The TV on the wall faded into slow focus. Sarah sat up in her bed and rubbed the knot on the back of her skull. Several tubes and IVs had been taped to the back of her hand and right forearm.
“What happened?” The dryness in the back of her throat made it challenging to speak.
A blonde bimbo clung to a cookie-cutter hunk in the soap opera. The couple stood helpless in a massive hole on a deserted island debating their melodramatic demise. Sarah turned toward the tall windows beside her bed. The sun’s intensity amplified the dull throbbing that radiated from her concussion.
“Think they’ll ever get off that dumb island?” The nurse strode across the floor in silence toward the IV drip. Her black ponytail bobbed on the back of her head. “Who would do something that stupid to start with?”
Sarah massaged the center of her forehead with her good arm. Her blurry vision returned to the petite nurse standing next to her triage cart. The embroidered name on her lavender scrubs read: Kate.
“That’s quite a knot you’ve got there.” Kate adjusted the bag of ice behind Sarah’s head. She pulled a thermometer out of her cart and stuffed it into a disposable sleeve. “I just need to take your vitals, hon. Then I’ll get out of your hair.”
She nodded and sat up in the bed. “Where am I?”
Kate turned a concerned glare up to her.
“I mean, which hospital is this?”
“United Medical, dear.” Kate held the stick up in front of Sarah’s lips. “Under the tongue and close the mouth. You know the drill.”
Kate’s brown eyes watched the box on the other end of the cord. Once the unit beeped, she took the thermometer out.
“Ninety-eight, six. Completely normal.” Kate grabbed the black pressure cuff and leaned over Sarah’s torso. “Just another minute or two, kiddo.”
The pressure released, and Kate pulled the Velcro on Sarah’s bicep apart. She jotted down the measurements on her clipboard and glanced up at Sarah. “Alirghty. That’s it for now.” Kate tucked the sheets in around Sarah’s exposed thigh. “Need anything for the pain, or something more to drink?”
“Nope,” Sarah said in a weak tone. “Thanks.”
Kate pushed her cart back to the door and jotted her notes on the dry-erase board. “I’ll be back around in an hour to check on you, hon.”
“Sounds great.” Sarah eased hear head back down into the flat pillow.
The sound of the heavy door to her room woke Sarah from her brief respite. Having a bulge on the back of her head did little to help her get comfortable for any amount of time.
“I got here as fast as I could, baby.” Her mom rushed to her bedside and showered her forehead with kisses. Her black hair glistened under the fading daylight.
Karla wore her usual dark blue slacks and matching button-down blouse. Her name sat over her right breast pocket stitched into a white oval patch. “Thank, God you’re okay.” She took up the void in the chair next to Sarah’s bed. “You had me worried sick.”
“I’m sorry, momma.” Sarah’s muscles tensed up bracing for the impending verbal assault.
“I’m just thankful you’re okay.”
Three light raps broke the tension in the room. “Dinner’s here.”
A plump woman in white scrubs toted a tray of covered dishes to Sarah’s eating surface and sat it down. “Feel up to havin’ some apple pie tonight?”
“Sure.” Sarah removed the covers from her feast. The bland steamed veggies and grilled chicken had no aroma.
“There you are, honey,” the orderly said. “We’ll be back in an hour to clean up, ‘kay?”
Sarah nodded as she poked at a lump of broccoli. It beats the TV dinners, I guess.
“Hello?” A sing-song voice bellowed from the doorway. “Anybody home?”
Sarah smiled at the sound of her friend’s voice. “Annie!”
Annie trotted over to Sarah’s side and gave her a warm hug. Tanya and Collin meandered in behind her. “How are you feeling, girl?”
Sarah held up her tube-infested arm.
“That good, huh?” Tanya took up a seat on the windowsill. She turned her blue gaze to the approaching young man.
Sarah’s eyes lit up. Her pain ceased to exist. “Collin. I didn’t expect to see you here.”
His brow peaked in confusion. “Why not?”
“Don’t you have a recital tonight?”
He set his hand on her feet and smiled. “It can wait.”
Sarah tossed him a flirtatious grin. “You’d better go to that recital.”
“It’s across town in an hour.” Collin rubbed her foot. “I can still get to it in plenty of time. I had to see you.”
Sarah’s eyes darted to Annie whose clenched smile said what her mind thought: Oh, my God, girl!
“Well,” Sarah said, clearing her throat, “thank you for coming. It means a lot to me.”
Annie snitched a piece of chicken and crossed her legs. “So, what are you doing your project on?”
Sarah’s nose wrinkled at the foul stench of the history assignment. “No clue. You?”
Annie shrugged. “Probably my great-grandma or something.”
“I can’t think about it.” Tanya brushed her bangs out of her face. “It messes with my mall karma.”
“How about you, Collin?” Sarah couldn’t help smiling. Why must I smile at him constantly? Stop it!
“My grandpa served in the Army during the war. I guess I’ll do mine on him.”
She lost herself in his baby blues. “Intriguing.”
Three gentle raps on the door snapped their bond.
“Sorry to interrupt your dinner.” A muscular man in blue scrubs strode to the end of her bed. “I’m Dr. Avery.”
“We were just getting ready to take Collin across town anyway,” Annie said. “Come on guys.”
Collin stopped at the corner of her bed. “See you later?”
“Uh huh.” She clamped her eyes shut. Uh huh? That’s the best you could come up with?
“Great.” He gave her bedrail a nervous tap. “Bye.”
“Bye.” She leaned toward the door as he strode out. “Good luck!”
Once the door closed, the doctor brought his clipboard up to his grey eyes.
“What’s going on with her?” Her mom perked up from her news hour coma.
Avery shrugged. “Honesty,” he adjusted the stethoscope around his neck, “I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Karla buried her face in her quivering palms. “What good is that supposed to do me?”
Sarah nibbled at her chicken and roll. Here we go.
“I understand your frustrations, Ms. Daniels, but---”
“Do you?” Her short black ponytail bobbed as she spoke. “Do you think you really understand? I’ve got a crotchety old boss breathing down my neck every night while I scrub toilets. I barely make enough to get the two of us by month to month. Do you really understand?”
Avery’s chest deflated as he moved his clipboard back to his left hip. “Sarah, I want to keep you here overnight to run a few more tests.”
“What do you think’s wrong with me?” God, is this a heart problem, or a brain tumor? She wrung her hands in her lap.
His salt-and-pepper hair cocked to one side. “Right now, all I know is that you had a seizure, but what caused it remains a mystery.”
“That’s the best you’ve got,” her mom muttered.
“We’ve gotta run some more tests before we can do anything else. If it’s something serious then we’ll have to move fast.”
Sarah’s mind raced around every turn of concern that her imagination threw at her. Something serious? Like what? I can’t die yet. I haven’t even kissed him! She slouched back into the bed’s numbing embrace begging God for just enough time to at least hold his hand or something.