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He sits on the other side of the bed, in the same space he occupied last night, and pats my hand. His black hair is pulled into a bun on the top of his head, the sides shaved almost to the skin. His smile is just as gentle and comforting as I remember from last night and I breathe out a deep breath and settle deeper into the bed as his pack mate comes to stand beside my bed. He is much larger than Dr. Lycan, but his eyes are crinkled on the corners as if he is seconds away from laughing at any given moment. His hair is a light blond and his skin is a tan that suggests he spends most of his time out in the sun. Though his stature suggests he is a lumberjack, his looks imply he is your typical beach boy.
“Hello, Miss Lancaster. As my mate said, my name is Dr. James Lycan, I prefer James or Dr. James if you must.” His smile is warm, all teeth and none of the intimidation I am sure he is capable of showing. “It looks like everything is good. Are you feeling any pain or dizziness?”
“No, sir. I feel better than ever.”
“Well then. Let’s get you discharged and on the way. I’d like to say I’m sorry for everything you’ve been through, but I am so happy for you to be joining our community. I know you need a few days to get used to everything and learn a bit about this new world, but when you’re ready, my family and I would love to have you over for dinner some time.”
I smile gratefully up at the giant man. “That would be really nice. If Abby doesn’t mind, we can get something set up for … wait, what day is it?”
I glance down at the new phone in my hand and my eyes bug out of my head. I know that Dr. Lycan said I was in a medically induced coma for about two weeks but seeing the date is still a bit shocking. It’s Tuesday, June 6. Graduation was May 22! This is so weird. Panicked, I look up at Abby and she gently trails a hand over my hair. My gaze shifts over to the two men and each of them places a reassuring hand on my body, one on my shoulder and one on my forearm.
“It's okay Rebecca. A bit of time has passed, but I promise everything will be okay. You’ll feel better when we get you out of here and settled.”
Taking slow deep breaths, I finally get my heart rate back to a normal rhythm. This is okay, I’m okay. I knew how long it’d been since the attack, so I shouldn’t be surprised by the date. I guess knowing and seeing are two different things. Their hands on me really are helping to calm me down, though.
“Okay, we’ll get going so you ladies can be on your way.” Dr. Lycan pats my hand once more before he stands up off the bed. “I had Abby add our numbers and the rest of our family to your phone. You can call any of us at any time, day or night, if you need us. I’ll call you Friday to set up dinner plans.”
Dr. James rubs my shoulder and signs his name at the bottom of the paper attached to the clipboard he walked in with. “Here are your discharge papers. Take your time getting dressed, we don’t need the room. I can’t wait to see you again, Little One.”
With a smile, the two men leave the room, whispering to each other and glancing back over their shoulders. Abby chuckles softly as she watches them leave, a sweet adoration in her eyes. I don’t think they are together, but I don’t know for sure. I want to ask, but I also don’t want to offend anyone. I’m not sure what the social rules are for this new culture, so I keep my mouth shut and wait for my next directions. I’m good at following directions.
“Okay, well, you’re a free woman now. So let's get you dressed. Your bathroom is right there,” she points to a closed door beside the one the doctors just left from. “It has a shower and I brought some clothes and shower products from the things that were sent to my house. I’ll wait out here if you need anything.”
Nodding, I throw the blankets off and swing my legs around so I’m sitting on the side of the bed. I remember from when I had covid that getting up after you’ve been in bed for a while can cause dizziness, so I dangle my feet off the side of the bed for a minute and wait for the swirling to start and stop. Surprisingly, I don’t feel anything. It’s as if I just woke up for the day. No dizzy spells or double vision. Shrugging my shoulders, I hop down out of the bed and pause again. Still, nothing happened, I feel completely fine. If anything, I feel stronger than I did before the attack, more steady on my feet. Trying not to freak out again, I shut off my thoughts as I move around the bed and grab the duffle bag from the bed and make my way to the bathroom.
The shower is spacious with a wide white medical chair built into the back wall. The shower head looks like it can detach from the wall so that you can use it like a hand held one. The rest of the room looks pretty basic. A sink with a counter space just big enough to hold the duffle bag and a toilet with a red cord sitting beside it. I guess if you pull the cord, it will call a nurse to come assist you. I’ve heard some of the young moms I went to school with, talk about having to call the nurse for help getting up off the toilet after a C-Section. I was mortified just hearing the stories, So I make sure to keep the cord far away when I sit down to do my business.
Abby packed all my favorite supplies, including the cute yellow duck poof I bought for myself. She even somehow packed my favorite outfit. This woman must be an angel to have gotten all my favorite things without any instructions. Smiling, I hop in the shower. I intended for it to be a quick wash, but as the hot water rushes over my body, I find myself crying.
