One Hot Summer

Chapter 20: Waking Up

Bennett

“SHARK” a shrill, startled voice screamed. My head whipped around the where the commotion was happening. How did the night go from so calm to absolutely chaotic in a matter of seconds? There was screaming, panic, and something inside me felt wrong. Myself and a few other guards made our way over to the crowd fighting to get out of the pool. As I got closer Riley was doing her best to see what was causing the panic. Everyone was running around which was chaos in itself.

“C’mon guys, no ru…” Riley started to say. A group of teens, the ones I’d let in earlier were laughing as they ran past. One was looking back and plowed into Rileys side throwing her off balance. She went down, hitting her head off the concrete lip of the pool.

A ringing in my ears took over as I became hyper focused on the blood that now clouded the water. Whistles blew and announcements to evacuate the pool were shouted but I continued to shove my way through the crowd. Nick and Olivia dove in as I did. We were desperate to get our lifeless friend out of the water.

RILEY

Where was I? Wherever I was I was extremely calm. I had this recurring vision of the people in my life. All I could see were their smiles. I was tuned into every detail of their faces. I could hear their voices but it was muffled. I snapped out of my trance and was suddenly standing at a register of the nearby supermarket. I don’t know why but the giant bunny ringing up my items continued to ring up a pack of gum over and over and over. I was confused and my head pounded.

My eyes fluttered open as I left my dream state. My entire body felt heavy.

“Hey!” A quiet, familiar voice whispered. I glanced over. My blurred vision taking a moment to clear. A mess of wavy dirty blonde hair came into focus.

“Logan?” I asked wondering if I was still in a dream. “In the flesh, honey” she said, her warm hand gently resting on mine. “What are you doing here? Where am I?” I asking looking around a dimly lit room. Machines beeped to my right, wires covered me.

Suddenly I felt a painful weight in my chest. I started coughing which magnified the pain. I couldn’t breathe again.

“Riley? Riley, take a breath” Logan said. Logan reached over me hitting the nurse call button. “How can I help you?” A voice called. “She’s awake, need someone in here” Logan frantically said.

Pain surged through my body as I started to feel everything. My chest hurt, my throat hurt, my ribs, my head, everything. Tears streamed down my face. What had happened?

A small, brown haired nurse hurried into the room rubbing sanitizer on her hands. “Well hello beautiful, glad to see those eyes open” she said nonchalantly, as if I wasn’t sitting here dying.

“Is she okay?” Logan asked.

“I’ll have the doctor come in and see her For now I’ll give her something to help manage pain and keep her calm” the nurse said checking my vitals. As she injected my iv I slowly felt my body relax. I could breathe again.

“The doctor will be in shortly” she said leaving the room.

I laid my head back and closed my eyes. When I opened them back up I could see my big sister sitting there with tears streaming down her face.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” I asked. Logan smiled, wiping the tears from her face.

“I’m just glad you’re awake” she said.

“What happened, lo? What are you doing here?” I asked.

Knock knock

A doctor in a white coat came in. She was tall, slender, with her grey hair pulled into a bun. She didn’t say a word, just smiled and sat next to the bed.

“It’s good to see you” she said as if she’d known me.

“I’m sorry, do I know you?” I asked.

“I’m doctor McIntyre. I’ve been overseeing your care for the last 4 days. You’re quite the fighter” she said crossing her legs.

“4 days? I’ve been here for 4 days” I asked, trying to make sense of what was happening. As I glanced around the room I started to notice more. Flowers, cards, balloons, flowers, cards, balloons. The room was full.

“You fell at the pool, Ri” Logan said.

The doctor started doing an assessment. “What’s the last thing you remember, Riley?” She asked.

I tried to remember. Suddenly it hit me. “I was working. The jaws event” I said sitting up quickly. Pain shot through my chest. Logan gently pushed me back against the bed. “Easy, tiger” she said.

“Good!” The doctor said. “Wait, what happened?” I asked still wanting to know how I got to where I was.

“Someone tried to pull a prank that night. In the midst of the chaos you were knocked off your feet and when you fell into the pool you knocked your head off the concrete lip of the pool, knocking you unconscious. According to the report, 3 guards dove in after you but you took in a lot of water. They performed cpr on you because you weren’t breathing…” Logan said starting to cry again. Tears started to stream down my face.

The doctor went onto explain that I received the broken ribs from the CPR and that upon arrival I still had fluid on my lungs and swelling on my brain. I also received an orbital fracture (broken eye socket) from the fall. Apparently I was intubated and put into a coma to allow my body to rest. I felt shell shocked. I couldn’t speak.

“We’d like to keep you for a few more days. Make sure there’s nothing else going on that we can’t see. Your CT showed some swelling so we will repeat that and see how things look. Once you’re able to eat and regain some strength we’ll have physical therapy come in and try to get you up and walking. If everything continues to improve then we can look at maybe sending you home. You’re a miraculous case” Dr. McIntyre said standing.

I looked up at her confused, “miraculous?”. She sat back down and smiled. “Riley, some patients have taken in less water and received traumatic brain injuries. Some patients were submerged unconscious for far less than you and never recover from their injuries. The simple fact is…you’re awake, talking, breathing on your own. You’re a miracle and a case that every doctor would like to see.” She said gently rubbing my arm. “Do you need anything?” She asked. I shook my head still fixed on just how lucky I am. Things could’ve gone differently…ended differently and yet…here I am.

Once she left I turned my attention again to Logan who was once again, sobbing. “I’m okay, Logan” I told her grabbing her hand.

“I know. It was just really scary for a few days.” She said wiping her tears.

“Does mom and dad know?” I asked. Logan’s eyes widened.

“Oh yes. Mom was a mess” she said. “I’m surprised she’s not here” I chuckled. Logan showed me her phone. On it was a text from my mom saying “we just landed”. I put my hand to my face and shook my head. As overwhelmed as I was I couldn’t lie to myself. I was so excited to see my parents. I hadn’t seen them since Christmas.

“I’m honestly surprised you’re here too” I told her. Her face scrunched in the middle. “Mom was frantic, a basket case really. I told her I’d come first to be here with you and that she could come in a few days. Besides, mom would be in the bed next to you having a heart attack if she’d seen you in here the first night” she laughed. I laughed too, although it hurt.

“I can’t believe this. It doesn’t feel real” I say laying back. “I know, I know. They weren’t expecting you to start waking up on your own.” Logan said scooting closer to the bed.

“Your friends brother was here with you until I got here. Even then, I had to convince him to go home and sleep. He was really concerned about you” she said. My friends brother? “Bennett?” I asked, a tad surprised. Logan nodded.

My heart swelled at the thought of Bennett. Before I could ask more about that night the door flew open.

“Hi mama” I said, a smile spreading across my face. Before I knew it I was engulfed in a warm hug. A warm, shaking, somewhat suffocating hug. It felt like home.