YOU BEFORE ME

Chapter 2

Sandra

My head felt groggy, and I could hear sounds as if from far away, but I heard them. Slowly, I woke up, wondering when I fell asleep. Did I make it home and get to bed? I was lying down, though the bed I was on was a little too hard to be my bed. My eyes fluttered open, and I took in the white ceiling and white walls, and figured out pretty quickly I wasn't in my room.

Where the hell am I?

My heart started picking up speed. The odd thing was I could hear a beeping sound to my side also going faster, matching my heartbeat. I twisted my head to follow the music and found a bunch of machines. There was a stand that held a bag of solution, and it had a small tube that I followed, down to the back of my right hand.

"Ow," I murmured, frowning. It didn't hurt, I hated needles, and I could feel my stomach turn, thinking about one being put in the back of my hand as a drip when I wasn't awake. I let the hand completely relax, so I wouldn't feel the needle tug, then looked away and ignored it.

I realized once I saw all the white walls that I must be in a hospital ward. Some bars hung a curtain all around me so that I couldn't see much, but now that I was paying attention, I could hear other beeping machines and the sound of people moving around. The unmistakable sound of a somewhat busy hospital. I'd been in one a few times with Mom getting her diagnosed and getting her on meds, so it was easy to recognize.

I gasped when thoughts of Mom occurred to me.

My heart was beating even faster, the beeping machine measuring my heart rate climbing up to annoying levels. But the sound was enough to alert someone, and the curtain, which closed me in from the rest of the room, was pushed aside. A nurse walked into the space, holding a clipboard, then closed the curtain behind her.

"Hi, it's good to see you're awake," she said with a polite smile. "Do you remember how you got here?"

I shook my head. "Um, I don't think so? And how long have I been here exactly?"

"It's only been a little over an hour since you were brought in. You fainted at the store, and someone called an ambulance for you. You were brought here pretty quickly. Do you feel pain anywhere? Your head or your body? You fell in the middle of an aisle, if you hit yourself somewhere."

"Oh," I murmured.

Do I hurt anywhere? I tensed my body carefully, but aside from the hand with the needle in it, I didn't so much as feel discomfort from anywhere. Even my head felt fine.

"I feel okay," I said, seeing that the nurse was still waiting for me to reply.

"That's good," she said, her smile stretching out a bit more. "I need to go let the doctor know you're awake. He'll come and examine you shortly."

She bustled around, looking at the machines and the bag of solution. There was a clipboard hanging at the end of my bed, and she pulled it up to look it over, then put it back and noted something down on the one she was holding. It wasn't until it looked like she was about to leave that I remembered I still needed something from her.

"Um, excuse me?"

The nurse paused and turned back to me. "Can I help you with anything?"

"Do you know how much longer I need to be here? I need to get back home..."

"I can't say how long," she said slowly. "It depends on how fast the doctor can get here and examine you. If he determines there's nothing wrong, then you have to go through the discharge process, but that shouldn't take too long. Is there someone you need to call?"

"Right," I said, nodding. Why hadn't I thought of making a call? But there was a problem; I had no idea where my phone was or anything else.

"Can you tell me where my things are?"

"They're in the closet; you'll take them out when it's time for you to go. But, you can't use your cell in here. I'll bring you one of the hospital's phones, okay? Just give me a minute."

I nodded and laid back down and watched as she left. The nurse said I fainted. And right in the middle of the store, too. It was so embarrassing to think about, and I didn't think I could handle going back to that store again. But it still begged the question of why I fainted. I never fainted, the only other time it had happened, was when I was in junior high and some kid tripped me while I was running on the field. I fell and opened my eyes to find myself lying on the ground with a bunch of faces around me. But I wasn't a fainter.

Then again, my appetite had gone down recently. It wasn't to the point that I wasn't eating, though I ended up eating more junk food than real food because it was more accessible to stomach. And also thinking of how tired I felt on the walk to the store, I should have realized something was wrong and rested more, just made my way back home and found some kid to make the run for me as long as I paid them. It was a lot better than ending up in the hospital, anyway.

How long do I have to wait?

I tapped my fingers where I had my hands rested on my lap, waiting for the nurse to come back with the phone, and the doctor to examine me so I could leave already. But even for our small town, the hospital tended to be pretty busy, since they took patience locally and from nearby towns as well, it is one of the bigger hospitals in the area. If I was lucky, I wouldn't have to wait longer than an hour, since the hospital didn't have that many doctors.

Several minutes later, the curtains were pulled back, and it was the nurse coming back with a phone.

"Here you go. Make your call, and I'll be back as soon as I can get a doctor here to pick it up."

"Thank you," I said as she left again, feeling a bit of relief that I could at least see how my mom was doing.

I moved the hand that had the needle in it carefully to hold the phone by both sides, then dialed home. I brought the phone to my ear with my free hand and chewed on my bottom lip as I waited for an answer. When I heard the click, signaling that the call had been picked up, I was relieved.

"Hello? Who is this?"

Crap. That wasn't Mom's voice, it was my neighbor, Gloria. I'd told her I'd only make a quick run to the store and be done because she had things to do, but I couldn't just leave my mom alone in the house in case anything happened. I couldn't tell because the lights were probably on in the ward, but it must be dark outside now.

"Gloria, hi," I said, feeling exhausted and anxious. "It's me, Sandra, sorry I couldn't contact you before. I ended up in the hospital."

"The hospital?" she repeated, sounding alarmed. "Did something happen? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," I said quickly. "I have to get discharged, and I'll be coming home. I'm sorry to bother you with this, but could you stay with Mom just a bit more?"

She sighed. "Did you at least manage to buy something?"

"I don't think so," I said, frowning. "I fainted, which is how I ended up in the hospital, in the first place. I'm sure it's nothing, and I'll be back in no time. I'm sorry to bother you so much over this..."

"No worries," she said with another sigh. "I can imagine how tough you have it, but try to look after yourself too, okay? I'll stay with your mom until you get back, I'll pop out for a bit to let my family know I'll be staying longer. I think they can handle dinner by themselves just this one time."

"Thanks for this," I said sincerely.

I said goodbye and hung up the call. Then, I waited. The nurse said she would be coming back with the doctor to pick the phone up, and I didn't know how long that would take. I played with the phone in my hands, wondering if there was someone else I could call. I was growing bored already, and I leaned back and closed my eyes. My body still felt pretty heavy, and I wondered if I could even stay on my feet if I got up. Maybe, if I ate, I would feel better? Just a little bit?

"Are you done making your call?"

I opened my eyes to see the nurse had come back, but she was alone. I held the phone out to her.

"Did you get the doctor?" I asked.

"Oh, he's right behind me." She looked over her shoulder. "Dr. Carl Wilson?"

"Right here."

The voice was low and deep, perking up my interest, because he sounded reasonably young for a doctor. Then, I saw him. My eyes widened a bit at first glance.

Damn, he's hot.

He was tall, blond and blue-eyed, and even underneath his lab coat, he looked muscular. The heart monitor started beeping even faster, and I could feel my face warm up in a blush because there was no way to keep my attraction to him a secret with that thing still connected to me.

"I'll leave you two alone," the nurse said with a knowing smile, then turned to leave.

I almost reached out to her to get her to stay, but clenched my hands in the sheets instead, and looked up at the hot Dr. Wilson.