My mom looked at me and smiled.
"I see we taught you well. I can also see that you are, in fact, my daughter."
I started to smile. "Well I learned from the best."
My dad walked over to me and gave me a bear hug.
"I understand your feelings honey and from now on, we will treat you like an adult. We know that you are going to college soon and to be honest, that scares the crap out of us, especially me. I guess because I will always look at you as my little girl."
"I know Dad."
"But since you said that, there are a few conditions you must meet with us."
"And what's that?"
My dad looked at my mom and gave her a wink. She nodded her head in agreement.
"I know this is not the time or place to talk about this but since you decided to make the first move, we feel that maybe it is time for you to know the terms of being an adult."
I gave my parents a confused look. "I don't understand what you're getting at.""Let's just put it in simpler terms," my mom said. "When you graduate high school, don't expect us to bail you out financially. We will pay for your tuition, books, and board, but as far as personal expenses go, don't look at us for handouts."
As I looked at my parents, my mouth literally dropped to the floor. Maybe I should have thought about the financial part before opening my mouth about being independent.
"What did you think? That we were still going to bail you out financially and let you run all wild at college? It doesn't work that way sweetie," my mom said.
"I have to agree with your mom on this one," my dad said smiling.
I smiled at my parents.
"I should have seen that coming. In order for me to be an adult, I have to be one in all aspects; so when college starts, I will get a job."
"Oh no, no. As soon as you walk across that stage to receive your diploma, that's when you become an adult."
"And no more of our money,"
I gave my parents' a smug look before I nodded my head.
"It's only fair."
As my parents came over to give me a hug, I looked at my parents and smiled. No matter what situation I might face in my life, I know my parents will be there to help.
A knock at the door suddenly interrupted our family moment as the person peeked her head in.
"Sorry, if I'm interrupting? If I am, I can come back," Ashley said.
"No girl, you know you're part of this family too. Come on in," I said as I waved my hand to tell Ashley to come in.
She smiled and opened the door wide to show Eva standing beside her.
I looked at Eva and smiled.
"Hey E,"
"Hey," Eva said as she went over to me and gave me a hug. As I was hugging her, I realized how good it felt to have her back in my life. "We'll be back. I want to find Dr. Taylor so I can ask him when you can go home," my mom said as she kissed my forehead. She went over to Ashley and Eva and gave them encouraging pats on the back and then she and my dad left the room.
"How's Chris?" I asked as Ashley and Eva sat down in the uncomfortable hospital chairs.
"He's fine. Just a little wiped from all the excitement. The doctor informed him that he has to stay overnight so they can run more tests; so your doctor will probably tell you the same thing," Ashley said.
"I guess that's for the best. Does anyone know how Michael's doing?"
Ashley looked over at Eva and then back at me.
"What's wrong? Has his condition worsened?"
"We haven't heard anything about Michael, Char," Eva said.
"Chris and his parents tried to talk to the doctor about Michael's condition, but he wouldn't release any information since they're not relatives. He's trying to get in contact with Michael's parents though," said Ashley.
"Good luck with that; from what I know about Michael's parents, they are probably either somewhere partying or partied out."
"Maybe Dr. Carter will get in contact with Michael's parents soon," Eva said.
I looked over at my friends and sighed.
"I hope so," I said softly.
After talking to Ashley and Eva for a few minutes, my parents came back with news that I would have to stay overnight so Dr. Taylor could run more tests on me. As Ashley and Eva left, I decided to get some rest. As I was trying to get some sleep, I started to think about earlier that night and the explosion that could have ended all our lives. As I rolled over to my side, I looked up to the sky.
"God, please watch over Michael. Please bring him back to the people that care about him," I prayed as I closed my eyes and prepared to get some sleep.
Thirty minutes later, and I woke up feeling like I'd slept for hours. As I looked over to my side, I nearly jumped up from my bed. Derrick was standing over my bed looking like a psychotic stalker. I put my hand on my chest to catch my breath. "Derrick, what the hell are you doing? You scared me half to death. How did you get in here?"
