“-la. Isla please wake up.” It sounds like the voice is at the end of a tunnel. I can hear. I try to open my left eye. I see Daniel’s face. His beautiful, concerned face. I can see. I take in a breath but end up coughing up water. Daniel moves over and helps me sit up.
“Isla! Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” I say.
“Are you sure? You were underwater for a while.”
“I’m fine Daniel.” I snap. He looks hurt. I hate hurting him.
“Sorry. Oxygen deprivation make me cranky.” I try to joke it off. He doesn’t smile, but his lips are twitching. He wants to smile. He wants to smile so bad.
“Hey Daniel.”
“Yeah?”
“I need to tell you something.” His face is serious. I hope mine is too.
“Okay. Wait, good serious or bad-”
“I didn’t bring money for ice cream today.” I interrupt. He looks at me confused for a second, and then he gets it. He starts to laugh and he can’t stop. I begin to laugh too. We are both sitting there at the edge of the pool, laughing like idiots. I’m laughing so hard I start to cry, and I must look ridiculous because when Daniel looks at me, he laughs even harder. Then his eyes begin to water, and soon we are both crying. Us. The two idiots. Crying on the side of the pool. After I almost died. That thought sobered me up pretty quickly. I stop laughing and try to get up. That's when I realize the Daniel’s arm is around my shoulders. I look over at him and he’s still laughing. Until he looks at me. He stops. I must look pretty pissed because he moves his arm immediately.
“Isla.”
“What?” I snap. “Do you think you can mess with my feelings like that?” He’s confused.
“What? Isla I-”
“I don’t want to hear it. Go put your arm around someone else’s shoulders Daniel.”
I get up and start to walk away.
“Isla!” he calls after me. “Isla!” He’s running now. I can hear his feel slap against the pavement. He’s catching up to me. I speed up. Only 10 feet to the girls bathroom. 9...8...7...6… When I’m four feet away he’s caught up to me. He grabs my shoulder and spins me around. He leaves his hand on my shoulder. I shrug it off, turn around and keep walking.
I finally get to the girls bathroom, and he’s not coming after me. Why isn’t he coming after me? Do I want him to come after me? Of course not. That’s ridiculous. I go into one of the bathroom stalls and lock myself in there. I sit down on the toilet seat and put my head in my hands. What have you done Isla? I stand up and leave the stall after another 5 minutes. When I open the door, he’s standing there. In the girls bathroom. Waiting. For me.
“What are you doing?” I shriek. “You can’t be in here. This is the ladies room!”
“Well I am. And I have a few questions for you, so have a seat and get comfy Isla.”
“We are not-” I stop mid-sentence. I hear voices. I know those voices.
“Daniel.” I hiss. “You need to leave now!”
“What? Why?”
“Trust me. If you don’t it’ll be bad for the both of us.”
“Isla-”
“Leave!” I say as I shove him towards the door. “Please Daniel. Leave.”  I’m begging him now. He knows I never beg for anything unless it’s serious. Right? He sighs.
“Okay. Fine” He turns around and leaves the bathroom.
“-y gosh! I can’t believe that lifeguard had the nerve to wink at me!”
“You are way to cool for him Brooke.” My suspicions were correct. It was Daniel’s girlfriend, Brooke, and her clones, Bella and Bethany. When the girls came into the bathroom I pretended to walk out, but Brooke saw me first.
“Oh! Girls, look! It’s Isla!” Crap. I thought. I slowly turned around. I smiled slightly.
“Hello Brooke. Hey Beth. Hi Bella. How are you all?” Brooke sneered at me.
“Just fine, How are you Isla?” asked Bethany. She was the nicest of the three.
“Bethany. We don’t talk to trash, remember?” Brooke snapped.
“Oh. Sorry.” I feel bad for Bethany, she is misunderstood. Like me.
“Bethany, get the door. Bella, hold her down.” Bethany looked apologetically at me and moved to the door, and Bella grabbed my hands and held them behind my back. I don’t resist anymore, it just makes it worse. Brooke stood over me, towering as I was on my knees. She pulled back her fist. I closed my eyes. This was gonna hurt. 

When I walked out of the bathroom a couple minutes later I had a black eye and busted lip. I walked towards the lounge chairs. When Daniel saw me he ran up. I keep my head down so he wouldn’t see my face.
“Hey Isla. What was that whole bathroom thing about?”
“It was nothing.” I replied quietly. He knows better. Nothing is just nothing with me.
He looks at me for a while. When we get to the lounge chairs he speaks up again.
