Chapter 44: Awake

It was dark when I woke. The room was cold and unfamiliar. I lay on my back, which was unusual—I normally slept on my side. Recently I’d been sleeping spooned up behind Clarissa, which was heavenly. But not this time. This time I was on my back staring at the ceiling.

I turned my head to the side slightly and that’s when the pain hit me. Everywhere, and I mean everywhere screamed its agony, overloading my brain until all it could do was shut down.

And everything went black.

It was dark when I woke, although not as dark as last time. It was still cold though and I was still on my back. It still hurt all over, but not as bad as last time. I rolled my head to the right and saw that the curtains on my window were drawn but it was daylight outside. I rolled my head to the left to look around. I was clearly in a hospital, but this was a separate room, not a ward. Thank God for private medical insurance. It had been Will’s idea I take that out. I’d have to remember to thank him when I saw him next.

I tried to remember what had happened, but beyond seeing the car coming towards us, feeling the impact, and hearing Emily’s scream, there was nothing.

Emily’s scream. I could still hear it.

Clarissa! Clarissa had been slumped over the wheel. She must have passed out too. Was she okay? I had to find out.

But I could still hear Emily’s scream.

And I’d rather not.

I tipped my back onto the pillow, closed my eyes and waited for everything to go black.

It was dark when I woke. I rolled my head towards the window and saw that the daylight creeping at the edges of the curtains the last time I woke was gone.

“Paul?”

I rolled my head to the left and saw Will sitting in a chair by my bed. “Will, what...? How long have you been here?”

“A while. Vicky and I have been taking turns to sit with you.” He closed the file he had in his lap and set it on the floor beside him.

“Where were you before?”

“You’ve woken before now?”

I tried to nod and instantly regretted it as pain shot through me. “Twice. But not for very long. And I was alone both times.”

“Just bad timing, I guess. Perhaps whoever was on duty, so to speak, was with the doctor.”

“Or on the toilet.”

He laughed. “Yeah, or on the toilet.” After a pause, he said, “How are you feeling?”

“Like I’ve been in a car accident.”

“Always the joker.” He grinned. “Seriously, how do you feel? Any specific pains?”

I shook my head. “Ow, well, that hurt for a start.”

“Not surprising. Anything else?”

“I feel ... I don’t know. Hung-over, I guess. I’ve got a dull headache that’s more annoying than painful and I feel a bit sick. And my mouth feels like I’ve been chewing cotton wool for days.”

“The headache and sickness are probably due to the drugs they used to keep you sedated and out of pain. I’ll check with the doctors to see if there’s anything they can do. The cotton wool mouth probably just means you need some water. I’ll get the nurse shortly.” He paused again. “How much do you remember about what happened?”

I thought about shaking my head, remembered the pain and thought better of it. “Not much, to be honest. I remember seeing the car coming at us. The impact. I know our car must have spun around. I remember Emily screaming. And police sirens. Although I suppose that could have been the ambulance afterwards.”

“No, it was the police. The car that hit you was stolen, and the police were in pursuit. That’s why he pulled out to the right, to bypass the cars waiting at the lights. According to the eye-witness accounts—and there are plenty of them—he swerved to avoid a car turning left, clipped it and lost control, sending him into you.”

I nodded gently. That made sense. It would explain why he seemed to come out of nowhere.

“How are the others? I remember Emily screaming but Clarissa was slumped over the wheel. Is she okay?”

Will smiled. “Typical. Always asking after your friends before yourself.”

“But are they okay?”

He smiled, although it was more like a grimace. “You need to get some rest.”

“I’ve been resting!”

“No, you’ve been unconscious for three days, not resting. There’s a big difference.”

“Three days!”

He nodded, then looked at his watch and said, “Actually, it’s more like three and a half days now. It is nearly ten.”

“Three and a half days,” I said quietly. I couldn’t quite believe I’d been out for three and a half days. I’d missed the Summer Ball.

“He was going quite a speed when he hit you. The impact was massive. To be quite honest with you Paul, you had us worried for a time, but you’re actually quite lucky. A few broken bones, some internal bleeding and a concussion. It could have been a lot worse.”

I stared at him and asked, despite not wanting to hear the answer, “How much worse.”

He gave me a stern look. “Get some rest. I need to tell the doctors you’re awake and call Vicky. I expect your friends will want to know you’re awake too.” He stood and headed for the door.

“What about Clarissa? How’s Clarissa?”

He stopped and turned to answer me. “Get some rest. I’ll talk to you in the morning.”