"The nurse didn't know you were asleep. I'm sorry, but when Eva told me that you were in the hospital I had to come see you."
"Derrick, I really don't need to hear anything you have to say right now, so I think you should leave."
"Char, I know you don't want to talk to me, but just hear me out."
I looked at Derrick and rolled my eyes.
"I know I'm not one of your favorite people right now. To be honest, I don't like myself right now."
"Is this conversation going anywhere, because I really need to get some sleep?"
Derrick sighed and sat down in the chair beside my bed.
"Char, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for being a jerk and for not helping you tonight. Maybe if I wasn't so stubborn you wouldn't be in a hospital bed."
"Derrick, it isn't your fault that I'm lying in this bed. It just was an unfortunate situation, that's all."
"How's Michael doing?"
A tear started to roll down my cheek after Derrick mentioned Michael.
"I don't know. The doctor won't release any information to anyone since no one here is his immediate family. And there's no telling where his parents are right now."
"I'm sorry Charlie."
"What's to be sorry about?"
"Even though I don't like Michael very much, I don't want anything to happen to him. I know how much this is hurting you."
I turned away from Derrick as I looked out into the night sky.
"I really need to get some sleep Derrick," I said softly.
Derrick nodded his head and got up from the chair. He went over to my bed and leaned his head down to kiss me on the forehead."Get better Charlie and I really hope Michael pulls through this."
I nodded my head in agreement as Derrick walked toward the door. When the door closed, the tears that I held back from Derrick started to flow down my face and onto my gown. This was supposed to be one of the greatest nights of my life, but instead it turned out to be the worst.
Even if Michael decided not to talk to me again, I just really hoped that he pulled through this. I didn't know if I could live with myself if he didn't.
What is going on?
I asked myself as I looked around the room. But instead of seeing light, all I could see was darkness. This has been the same backdrop for the past few hours, as I've been trying to understand where I was and what I was doing. At first, I was thinking I'd died and went to heaven, but I don't think heaven would be so dark. I could be in hell with the way my life had been going, but for some reason, I didn't want to believe that, so I continued to wonder. I always thought that when a person was severely injured and unconscious, that an angel would come and show him what life was like before and after.
But I guess with my situation, I didn't need an explanation because I already had an idea of what was going on. But suddenly I realized that I was nowhere near the afterlife, because I kept hearing voices from the present, like Chris talking to a Dr. Carter, who I'm assuming is my doctor, and hearing Ashley and Eva mention Charlie and her condition. I couldn't believe that Chris and Charlie were in the hospital as well. The only thing I remembered was crashing into a guardrail. I don't even remember who pulled me out of the limo or how I got to the hospital. I didn't mean for Charlie and Chris to be injured because of my selfishness. From what I heard, Charlie and Chris were both fine with no serious injuries. That made me relax a little.
But if I can hear everyone, why I can't see anyone? I know I should be able to see if I can hear people, right? I mean it wouldn't make sense if I couldn't. Could I still be unconscious? Or maybe there was a reason as to why I was still in this condition. Could it be because God wanted me to hear what people were saying about me or what life was like without me? There has to be a reason and that's what make me determined to wake up.
But do I really want to wake up? I practically tried to kill myself tonight, so if I let go, wouldn't my goal be accomplished? But I kept hearing a voice telling me that I had a lot more to live for and that I should try to go back to people that love me. I know I should, but who really does love me? My parents could care less about me, and those should be the people by my side the most. I know that they're not here because I don't hear them. I don't know how long I was supposed to be in this condition, but hopefully I could snap out of it pretty soon.
Suddenly I realized someone walked into my room. I could tell it was female because of her scent. The smell was a mild vanilla fragrance, so I knew right away it was Danielle.
Well at least I have my scent to add to my working senses, even though it wasn't a scent I wanted to smell. Her voice started to ring in my ears as she talked endlessly about the way the night had ended and how she was sorry that she didn't keep an eye on me, as if I were a child.
