I reached for them. But it was all too much. My eyes closed. I was just supposed to feel nothing right now. Just nothing.
A cool washclothtouched my forehead. “Easy. Too much will be jarring.” It was a female voice who spoke this time. It was hard to hear over the rumble of a very loud engine. “You’re okay now, Alatheia. You’re with us and you’re safe.”
Safe? What was that?
“So it really was just as bad as we feared? ” someone asked. I knew these voices. Didn’t I?
“Worse,” another answered. “Let her sleep. It’s what she needs. Right now, that’s what she needs.”
I’d listen to whoever that was because it was all I could do anyway. But first I had to ask someone in the room a question. They needed to tell me. Whoever they all were. With my eyes still shut, I managed to speak. “Am I dead?”
A hand came down on my forehead as gasps sounded. “No, Princess, you’re not dead. I promise you’re not dead.”
I wanted to believe him.
I woke up to a beeping noise and kind of a whoosh sound to go with it. My head was clear, but it pounded. There was bright light and much as I wanted to avoid it I really couldn’t. Something was poking into my hand.
I lifted my head. This was… a hospital room? The walls were white but with paintings on them that were of various cheerful landscapes. I tried to sit up when a woman came walking into the room. I didn’t recognize her, but she wore white and purple.
Her eyes widened. “Oh good. You’re up. I was just coming to change your IV. That’ll make the beeping stop.” She was really cheery. How was that possible? Everything was dark and awful in the world. An IV? I looked. Oh yes, that was in my arm. “Give me a second.”
I stared at her. “What’s happening?”
“Hello, dear, you’re bound to be confused. Here, one second.” She fiddled with the IV bag and then quickly changed it out. “Let’s sit you up, too. And you’re nice and hydrated now, but you must be thirsty, so one more second.”
It wasn’t like I was going to press the issue. I learned my lesson. Betsy was right. Keep my mouth shut and I wouldn’t have to get beat up. It didn’t help. I’d done nothing for that girl. Where were they? Had something happened that they’d actually taken me to a hospital? There were images. But I couldn’t hold onto them, like they weren’t solid.
When she was done with whatever she was doing, she stuck a straw in my mouth and I sipped.
“You’re really pretty, aren’t you, when you’re not in this condition.” She didn’t phrase it like a question. “And you and my daughter are the same age. I bet you’ll be friends.”
Friends? “Is she at the school too?”
“Hold on.” She placed a gentle hand on my arm before she turned and scooted from the room on white sneakers that didn’t make a noise at all. “Dr. Lent,” she said as she got to the doorway. “She’s up.”
The nurse had a southern accent. I hadn’t heard one in a while. Dr. Lent?
That was the last thing I heard her say. What?
A second later, a man wearing a white collared shirt with a red tie and blue pants appeared in sight. He smiled at me brightly.
It took me a moment to register who was in front of me. This was Dr. Eric Lent. The youngest of the Lent brothers’ fathers. Technically, he was Phoenix’s bio dad. What was he doing here?
I tried to sit up fu rther, but it was hard. Too hard. He walked over and pushed a button, bringing the bed to an evenhigher sitting position. “There. That’s better. Alatheia, how are you feeling?”
I stared at him. Okay. Was I to assume this was real and not some drug fueled dream? I didn’t know. But I answered him just the same. “Confused. Not sure I’m awake.”
“Right.” He sat on the edge of my bed. “That’s to be expected. Big time. It wouldn’t be weird if you fell right back to sleep in a second. On and off for the next few days. That would be normal and not something to worry about.” He patted my hand. “You’re awake. It’s real. How about physically? I am sure a lot of things hurt. Anything really badly?”
“My head.” I stopped. This was too odd. “Aren’t you a plastic surgeon? ”
“That is the rumor, but lately this is more of what I do, it seems. That’s not your problem to worry about. I’ll get back to it sooner or later. I’m working with another doctor, he’ll be here in a bit, who specializes more in what happened to you than I do. Even though I’m a little out of my depth, I can certainly handle keeping you comfortable in basic ways. Your head hurts. We’ll get that taken care of.” He took his phone out of his pocket and pushed some buttons. “I’m ordering it now. Listen, for just now, I want you to sleep and rest.”
A man who stood in the doorway spoke, catching my attention. “Yes, that’s right. Sleep and rest. Coming down is painful, and you’ll have to endure it. I’m sorry about that.”
Eric stood. “This is Dr. Kirk Trevor. He’s a dear friend. And he specializes, fortunately for us, in getting people through addiction issues. Not your fault, but you’ve been so medicated for so long now on things that you should not have been taking that you’re going to have to live through withdrawal from it. After that, he’ll help you with the things that have happened. Right now, this is the most important thing. Sleep. Rest. Food when you can stomach it. I’m keeping the boys out because Iwant you to sleep, and all four of them in a room is a lot. But if you would prefer it, I can let them in.”
I didn’t understand any of this and I was too blank to try. “What?”
