More than Roommates by Jillian Quinn

Author:Jillian Quinn [Quinn, Jillian]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penn Publishing
Published: 2018-02-06T16:00:00+00:00

16

Ethan

Eleven Years Ago

When I open my eyes, there’s a dull throbbing at the base of my skull. I blink a few times, my vision blurred from the overhead lights blinding me.

Beep, beep, beep.

What is that sound?

My entire body hurts from my head to my toes. The pain creeps up my leg, settling around my thigh. It hurts so fucking bad that I have to close my eyes once more and bite my lip until the next wave passes. Each thump inside my head is somehow perfectly timed with each beep, the noise causing my head to pound harder.

I reach out with my right hand and feel cold plastic, the rigid material unfamiliar, foreign to me. But I don’t have enough strength to pull myself up. Forcing myself to hold my eyes open, I turn my head to the side to scan my surroundings.

Where am I? Where is all that noise coming from?

I crane my neck to listen to the shouting on the other side of the white curtain that wraps around my bed. Shadows of people passing objects to each other come into sight.

Am I imagining this?

A whiff of rubbing alcohol, mixed with the sick scent I associate with hospitals smacks me in the face. I’m in the hospital. Why the fuck am I here? I have nothing, no memory of why I can’t move my leg or why my head is fucking killing me.

Sticking my tongue out, I lick my chapped lips. My mouth holds a familiar metallic taste. Blood. I know it well from all the years of playing hockey.

More shouting on the other side of the curtain causes me to still. Someone cries, cutting through all the noise. It’s a woman.

“Get her out of here,” the man barks, his voice so loud it echoes in my ears.

“Someone get a crash cart. We’re losing him,” another man says, his tone more shrill.

This time, the same woman screams. “Nooo,” she sobs. “No, not my baby.”

I realize I know her voice. I would know this woman anywhere. My mother. Why is she crying? Why is she on the other side of the curtain?

Her baby? Tears well up in my eyes when I realize her tears are for Erik.

My insides clench. The fear and adrenaline shoot through my body in a rush of red-hot waves that burn my skin. I cannot breathe. Every ounce of air I have feels as though it has been sucked from my body with each shallow breath I take. I attempt to get up to see what’s happening on the other side of the stupid white curtain. I have to know Erik is all right.

I move one hand up the rail, my other hand not cooperating. Nothing. I have no strength. After a few tries, I give up, my body no longer able to fight.

“Erik,” I whisper, right before I close my eyes and drift back to sleep.

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