Harp's Song (21 page)

I blink my eyes open, “Harp, stay with us. You are going to be ok. You …” My eyes snap shut and darkness encases me.

I hear noise and voices but I can’t move my head. I’m feeling tired again and I’m drifting.

When I try to open my eyes again, the ceiling is blurry, so I blink them in succession to help them fully adjust. I hear beeping and turn my neck toward where it’s coming from, but instead I see my mom sleeping in a chair next to my bed, her arm stretched out and I follow it to see that she’s holding my hand. I try to say her name but my mouth is so dry I can’t squeak anything out. So instead, I try moving my fingers.

“Oh, honey, you’re awake.” Mom startles and instantly has tears streaming down her face. The sight of her makes me start crying too. She looks like hell. Her hair is a mess and the dark, hollow circles under her eyes tell me she’s been awake and worrying for a while.

“Shhh … sweetie, it’s ok,” she soothes while pressing a button on the side of my bed. “You’re ok now.”

“Ah, I see you’re awake,” a cheery, round, middle-aged nurse says a few minutes later as she walks toward me and raises my bed. “I’m Helen and I’ll be your nurse today. I need to take your vitals, and then I’ll let Dr. Stewart know you’re awake. He’ll want to see you himself, ok honey.”

My mom sits back down in her chair while we wait for the doctor.

“Once Dr. Stewart gives me the ok, I’ll bring you something to eat.” Nurse Helen says as she places a can of 7up and a cup filled with ice, on the tray next to my bed.

My mouth is so dry I can’t talk. Mom pours the pop in the cup and helps me with it by bringing the straw to my lips. It’s not quite cold yet, but the relief is immediate as it slides down my throat.

“What hap … ”

“Hello, Nurse Helen tells me you’re awake,” a man says entering my room. “I’m Dr. Stewart. I’ve been treating you.”

“Hi,” I whisper. My mom holds the straw back up for me to take another sip.

Dr. Stewart gives me some instructions and I do as he says. “Good, now I want you to follow my finger.”

He moves his finger side to side and up and down.

“Great, you’re doing really well. Now I’m going to check your injuries. Let me know if you feel any pain or discomfort.”

I’m not sure where his hands are going but suddenly, the last thing I remember is Bob missing Vincent and his fist coming right at me. The memory makes me flinch and Dr. Stewart stops what he’s doing.

“Did that hurt?” he asks.

“No, sorry, keep going.” I tell him.

He continues pushing around on my face and I wince a few times before he presses around my eye and I gasp.

“Sorry about that,” he says, “You have a mild concussion. You are going to be sore around your eye and head for a few weeks. The bruising will also take a little while to heal.”

I visibly relax when he’s done checking my head, exhaustion setting in.

“Ok, let’s check your ribs,” he announces while pulling down the blanket and untying the sides of my gown.

My eyes fly open and I look at my mom panicked and confused. She gives my hand a reassuring squeeze, while Dr. Stewart unwraps my taped ribs and presses around. Pain suddenly explodes through my body and I involuntarily scream.

“Sorry, but you’ve got two bruised ribs. There’s not much we can do but wrap them up until they heal. You’ll notice shortness of breath and you’ll need to take it easy for about six weeks.” He says after fixing the wrap and pulling the blanket back up. “Do you have any questions?”

“No, thank you.”

“I’ll have Nurse Helen get you some food. Eat what you can and then we’ll give you some pain medicine so you can get a little relief and sleep. I’ll be back to check on you later today and we’ll see if you’re ready to go home.”

“Thank you Dr. Stewart,” my mom says shaking his hand. He smiles warmly at her.

After he leaves, I close my eyes. I feel my mom stroke my hand and the gentle rhythm soothes me as I try to remember everything that happened Friday.

“Here you go honey,” Nurse Helen says leaving a tray of food and medicine for me.

“Thank you,” my mom tells her. She uncovers the dish on the tray to find chicken broth, salad, a roll and chocolate pudding.

“So, what looks good?” my mom asks me.

“I think I need some more to drink first. My throat is so dry,” I say hoarsely.

“Sure, here you go,” she says scooting the tray closer.

“Do you think you can try and eat a little something?” My mom prods.

Just looking at the food makes my stomach roil.

“No,” I tell her. She nods not fighting me on the fact that I can’t handle the thought of food.

“Mom?”

“Yeah sweetie”

“What happened? All I remember is getting punched and falling to the floor,” I say wincing.

“Are you sure you feel up for this right now? I think you should get some rest, it’s still early in the morning. We can talk about it later.” she says.

“I need to know … I don’t understand how I got so hurt.”

She sighs, “I thought that would be hopeless, you are so stubborn.”

She smiles at me and brushes a small piece of hair away from my face.

“From what I was told, that guy punched you and when you fell to the ground a bigger fight broke out while you were on the ground. Connor pushed his way through the crowd to find you, but you wouldn’t open your eyes …,” she pauses to wipe away the tears that have escaped. With a shaky voice she continues, “When you wouldn’t open your eyes, he flipped out and started yelling for help. Someone heard him and called 911. When the paramedics and police got there the fight had wound down and everyone was gone except for you and Connor. They brought you to the hospital and here you are.”

I had forgotten that Connor was there. I close my eyes and remember seeing him watching me.

“What about my ribs? I don’t understand how that happened.”

She sits in the chair not looking me in the eyes. I think she’s trying to decide whether to tell me this or not.