It starts as a single tear blending in with the cascading water, but then everything that happened over the last two weeks rushes to my mind and I find myself sitting on the floor bawling, shampoo still in my hair and the yellow duck poof crushed to my chest. So much has changed so quickly and I’ve been stuffing it all inside, ignoring my feelings and trying to move on. But no matter how strong a person is, everyone needs to cry sometimes. Emotions are too big to contain twenty-four seven. This is my breaking point, this is the moment I actually think about what happened to me and grieve everything I lost. My boyfriend, my best friend, my parents, my whole damn life. All of it is gone in a moment and now I’m feeling the release of that pain. Once I've cried myself hoarse, I stand up and pull myself together. I finish washing up, surprised that the water stayed hot the entire time, then get out. I rush through drying off and getting dressed, acutely aware of how long I’ve left Abby waiting. I really hope she doesn’t think I’m upset with her.
When I’m fully dressed and my damp hair is brushed into some semblance of acceptable, I leave the bathroom. Abby is reclined on the bed, her feet crossed at the ankles as she watches her phone. She is shaking her head and mumbling under her breath, but when I clear my throat, she puts the phone down and smiles.
“Well you look like you feel better! Ready to get out of here?” She takes the mostly empty bag out of my hand and throws it on her shoulder.
Holding her hand out, she waits patiently for me to take it and walk out of the room. This is it, the first step into my new life. After a split second of hesitation, I take her hand, ready to start this new journey with my head held high. No matter what life throws at me, I’ll be ready.
Chapter Five
Bungalow On The Beach
Allthenurseswaveand say goodbye as we walk through the halls. Dr. James and Dr. Lycan both come around the counter and give me a hug before patting my head and saying they’d see me soon and reminding me to call if I need anything. I may have held the hugs a bit longer than socially acceptable, but both men have such comforting auras about them, and I needed that to help strengthen my resolve.
Once we make it out the doors, I pause to take in a deep breath of the warm summer air. It feels like forever since I’ve been able to breathe in the scents of nature and now it's like there is more to smell. The trees planted around the hospital almost smell sweet. I swear I can even smell the feathers of the birds twittering in the branches, a soft musky smell that makes me want to hum in pleasure. Of course there are some smells I don’t like. The exhaust of the cars in the parking lot and the hot smell of metal heating under the sun’s rays.
Even my hearing seems to be better than it was before. I can hear little forest creatures rustling in the underbrush of the sparse woods, the beeps and honk from cars on the road, and even distant voices from somewhere I can’t pinpoint. Looking around, the colors seem brighter and details I would have never noticed before seem to stand out like beacons now. The bright red bird I used to see in the backyard now has tiny black specks and the brown swallows I used to chase through the forest have more white and black down their backs than I’ve ever noticed before. Seeing all the new details around me has me itching to get my hands on a sketch pad and charcoal, I want to record it all.
Abby leads me to a tiny, bright pink Mini Cooper as I take in the world around me. When we get to the car and she drops my hand, I don’t immediately get in. I can’t drag my eyes off the sky or the trees or the buzzing bees floating around. Abby chuckles as she opens her door.
“I know, it can be a lot at first, but soon enough, this will all be normal like it was before. Hop in, I’ll take the long way home and show you around the town a bit.”
Getting in, I smile at my new friend. She is so bubbly and happy. I used to spend hours watching girls like her and wondering how to be like them. Then I realized that a lot of it is put on, faked for the people around them. But Abby doesn’t seem like those girls. She seems genuinely happy to be alive. I can imagine that she is one of those people that are always offering a helping hand and encouraging words to people around them. I make a mental note to keep an eye out for her. People like her get taken advantage of way too easily, they get manipulated and tricked by sorry souls that can’t accept that others may be kind. If I can, I’ll make sure that she never has to feel the hurt of someone taking her kindness for granted.
Leaving the hospital parking lot, Abby takes me all around the tiny town. She points out the movie theater, a coffee shop that she swears has the best danishes, and a Super Center that has a dozen shops connected by side walks.
“Once you go through the stuff your … I mean the things George and Kathy sent over.” Her gaze flickers between me and the walls of the room. Clearly she saw me flinch at her mentioning my parents so she is trying to come up with something to say to make me feel comfortable. Taking a deep breath, she smiles at me and tries again. “Once we go through your things, I’ll bring you to the Super Center to get anything else you may want.”
I try to think about what I have in my bank account. Admittedly, it isn’t much. I babysat while I was in school, but I also had to buy my own art supplies, so I don’t have a lot left. Abby must see the worry on my face because she grabs my hand again. When I glance over at her, she is smiling softly, understanding eyes flickering across my face.
