"What's happening?" I say, but it sounds like someone else. My voice is weak and hoarse.
"You were trying to get up," the nurse says. "You were pulling out your IV and your heart rate shot up."
A woman in a white coat appears. "What is it?"
"Dr. Engels," the nurse says, turning to her. "You might want to check him. He was trying to get up. He might've pulled out some of the stitches."
The doctor walks up to me, smiling. "Going somewhere?"
"I had a nightmare," I say, rubbing my neck. It itches like crazy.
She takes my hand away. "You need to leave it alone. It might itch as the skin closes but scratching it could break open the stitches. Let me take a look." She turns my head to the side and I hear the bandage being peeled away. "Looks like they're intact." She stands back. "How are you feeling today?"
"Good."
It's a fucking lie. I've got a pounding headache, throbbing pain all down my body, a sharp pain in my ribcage every time I breathe, and my neck itches so bad I'm about to rip the skin off.
"You sure about that?" the doctor asks, raising her brows.
"I'm not a hundred percent but I'm feeling better."
She nods. "I'll check your chart and see if we can cut back on the pain meds. We want to alleviate the pain but don't want to go overboard on the drugs. I'm sure you've noticed they make you groggy and maybe a little disoriented."
A little? I keep waking up not knowing where I am or what day it is. I think I've been here a day but who the hell knows? I thought Brook was here but that must've been a dream. The nurse said only family is allowed to see me. Was Jacob here? If he was, I don't remember seeing him. I need to get out of here and get to a regular room. It's the only way I can have visitors. I need to see Brook. I need to know she's okay. I keep having nightmares that he hurt her.
"We'll back off on the drugs," the doctor says, "but tell us if you feel any pain. If so, we can always go back to the higher dose."
"What day is it?"
"Tuesday. You've been here a day."
"What's the time?"
"I believe it's almost noon." She checks her watch. "Yes. Eleven forty-five."
I try to sit up but the pain stops me. I sink back into the pillows.
"What's wrong with me?" I ask, noticing how hard it is to talk. Every time I do, I feel it in my neck, like it's stretching the skin, making it burn and itch.
"Do you mean your injuries?"
"Yeah."
"You have a concussion, and contusions along your head and neck, as well as a good portion of your body."
"Contusions. What is that?"
"Bruising. There's a lot of swelling as well. It'll go down as you heal. There was damage to your neck so you had surgery to repair the tissue."
"What else?"
"There's a partial fracture on the left side of your ribcage but there's nothing we can do for that. It just needs time to heal. The same for your knee. At first we thought it might be fractured but it's actually a ligament injury. With rest and physical therapy, it should heal just fine."
"Can I still play football?"
"Not for awhile but eventually, yes, you should be able to."
"But I'm out for the season."