“Here, eat a bite of this roll and then take your pills,” she says.

“Mom, please tell me … I need to know.”

She turns to me with more tears in her eyes, “After you fell and the fight broke out, you were underneath everyone and it was hard for Connor to get to you. He thinks that when you were on the ground you got kicked while everyone else was fighting around you. He said he didn’t see who did it, and he didn’t even know about your ribs until Dr. Stewart talked to us.”

I shake my head because that does make sense. I remember scuffling and screaming before I blacked out.

“Why don’t you get some sleep,” she consoles, “You need to rest.”

I nod my head in agreement and fall asleep immediately.

When I wake up, the sun is streaming through the window in my hospital room. After my eyes have adjusted, I turn to find my mom but she isn’t in her chair. Instead, I see stunning jade eyes smiling at me. I start to sit up, but as soon as I do, pain shoots through me.

“Hey now, you’ve got to take it easy there tiger.” Connor shoots out of the chair and helps me sit up.

“Thanks.”

“My pleasure,” he smiles, “You slept through breakfast and they just brought lunch. Let’s see what’s creating this mouth-watering aroma.”

Seeing him like this makes me happy and makes me realize just how much I’ve missed my best friend. And that’s what he is after all, before we were a couple, he was the most important person in my life and I miss him.

“Ah, looks like a turkey sandwich, a salad with ranch dressing, and chocolate pudding,” he says like he’s announcing a prize on the Price Is Right. “Tough decision—what’s it going to be?”

I clear my throat, “Um … ” that’s all I get out before coughing. Connor pours a glass of water and helps me drink.

“Feel better?” he asks and I nod.

“So, what’s your final answer? Will it be the salad or perhaps you want to skip the main course and go straight for dessert?” he says and looks at me expectantly.

I giggle at him, “Pudding, definitely pudding.”

“Good choice,” he says as he opens the container.

“I miss that sound.” He says suddenly serious.

“What sound?”

“The sound of you laughing.”

I stare at him and see the pain I’ve caused him these last couple of months etched on his face. I can’t help but burst into tears. I hear him move the food tray and then feel my bed shift.

“I know … I know.” He says as he gets into bed with me and gently pulls me into him. He holds me like that while I cry hysterically into his chest. I’m sobbing so hard I can barely grasp any air to breathe and when I do my ribs scream in pain—but I don’t care. I can’t stop. I let him rock me while I cry over everything, but mostly I cry for the time I lost with him and for how much I miss him.

Being here in his arms makes me feel whole again, and I can’t remember why I thought it was so important to walk away from him, except that it seemed like a good idea at the time.

That was dumb.

I have no idea how long I’ve been crying, but when I finally stop, I pull away from his chest and look at his perfect face. God I missed this boy.

“I missed you too.” He says wiping the remaining tears from my face before placing a kiss to my forehead. When he pulls away I do something I haven’t done in a while … I smile, a genuine, happy as hell smile.

He smiles back at me, “You know, I’ve really missed you. Ethan’s great, but he’s not quite the best friend you are.”

“I know just what you mean,” I sigh. “I’ve really missed you too. You’ve been such an important part of my life for so long … and I’m sorry I screwed that up.”

“We good?”

“Yeah,” I smile warmly at him.

“Oh my God Connor,” I exclaim suddenly remembering, “What about Taylor?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean you guys are dating. What about that … her?”

“What are you talking about? Taylor and I aren’t dating.”

“But I saw her kiss you after your baseball game and then you were holding hands at dinner later that night. She told me you guys were dating right after that.”

“I can’t believe her,” he says through gritted teeth as he runs his hand through his hair. “She was lying to you. When I left the field after the game, she grabbed my face before I could get away, but I didn’t kiss her back. And, at dinner, she had just put her hand on mine and I was getting ready to move it away when I saw you.”

“But why did she talk to me then? She threatened me and told me to stay away because you were hers.” I tell him remembering her threats.

“Are you kidding me?” he groans. “I turned her down over and over but she wouldn’t take no for an answer. I guess she was trying to do everything she could to get me back.”

“So … you’re not together?” I say piecing it all together.

“No,” he chuckles and I look at him. “There’s never been anyone else but you.” His voice resonates with sadness.

“I never did anything with Vincent,” I whisper. When I look up, I see relief wash over him. His tense face breaks into that crooked grin I love and I feel myself relax.

“Ahem,” I hear my mom’s voice from the end of my bed and we turn to look at her.

“Sorry to interrupt, but the doctor will be here soon to see if you’re ready to go home,” my mom says with twinkling eyes. “So, Connor, you should probably get going.”

“No, mom please, I want him here,” I beg.

Connor chuckles, “I got it, Anne. Could you give us a few minutes though?” he asks.

“Ok, but make it quick,” she says giving us both her best strict mom face, which isn’t that effective. We nod our heads and as soon as she leaves the room we both start talking. Laughing, I tell Connor to go first.

“I don’t want to leave you, but if they send you home today I’ll come over later, ok?”

“Ok!” I agree. I feel so relieved to have him back but we still haven’t talked about what we are … if we’re just friends or we’re more than that again?

“What’s wrong?” he asks obviously sensing my mood swing.

“Well, I just don’t know where we stand, I guess.”

“Harp, I love you—nothing will ever change that, but you’ve been through a lot of stuff. I think we should concentrate on getting you better first.”