Twenty-Six
Careena
Someone stuffed my head with cotton and then stomped all over it. I pry my eyes open and notice a circle of colorful faces in a huddle above me. I blink and struggle to get my bearings. Where am I? Where’s Alice and Tony?
“She’s waking up,” a familiar voice says. “Car, don't go into the light.”
I force my eyelids apart. My vision clears and the crowd comes into focus. No wonder I saw so many colors. Mom, Sam, Tanner, Micah, and Vanessa glance at me, their faces screwed in various expressions of concern.
I try to talk but it comes out as a croak. Mom gestures for a nurse. “We need a glass of water in here!”
Sam and Tanner make a ruckus until someone rushes in with a plastic cup filled with room temperature water. Micah helps me sit up so I can drink.
“Slowly, slowl
