Page 23 of Make Her Bleed
It was Christmas Eve,and my dad was sick with the flu. He promised to take me to see the lights and to go ice skating but he was too sick to get out of bed.
Kai came over to help out, and he found me crying on the couch.
"What's up, little bug?" he asked, so concerned. I told him I was upset because my dad was so sick and we were supposed to go see the lights.
"The lights, Uncle Kai."
He didn't look at me like I was insane or being a big baby. He just smiled at me.
"Let's go then. Dry your tears and grab your coat, Re." I never expected him to offer to take me, and I was so excited to spend time with him.
He drove me around the city and I stared out the window at all the pretty lights until we got to the Winter Wonderland ice rink.
"The lights are so pretty, Uncle Kai!"
I smiled up at him and he grinned right back.
"Only the best for my little bug. Are you ready to skate?"
He always calledme his little bug but as soon as Dad and I moved to Royal City, he stopped calling me that, and it should've been a sign.
"Aria, open your eyes."
There's that voice again. Why won't they let me sleep?
"Aria," he says again, and I feel his hand squeezing mine.
"What?" I groan, hating that I've been stripped from that memory.
Memories are better than the reality of my life. I just want to go back to that Christmas.
It was the last one before Kai moved from Little Rock to Royal City.
"Open your eyes," he says again, then I feel his hand on my face.
Why the fuck is this person touching my face? That's just creepy. I don't know him, do I?
"It's time to wake up, Aria!" the voice calls again.
Fine. If it's the only way to get him to leave me alone.
I clench my eyes and slowly open them but the light from the room is blinding. Everything's so blurry, and my lids just want to close right back.
"What?" I grumble weakly, struggling to wiggle the sleep from my arms but my fingers are easy.
What the hell is going on?
My dad's car. It flipped. I must be in the hospital. I didn't have any ID on me. How do they know my name?
"Aria, how many fingers am I holding up?" A hand moves close to my face, and I'm able to focus on it but focusing sends a pain through my head.
"Ow. Three, I think. I don't know." I see three blurry bumps.
"She just woke up, man. She's been unconscious for a while. Maybe she needs more time. I know I can't focus when I come out of anesthesia."
I finally lift my arm, which feels like dead weight, and rub my eyes; I’m hoping that will help. I've always gotten really bad crusties in my eyes when I sleep.
I open my eyes again, and they finally start to focus.
