I open my eyes and it is like the whole world is spinning.
What is going on?
Why is it so bright?
What is that consistent beeping sound?
Why can't I move?
It goes dark again.
I open my eyes again. This time, four unknown faces wearing white are peering down at me. I can't see them properly. Am I dead? Is this heaven? It has to be hell because that beeping sound is driving me crazy. Maybe this is my personal hell riddled with things that will drive me off the edge.
And it goes dark again.
I open my eyes for the third time. Is it always bright here? I can't even tell the time. I don't know if it is day or night.
Why do I feel like I am trapped? I feel like I am reliving a nightmare over and over again. When it goes dark, I see that beautiful man and the world is quiet for a hot second and everything is loud again and then fire engulfs me. When I open my eyes, everything is white and bright and that beeping is still there.
The fourth time I open my eyes, I hear the most sonorous bass voice I have ever heard. I feel it reverberating through my whole body.
"How's she doing?" It says.
"She is still in and out of consciousness. But she is stable and out of danger."
"Well? It's been three days, should she not be awake by now if she's stable?"
"She should come around soon. By some miracle, she did not suffer a lot of injuries although there are things we won't be able to determine till she is fully awake."
"Okay."
"We could not save the driver. He died. I'm sorry sir."
There is a pause.
"Okay. Thank you doctor. Please keep this on the low. There were no casualties brought in here. The driver will be taken care of before the end of the day."
"Yes sir."
And just like that it is silent again. Save for that annoying beeping noise.
I open my eyes and this time I am a bit more aware of my surroundings. Thankfully, the beeping noise is gone and it is no longer white and bright anymore.
There is a nurse reading a book and sitting in an armchair placed by the bedside but this place does not look like a hospital. Did Levi bring me home? What happened? I try to look around as much as I can with the pain I am feeling. The room does not look like one I recognize. The room is big with barely any personal effects. It is painted white however all the furniture items are navy blue and some with gold trimmings.
The nurse notices me looking around and before I know what is happening, she has by my side touching my head with the back of her hand and checking my pupils with some kind of light that I did not see her grabbing. I want to speak but my throat is drier than the Sahara Desert. She sees this and grabs the glass of water on the bedside drawer that I did not notice before. I use the straw to drink the water and it relieves my parched throat.
She helps me sit up and smiles at me.
"The doctor has not left, give me a minute, let me go and get him." When she steps out, I take that opportunity to look around properly. I look down at myself andI am wearing a cream colored silk nightgown. It feels so soft. I wonder where I am though. As far as I know, I am not in the house I share with Levi. Maybe he brought me to one of his other houses. But where is this place?
There is a bedside drawer to my left with golden knobs and a navy blue lamp on top of it. The glass I drank water from is sitting on top of it too. There is a floor to ceiling window with navy blue curtains that are drawn all the way allowing no ray of light into the room. There are three doors, one on the left wall and two on the walls facing me. If I have to guess, I will say one leads to the bathroom, one, obviously leads outside because it was the one that the nurse used and the last leads to a walk-in closet.
The door opens and a man that I assume is the doctor steps in with the nurse.
"Hello, ma'am. How are you feeling today?" I give him a small smile.
He puts down his briefcase, takes out his stethoscope, puts it in his ear, puts the chest piece on my chest and asks me to breathe. I take a deep breath and he nods in satisfaction. He collects that weird light from the nurse and checks my eyes again.
Then he holds up three fingers and asks how many fingers holding up. I confirm it on a whisper. He holds up two fingers again and asks me how many fingers he is holding up. I tell him. He goes to the foot of the bed and lifts the duvet at that end to expose my feet.
"Wiggle your toes for me please."
I do and he covers my feet back.
"It is nice to see you finally awake." He says as he comes back to my bedside to put his stuff back in his briefcase. I furrow my brows in confusion.
"How long have I been out?" I am surprised by my own voice. It comes out croaked and barely above a whisper like I have barely used it in a while.
"You've been out for five days." No wonder my throat feels this way. I really have not used it in a while.
"Sir, what are you talking about? Why have I been out for that long?"
"You don't remember?"
"Remember what?" What is he talking about? What happened? He senses my panic and puts one hand on my shoulder.
"I need you to calm down for me ma'am and tell me the last thing you remember."
I suck in a sharp breath as the memories hit me like a truck.
"The brakes failed and there was a car headed straight for us."
"Yes, that's right, you were in an accident."
"There was a crash and there was fire."
"Yes. Someone was able to get you out before your car exploded. That person saved your life."
I remember seeing that beautiful man. I wonder if he was the one that saved my life.
"Your driver, however was not so lucky. He came in with over seventy percent of his body covered in third degree burns. He succumbed to his injuries two days later."
"What?" My eyes wells with tears. He must have been in so much pain. Zane was always very careful and it was sad that he died despite that. I know he always checked the car before we went out but I remember him telling me just before the crash that the brakes were not working.
"Where is he now?"
"I don't know ma'am"
I make a mental note to ask Levi about him, pay a condolence visit to his family and write them a cheque. The doctor closes his briefcase with a snap and picks it up.
"Alright, there seems to be no trouble. No sign of paralysis or amnesia. Your vitals are okay. But you still need to be under surveillance for the next five days. This is Nurse Pelli." He pointed at the nurse that was with me earlier, introducing her to me for the first time. "If you need anything or feel any sort of discomfort at all, please let her know."
I nod.
"I will take my leave now."
"Sir?" He stopped just as he was about to open the door. "Can you please send Janet in?"
His face shows that he does not know who I am talking about.
"I'm sorry, there is no Janet here. However, there is a Tammy that your husband said is your personal attendant. I can send her in if you want."
I shake my head negatively. Did Levi change the staff again?
"Alright now." The doctor says as he opens the door, "Have a pleasant day Mrs Elrod."
What?