“Isla. Can I ask you a question?” I nod
“Why won't you look at me?” he asks softly. I shake my head. “Why?” he asks, persistent. I stay silent. He sighs and turns so he’s facing me. He takes his hand and lifts up my chin, slowly. When I’m completely facing him he’s looking at me, his eyes widened.
“Isla, what happened.” I was about to reply when Brooke, Bella, and Bethany sauntered up, all smug in their too small bikinis.
“Hey babe!” Brooke said cheerfully as she walked up. She pushed me out of her way using my face, and kissed Daniel. Right there in front of me. My lip started to bleed again when she pushed me so I got up and walked over to my bag and got out a tissue. As I held it up to my lip, Daniel looked over at me while Brooke was still kissing him and pushed her off. My eyes widened with surprise, and rose higher when he got up and walked toward me.
“Who did this to you?” he asked. His voice was quiet and soft yet fierce, as if he wanted to hurt the person who hurt me. I raised my eyebrows, surprised, but lowered them or he would start questioning. I thought Brooke would’ve told him she was beating me up. But then why would Daniel still be with her stupid? My brain asked me. You know he’s not exactly a big fan of violence.
“Hem hem.” Brooke coughed, trying to seem subtle. Daniel kept looking at me. I shook my head and mouthed later. He shook his head and said,
“Now.”
“Not now Daniel. Not with… her.” Daniel looked at Brooke who was staring at him impatiently.
“Daniel.” she said, smiling. But her green eyes were like a sharks. Cold, calculating, and willing to strike at any moment.
“Babe, I didn’t come here to watch you flirt with Idiotic Isla-”
“Don’t call her that Brooke.” Daniel interrupted her sharply. Bella gasped, and then elbowed Bethany who gasped as well.
“What did you just say to me Daniel?”
“Yeah. What did you just say to her. I’m a little bit confused here…” I said.
“Shut up Isla.” Brooke said, her smile gone, her eyes dangerous.
“I said  Brooke-”
“Daniel shut up.” I said quickly. He looked at me somewhat surprised.
“Isla-”
“ISLA!” I whipped my head around and saw my dad running up to the group of us.
“Isla honey. We need to leave. It’s 4:55 and my overtime starts in 5 minutes.”
“Okay dad. I’ll pack my stuff.
“Hurry. I’ll be waiting in the car.”
“Okay.” I looked at Daniel.
“Bye Daniel. I’ll see you at school in a couple days, okay?”
“Isla-”
“Daniel, I have to go. Bye.” I give him a quick tight hug and he’s surprised, I’ve never hugged him before, especially since it was in front of his girlfriend.
“Thank you.” I whisper in his ear. I step away and grab my bag.  Brooke grabs my arm.
She pulls me close and says,
“Touch my boy again and I’ll kill you.” I nod and she pushes me away from her. I trip over my own stupid feet and fall. My knee hits the ground, and busts open. You’re so clumsy Isla. my conscience says. Yeah, I know. I think. Daniel walks over to help me up but I push him away and run towards the bathrooms to get out. I turn back and wave as I leave the pool area. He waves back. I turn around grinning and sprint to my dad’s roaring, black Ford F-150. I open the door and hop in. He starts driving as soon as the door closes. I open the dashboard and grab a band-aid for my knee. I open it and put it on after wiping the blood away with a napkin. We are about to pull out of the parking lot when I realize my seatbelt isn’t on. We pull out of the parking lot and I reach over to grab my seatbelt. All of a sudden I’m thrown forward. Out of the car, through the windshield. I hear someone screaming as my vision fades to black. I think it's me. 

Once Isla left, Brooke turned to me, smiling sadly.
“Babe. If you like her why don’t you date her? I can tell you don’t love me anymore. It won’t hurt my feelings but we can break up if you want.” I do want to break up with her. That’s the problem. But I can’t. I love Isla, I really do. I don’t even know why I started dating Brooke.
“Brooke. I-” I stop mid sentence because I have a bad feeling. I feel like something really bad is going to happen.
“Daniel if you’re going to break up with me, just do it. I can’t stand wondering whether you love me or her more.” I stop and think. Of course I love Isla more. In fact, I never really loved Brooke. I like Bethany, more than I like Brooke. Brooke is despicable.  She is cruel and mean and from what I’ve heard, she beats up this girl at our school all the time. Something clicks in my brain.
“Brooke. I need to ask you something.”
“Um. Okay”
“Did you beat up Isla today in the bathroom?” It’s not the question she’s expecting. Her face is shocked, then goes blank, and cold.
