"Thanks, Dad,” I say and hang up the phone. I walk back into the room as the sun from outside starts to set.
Walking over to the chair, I sit down next to her bed. I watch her chest rise and fall.
Her face is so pale, her cheekbones sticking out just a touch. I take her hand in mine and notice that it’s warmer than it was before. I sit here waiting for her to open her eyes. I have so many more questions than I had before. Questions only she has the answers to. But the biggest one has to be her identity. “Who are you?" I ask her quietly.
Chapter 6
Willow
"Who are you?" I hear him ask me again, but this time, I can’t open my eyes.
I feel his hand on mine, and I look around the darkness to see if I can see his eyes again. The way he watched me without saying anything. The nervous way he ran to catch me. His warm arms made heat run right through my body. I had this sudden feeling he would make sure I was safe. I clung to him, my nails digging into his arm, and he didn’t even bat an eye. He just gently put me back on the bed as his eyes looked right into my soul.
The nurse made him go stand away from me, and I saw that he wanted to argue with her, but he went and stood aside. His eyes never leaving me.
The pain in my head comes on so strong that I moan. I slowly open my eyes once and try to look around, but my eyes fall closed again. I put my head back on the pillow, and the pain hits again. I flick my eyes open again and look straight at the yellow wall. The room is a lot darker than it was the last time. I turn to look out the window, but the shades are closed with no sun trying to peek in. "Hey," I hear the man say and close my eyes again as I try to get the heaviness out of them. I move my hand into a fist to try to keep myself up.
My head feels like someone is pounding on it with a jackhammer. I take a deep breath, but my side hurts so much. Breathing hurts, so I start to hold my breath and then pant out.
Maybe trying to get away from everyone and almost falling out of the bed was not my best idea. "I’m going to get Doris,” he says, and I open my eyes. He’s putting down a computer on the window ledge with the screen turned away from me. "She’s the night nurse." He smiles at me. “She likes me better than Shirley." His blue eyes go just a touch lighter when he smiles, just like when the sun hits the blue water, making it almost crystal clear.
Why is he still here? I ask myself as I close my eyes again.
He turns to walk out of the room, but all he does is open the door and then whisper-shouts Doris’s name. With his back turned to me, I take a minute to wince from the pain. Closing my eyes, I try to count to ten and then open them back up. My whole body aches from the top of my head to the tip of my toes.
I have never felt so much pain in my whole life. And God knows I’ve had my fair share of backhands and punches.
When he turns back around, I put on my poker face. I’ve never been in this much pain before, so I don’t even know what type of poker face I have at the moment. "Do you want some water?" he asks, his voice softer than I’ve ever heard.
"No," I say, not willing to show anyone that I need anything. The minute you show them that you need or want things, they use that as a bargaining tool. I learned that eight years ago. I also learned that you can’t trust anyone, not even your own mother.
"Your lips are dry," he says. “The water will help."
I want to tell him to leave, but the sharp pain in my head makes me close my eyes as I try to control it. His face looks like it feels my pain, and he’s about to say something when the nurse comes in. She looks friendlier than the last one, but the last one made sure no one came close to me. Even him.
She is wearing blue scrub pants, but her scrub top is white with cats all over it. "I was wondering if you would wake up for me." She smiles and comes over to me. “How are we doing?" Her black hair is pulled back in a ponytail. She has white hair around her temples, her stethoscope hangs around her neck, and her glasses sit on the edge of her nose.