It's okay but I was worried about you." I Said.
"No i am fine. Everything is fine. Jade I've missed you." He looked at me like he couldn't believe I was here.
"This is all so strange.. You look so different. I feel like I went to sleep and woke up and suddenly 5 months have past, but then my brain feels like I was gone for only one day. But to you guys that time must have been forever... I'm sorry" I said my eyes began to water thinking about how much I must have worried everyone.
"Jade No!" Carter said in a soft voice. I felt Carter come stand to the left of me and place a hand on my back to make me feel better.
"Jade, you have nothing to be sorry about." Carter said.
"I just..." I stopped talking as I realized.. Seth had to deal with loosing the baby on his own..
"Seth. The baby." I looked at him holding back tears.
His head dropped and I could see the sadness in his eyes. I stepped closer to him and he stepped back. Goose bumps filled my arms and legs.
"Seth?" I said.
"I'm sorry Jade everything is my fault I should have been paying attention on the road an-"
"Seth no!" I shouted at him.
"Alright Jade. We're still in a hospital" Carter said trying to calm me. And it worked because within the few short minutes we've been standing here I forgot where we were.
"None of this is your fault you hear me!" I whisper yelled. I pointed my finger in Seth's face.
"Nothing can stop fate. And if this is what's supposed to happen then let it. But this is not on your hands. The other driver was in the wrong. And I hope my dad sued the fucking life out of those people!" I said as anger rises in me.
"Jade you shouldn't be getting worked up" Carter said, I could tell he was getting worried.
"Please take me to my room." I asked Carter. I knew I would only get more stressed thinking about it. He lent me his arm and we walked back to my room, leaving Seth there to think. It was up to him if the conversation was done.
To my disappointment he never came to my room to try and speak with me more.
Till Next Time! Xx