"Why did you do this to yourself? Are you that unhappy in your life that you decided to hurt yourself? If you had a problem, why didn't you just come to me and talk it out? I would have listened."
It's not that simple,
I thought as I try furiously to open my eyes.
"Michael, please if you hear me, just open your eyes or squeeze my hand. Just do anything to let me know that you're alive."
I wished that I could say something or open my eyes, but for some reason, nothing would happen. I wanted to let someone know that I was alive and okay, even if it was Danielle that was talking to me.
"This was supposed to been the best night of our lives. This was one step closer to graduation, and now I don't know if you will be able to see that day because you won't wake up. Michael, please, if you don't know what else to live for in life, just think about your son. You just found out about him, so you need to be there for him as he grows up. You said that if you ever had children that you would be there for them because your parents weren't there for you; so now is your chance to prove that. Don't punish Steve because you think you don't have anything to live for."
My heart started to flutter as I heard Danielle talk about Steve. I never stopped thinking about Steve; but when I plowed into that guardrail, my thoughts of him did vanish for a slight moment.
I really felt bad for what I'd done tonight, because I wasn't even thinking about my son. I was only thinking about myself and my problems. I heard another voice walk in, which I believe was Dr. Carter.
"Miss, visiting hours are almost over."
"I know doctor. I'll be done in a minute."
After a little hesitation, Danielle started to speak again.
"Dr. Carter, will Michael be okay? From what I heard, he was in pretty bad shape when he came in."
"Miss, I really shouldn't release any information."
"It's okay. I'm his cousin."
I heard a long sigh from the doctor as he took a minute to speak. From his hesitation, I knew things were bad for me.
"When Michael arrived at the hospital, his blood alcohol level was 0.15, which was way beyond the legal limit. Not only was his alcohol content affecting his consciousness, but the impact from the accident took its toll on his mental and physical capabilities. As for now, I don't know if your cousin will wake up, and if he does, he will have a fight ahead of him for recovery."
Just hearing those words made my spirits go even further downward. How did I get myself into this?
"When you say recovery, what will happen to Michael if he wakes up?"
"Michael experienced a lot of damage to his brain due to the impact of the accident. If he wakes up, he could have brain damage. Not only did he suffer problems to his brain, but his legs as well. The impact caused the inside of the car to block his legs from moving. The heavy leverage from the car fractured several bones in his legs; so it would be a miracle if he walks again."
"I see. That means he can't play sports again," Danielle said softly.
"Miss, not playing sports would be the least of Mr. Collier's problems. I think you need to be more concerned about if he pulls through or not," Dr. Carter said as he began to walk out of the room. Danielle walked back over to me and I could smell her scent again.
I felt my heart drop to the floor when Dr. Carter said I might not even walk again. One minute I was on top of the world. I had popularity, was star of the football and basketball teams, met the girl of my dreams and could possibly go to my top college. Now, I'm practically fighting for my life. All this after one moment of stupidity. But I had to face it; this was a long time coming. The way I was living my life was slowing taking its toll, and it took me hitting a guardrail to see where my life was heading.
"I'm so sorry Michael," Danielle said tearfully.
I'm sorry too,
I thought as I tried to find some light through the dark tunnel that I continued to travel.
Charlie
After Derrick left, I couldn't fall back to sleep. All I could think about were those last words Derrick mentioned before he left:
I really hope Michael pulls through this
. The feeling I had after Derrick left was a mixture of sadness and anger. I was mostly angry than sad because I felt that the accident was partly my fault. Michael went off the deep end because of the stuff I'd done to him. I couldn't stay in my hospital bed any longer. Just the thought of lying in this stale bed only made me feel more guilty. I pulled the hospital robe from the chair nearby my bed and slipped it on my shoulders. I slowly got up from my bed, and walked to the door. I noticed through the small window that Danielle was walking down the hall. From the looks of it, she was coming from Michael's room. I opened the door to get Danielle's attention.