Aftermath

Ch 3: The Hospital

Kota

My body felt like lead, my mind thick and encumbered.

I concentrated on a distant beeping until my grogginess began to dissipate. Surrounding me was the smell of antiseptic, the sound of squeaking shoes, the semi-hushed activity all around me as monitors beeped and chirped. I must be in a hospital. I had overcome my anxiety at being inside a hospital years ago, but actually being a patient was different.

So I knew where. But why?

"His heart rate is rising. Looks like he's coming around," someone said.

The answer came to me in bits and pieces, almost as though a different person had lived through it. The cafeteria. The front hallway. The endless ambulance ride that had brought me here.

Unlike before, I wasn't in much pain, and what I felt was somewhat removed. I took a deep breath, then another, noting the telltale tickle of a nasal cannula. So I'm stuck here.

"Kota? Are you awake?" Sang asked, a slight tremor to her voice. "Can you hear me?"

My need to see Sang won out, and I fought to open heavy eyelids. My left eye wasn't cooperating, apparently swollen shut, and even though Sang was on my right, I still couldn't make out her features. Just a blurry, blonde blob.  I blinked, and the outline of her face sharpened. Still not great, but much closer to normal.

"Kota?"

Just hearing her say the two syllables relaxed me. "Hi, S'ten. Ten,"  I corrected, remembering my swollen lip. I was going to need to enunciate for the near future.

"I'm so glad to see you," she said, eyes brimming with tears.

Not as glad as I was to see her. "Are you—were you hurt?" Since she was standing beside me, I didn't think so. But Sang had kept injuries secret from me in the past.

"No, I'm fine. I wasn't anywhere near the cafeteria," she reassured me. "I heard the noise when I was in class, but I didn't know what it meant." Her words grew muffled as she fought back a sob. "Then we saw Mr. Blackbourne in the front hallway, and I—But that wasn't what you asked. I'm fine."

No deception. Good thing Sang was a bad liar. "And the others?" I was sure I had asked before, but getting another answer couldn't hurt.

"Everybody's okay, Kota. Everyone except you!"

Relieved, I let out the breath I had been holding. "Then we're all okay." My mouth was unbelievably dry. "Is there any water?"

"Just ice chips for now," she directed as she moved around. "They want to be careful and make sure you don't get sick because of the anesthesia. Here you go—open up. Be careful; your lip is swollen."

Anesthesia meant surgery. That explained a few things.

I leaned forward. The room began to move, so I fell back, letting her feed me a spoonful of ice chips. Any other time, any other place, and Sang feeding me might have been a turn on. Right now, it was humiliating. 

I could make out a second blurry figure on the other side of the bed. "My glasses—" I whispered, not sure they would help.

Sang was already handing them to me. I slid them on carefully, being mindful of my puffy eye. The tubing from the IV pulled as I moved, then went slack as it and the pulse oximeter cord were adjusted, giving me more room to maneuver.

"Thank you, sweetie." Still squinting, I took in the sight of her. Her dirty blonde hair was pulled back in a clip. Her nose was red, and her cheeks stained with tears. Even upset, she was beautiful.