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“Yeah, I do but-” The sight of that stupid little envelope stops me mid-sentence. I can’t let anyone see it. I wait till she turns her back to fill out the patient checklist tacked to the corkboard on the wall, snatch the envelope and shove it under my ass.
“I remember the car accident. But not much since,” I finish my sentence as she turns back to face me.
“The good news is, we see no signs of broken bones or fractures. But I do want the doctor to check you for a concussion before we release you,” she explains.
I swallow and nod.
“Don’t worry dear, I reckon the doc should be here in just a few moments. Are you able to arrange for a ride to pick you up once you’re released? We know that your car was totaled, and we don’t have an emergency contact listed for you. Oh, and I’ll need you to update your billing address on these forms as well, so we know where to send the bill to. Unless you have an insurance update?” She hands me a clipboard and pen.
I shake my head as I write down my address. My mind spins like a tilt-a-whirl, trying to take everything in. I sure as hell won’t be able to afford a hospital bill whenever it comes, but I fill out the paperwork anyway and hand the clipboard back to her.
“I’m so sorry to hear about the accident by the way. Must’ve been a bloody big deer to cause that kind of damage,” she states and my heart jumps to my throat.
“A deer?”
“Yeah. Said it jumped right out in front of you, in the middle of a snowstorm, nonetheless! So glad you weren’t seriously banged up, dear.” She starts to leave.
“Wait. Did anyone stop by and visit me?” The question comes out so fast and I almost regret asking. It’s not like my family would visit even if they knew I was here.
“No, dear. No one’s been in to visit you. Sit tight and I’ll get the doc right in.”
I shift nervously in my hospital bed as an uncomfortable amount of bile makes its way up the back of my throat, and I have to swallow hard to get it back down. I pull my phone back out, knowing I need to figure out how I’m going to get home from here. Seven percent battery life.God, I hope Dakota answers.
“What the flying fuck happened?” Dakota stands at the frame of the door leading into my hospital room. She’s changed out of her club clothes and is now sporting gray sweatpants and an oversized T-shirt.
“I got into a car accident.” My answer is short as my voice almost cracks, holding back tears.
“Well, obviously. But are you okay?” She approaches me almost frantically before she holds out my arms to inspect me as I’m sitting in the chair in the corner of the room, trying to put on my shoes.
“I’m okay. The concussion exam came back clear, and they said there were no breaks or major injuries. So, I’m fine physically. Mentally, I don’t know yet,” I admit. My head is still scrambled. Like someone literally cracked it open, took an electric mixer to it, then glued it back together.
“Are you sure you’re okay? Are you sure there’s no-”
“Dakota, I’m fine,” I cut her off and she takes a deep breath.
“I’m sorry. You know how I am with freak accidents,” she sighs. I look over at my best friend and feel immediate guilt over my annoyance with her questions. She’s asking because she really cares about me. And she’s right, after hearing about what happened to her dad, I’d be panicking about any kind of accident too. I should feel lucky just to be alive and okay, but I’m really starting to get annoyed with the whole one step forward, three steps back, routine.
“How did this happen?” she questions after calming down.
“They said I hit a deer.”
“A deer?” She looks at me like I’m speaking a different language.
“A deer,” I repeat with no emotion.
Dakota studies me as I gather the rest of my belongings.
“You don’t believe that do you?” she asks, seeing the hesitation on my face.
“I’m not sure. It was snowing pretty badly, and I might have fallen asleep.” I pull the envelope from my back pocket to shove it into my purse.
“Sterling, what do you mean you fell asleep? What’s going on?”
“I don’t know,” I sigh, but I know I’m tired. Tired of not getting anything right. I feel like I make decent progress, then something stops me in my tracks and pushes me back.
“Someone came by my room earlier. A man. And he gave me this.” I decide to hand Dakota the envelope instead of trying to hide it. She takes it and looks at it for a second before looking back at me.
“What’s in it?” Her eyes scan over me.
