Page 17 of Crimson Promises
“What exactly happened to me?”
“Sweetie, you were in a car accident,” the nurse confirmed.
“Yes, I remember, vaguely. I mean, what happened to all my injuries.”
“You sustained minor lacerations and severe bruising,” the nurse said. “I wouldn’t write those off.”
“Before I passed out, I saw…I saw my wrist twisted in an unnatural angle, and a piece of glass had lodged between my ribs.” I pointed to the tiny thread of a mark. “How is it possible that only this is left?” My voice escalated into a panic.
The nurse walked towards the negatoscope. She pulled down both images, maneuvered an adjustable tray to cover the bed, and laid both photos before me. Her eyebrows were slightly raised, her eyes were sharply focused, and there was a faint crease on her forehead as she shot a questioning look at my dad before meeting my eyes.
“These images were taken four days ago when the accident happened. As you can see for yourself, you only received surface-level injuries.” She points to the X-rays of my body. “The only reason you have been in the hospital for this long is that you weren't waking up. We suspected it was from the trauma you sustained during the injury. Sometimes the brain needs to recoup.”
“But these cuts on my body are in the same spot where I saw the more severe wounds.” I crossed my arms over my chest, trying not to wince at the contact with my ribs.
The nurse folded her hands together over her robust tummy. “It’s very normal. While your adrenaline was pumping through your veins and blood loss, you projected images that were not there.”
“Are you implying that I made this up?”
No one said anything. My gaze bounced between the two of them. Behind me, I could hear the beeping, monitoring my heartbeat steadily increasing, matching my agitation.
“I know what I saw.”
“Honey,” my father said.Here he goes with the honey again. Before, it felt sweet, out of concern. Now, it sounded condescending. I tilted my head to one side and narrowed my eyes slightly. “No one is denying that is what you saw. All we are trying to explain here is that while it may be real to you, that doesn’t necessarily mean it was real.”
“Why is no one listening? I could feel the shard of glass in my hand. My wrist,” I held four fingers back, “was bent at an odd angle like this.”
“We are listening,” the nurse said gently.
My eyes darted around the room. There must be something to help prove to them what I experienced. The gray cup of water I had drunk from earlier snagged my vision. Glimmers of gray wings and green eyes danced in my mind’s eye. “There was someone else with green eyes. I know this will sound crazy, but he had wings or wings that were there, and they were gray. Maybe he was going to one of the themed parties at the fraternities.”
Dad rubbed the back of his neck. “Alright, I think that’s enough for now. You just woke up. Time to get some rest.”
“I don’t need to rest.” I tried to sit up straighter. “We should be talking to the cops. Maybe he’s injured or at another hospital. He saved me.”
“Aurora, there wasn’t anyone else at the scene. There wasn’t even another car. All that was there was broken glass and a moose’s carcass. You probably saw the moose at the last second, swerved, spun out from what the tire marks showed on the ground, and ended up hitting the thing regardless. There’s a mountain of evidence to prove that’s what happened.”
“It’s wrong. I need to speak to the authorities anyway.”
The nurse appeared at my other side. I hadn’t even realized she had left.
“Once you rest, we’ll talk to whoever you need to.” She held a syringe in her hand.
“I don’t want that.” I stared at the needle and scooted as far away from her as possible in the tiny bed. It wasn’t much. “Dad,” my voice raised in alarm. “I am completely lucid. A little sore, but I don’t want whatever is in that thing.”
He brushed his thumb over my brow like when I was little, it helped me relax before bed. It was cute, then. Now, it just felt patronizing. No one was fucking listening to what I was saying. “Let the staff help you, honey, and we can revisit this when you’re a little calmer.”
“No.” I tried swatting his hand away. “Leave me alone!”
He was stronger than I was and held my head firmly between his hands. “I love you. This will help, I promise.”
A pin pricked the delicate skin in the crease of my elbow.
The word ‘bullshit’ was at the tip of my tongue when the wooziness crept in. My eyelids felt heavy, my arms weak.
As they both got further away, I caught snippets of their conversation. “Wouldn’t open”, “disoriented”, “to be expected”. I tried to cling on, but it was no use. I was cast into dreamland with no buoy to tether me to reality.
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