Chapter Six
Taleah
WEIGHTLESS. FLOATING. SURROUNDED by dark with no light in sight. It’s like I’m stuck between being awake and remaining asleep with no nightmares or dreams. Images of Bhodi come and go as I relive memories of the years we were lucky enough to spend together. A few images of Rex and Elara fill the space as well. Everything is disjointed and doesn’t make much sense. I wouldn’t know what’s going on if I hadn’t lived through the memories. I don’t feel any pain or my body as the blackness tries to keep me locked up tight in its grip. I’m struggling and fighting to find any source of light, but it’s as if I’m chasing nothing but shadows and lost images from my past. Part of me knows I have to continue fighting the hold keeping me locked away from my life and family, but I’m not sure how much longer I can. I’m so tired. Exhaustion fills every part of my body in a way I’ve never experienced before.
After what feels like an eternity, I finally spot the smallest pinprick of light. I follow it as it starts to grow larger and brighter. The closer I seem to get to the light, the more of my body comes back to me. Unimaginable pain fills me and I want to cry out but it seems as if I can’t. I can’t move any part of my body when I try. It’s like I’ve been strapped down by something and I can’t break free from the restraints.
An incessant beeping noise fills my head. It reminds me of a heart monitor but that’s impossible. I wouldn’t have any reason to hear a heart monitor beeping. It’s still a little too early for Elara to have her baby and she’s the only reason I’d be inthe hospital. Did something happen to my parents? Is that why I’m in the hospital? A million questions race through my mind as I struggle to open my eyes. It feels like they’re glued shut as I try repeatedly to open them. Finally, they come unstuck and I’m greeted by the brightest lights ever. It hurts my head to look at them as I close them immediately and wince in pain.
“Taleah? Tally, are you awake?” I hear Elara’s rushed voice fill the air and I try to open my eyes again. “Let me turn down the lights, Tally. Give me a minute.”
“Where. Am. I?” I ask my best friend, my voice raw as pain fills my throat.
“Don’t talk, Tally. The lights have been dimmed. Try opening your eyes again and see if that’s better,” Elara says, her voice gentle and coaxing like she’s talking to one of her kids instead of me.
I slowly open my eyes and the pain isn’t as intense as it was before. There’s only a dull throbbing in my head this time. I look to the side of me and find Elara sitting in the seat next to my bed. She has a notebook in hand which she pushes toward me.
“Write down what you want to say, Tally. The doctors don’t want you talking yet. That might change when they come in to check on you, but for now, no speaking,” she says as I shakily grab the notebook with one hand because it’s the only one I can move.
Resting the notebook in my lap the best I can, I pull off the pen she attached to it and write on the paper she has it open to.
What happened? Where am I?
Elara reads what I’ve written and answers me. “You’re in the hospital. You’ve been here for three days already and this is the first time you’ve woken up since you were found inFantasy Realm. We don’t know exactly what happened to you. Well, I don’t know what happened to you. The cops have been here a few times to see if you’ve woken up so they can talk to you. I know they have evidence they collected from your store and video surveillance has been turned over by the security company. I believe they already know who did this to you, but I’m still left clueless.”
Did someone find me in the store? I can’t remember what happened.
“The doctors were afraid you might lose some of your memory. It might come back in time. They really aren’t sure at this point and won’t know more information until you are awake for a while and they do more testing. Rex is the one who found you, Tally. He stayed with you until the ambulance arrived and then rode here with you so you weren’t alone. I’m not sure if he’s still at the hospital or not. What I do know is he’s the one who called your parents and me the day it happened. He was a mess. I’ve never heard him that way before, Tally,” Elara answers me and I’m filled with shock because that’s the last name I expected to hear from her mouth.
Rex is in Glendale?
“He is. I’m not sure if he’s on leave or if he’s left the military at this point. We really haven’t gotten a chance to talk. I’ve been focused on you and have rarely left your room unless it’s to get something to eat. There is a guy standing outside your door and he’s been here the entire time. Doesn’t ever come in the room or say anything, but he remains vigil in his post guarding you. I think he knows Rex because I did see them talking yesterday,” she answers me as I try to look at her but my eyes want to close as exhaustion overtakes me.
I’m tired.
“Rest, Tally. I’m not going anywhere,” she says as my eyes slide closed once again and I let sleep pull me back in.
When I open my eyes again, the room is still darker than if all the lights were turned on. Elara is still at my side but there’s also someone on the opposite side of me. Turning my head that way, I find my mom and dad sitting in chairs as they whisper among themselves. My mom has her hand resting on my arm and it feels as if there’s more pain filling my body than before from her loving touch.
“Baby Girl,” my dad says before I can move to alert them that I’m awake again. “Don’t talk yet. You were asleep when the doctors came in to check on you earlier and haven’t cleared you to speak yet. Are you in pain?”
I am. I hurt all over.
“I’ll get a nurse in here,” my mom says, reaching above my head to push the call button.
Has Elara gone home yet? She needs to rest.
“She’s been here since Rex called her the day you were brought in,” my dad informs me as I look at Elara sleeping in the uncomfortable hospital chair. “We’ve been here a few hours. We would have been here days ago, but it took longer than expected to get a flight home. Then both of them got delayed when we already had a four hour layover. I’m so sorry it took us so long to get to you, Baby Girl.”
You’re here now. That’s all that matters. Has Rex been in to see me?
Part of me wonders if he’s been in the room or is even still at the hospital. He’s always hated hospitals and I can’t really blame him. No one likes them, but with Rex he avoids beingin one at all costs. I have a feeling it’s because that’s where his grandma took her last breath and he never recovered from her death.
“Rex hasn’t been in your room to our knowledge. He is still in the hospital though. I saw him when we got here. He’s in the waiting room down the hall,” my mom answers me with a soft smile on her face. “Elara said you didn’t remember what happened when you were awake earlier. Has that changed at all?”
No. The last thing I remember is calling the cops to get TJ removed from the house. I don’t know how long before this happened that was, though. Can a doctor come in and talk to us? I’d like to know what’s wrong with me because of this pain.
“We’ll ask the nurse when she comes in to check on you,” my dad promises me as he looks at me with guilt-ridden eyes.