“So what if I did? She deserved it.”
“What did Isla do to deserve a beating?! She is the nicest, kindest, most beautiful girl and wouldn’t hurt an ant. Even on accident!” Brooke looks flustered. Bella is shocked and Bethany doesn’t even know what’s going on.
“Well. She. I. Umm…”
“That’s it. We’re through.”
“Daniel, no! What’s wrong with a little violence here and there -”
“Shut up.”
“I will not shut up Daniel! I-”
“Shh! I have a bad feeling-” All of a sudden, a loud bloodcurdling scream pierces the air. I start running towards the men's bathroom and realize the ladies is closest. I run into the ladies room and come out at the front of the building. I see a huge black Ford F-150  flipping over and think, That’s Isla’s car.

“ISLA!” I scream and run towards the wreck. I could get myself killed, but I don’t care. Isla is all that matters right now. She could be dead. Oh God. Please don’t be dead. I see a body in the middle of the road, not moving, partially stuck under the truck. Oh God. I see Isla’s bright purple bikini. Oh God. I run faster I skid to a stop when I get to the body. I grab her bag to find her phone and thank the Lord it’s not completely broken. I grab it and dial 9-1-1. As soon as they pick up I hear,
“Please state your emergency.”
“My friend. She got in a car crash. Please. Hurry. She could be dying. HURRY!”
“Okay. Please sir. Calm down. Where are you?” I rattle off the pool’s address.
“Okay. Please don’t worry. We’ll be there as soon as we can. That’ll be in about 30 minutes.”
“30 MINUTES?! SHE COULD BE DEAD BY THE TIME YOU GET HERE!” But the lady had hung up. I throw the phone on the ground and look at Isla. Her head was bleeding and her left arm was stuck under the truck. A huge piece of glass was cutting deeper and deeper into her arm. There were tons of cuts both big and small on her body. She was bleeding so much. I started to cry.
“Isla. Please Isla. Don’t die on me. Please don’t die. I’ll do anything. I swear. Just don’t die. Please.” I brushing her hair back with my fingers when I realize I should at least try to move the truck that’s sitting on her arm. I move into place and put my arms underneath the part that is sitting on her arm. 1...2...3...Now! I lift up with all my strength but all I do is get a large cut on my arm from the piece of glass that was cutting into Isla’s arm.
      “Shoot.” It starts to bleed heavily, so I take off my shirt and rip off a strip with my teeth and wrap it around the cut. I move back over to where Isla was laying, knocked out. I start combing my fingers through her hair again. I then realize that her dad is missing. I get up, and look around the car first, then in the car. What I see is horrifying. Her dad's neck is twisted at a horrible angle, and something gray is splattered on the dashboard. I look closer, and immediately regret it. Her father’s head is cracked wide open and bleeding. And that's when I realize what's on the dashboard. I gasp in horror as I realize I'm looking at Isla’s father’s brains. I feel sick, like I'm going to vomit. I step away from the car back towards Isla. I hear a small groaning sound and look at her, my eyes wide. I kneel beside her.
        “Isla. Are you awake?” She doesn't respond. I sigh and do something I've never done before. I pray. I see that I see Isla wearing her cross necklace so I take the charm in my fist and I pray. Dear God, I know I've never prayed before, but if you hear me, please save Isla. Please Lord. I'm begging you. If you do this… I'll start going to church. I swear. Just, please let her survive. Amen. I keep my eyes closed, and my hand around the charm. After 5 minutes, I think, I need to do something. sitting here waiting for the ambulance isn't gonna make anything better. So I get up, and I move towards the truck again. I look inside and I reluctantly reach towards the dashboard. Where Isla’s father's brain is scattered. I open up the compartment and get out the first aid kit. She's so smart, keeping a first aid kit in her car. I take out the antibacterial wipes and the tweezers. I walk back over to Isla and sit down next to her. I take the tweezers and start picking out the small pieces of glass that cut into her. She has one big piece of glass wedged between two of her ribs, near her kidney and I can't get it out. Crap. I leave it there for now and take care of the smaller wounds. I slowly take out the small pieces of glass that are all in her arms, legs, abdomen, and feet. I put band aids in the smaller ones, and wrap gauze around the larger injuries. I sit back and look at my work. She looks a little better, but now it's time to deal with the big piece wedged between her ribs. I go back and grab the first aid kit. I take out the medical gloves, and put them on. I kneel back down beside Isla, and grab the tweezers. I hover the tweezers over the piece of glass wedged between her ribs, then move them and grab it lightly with my hand. I wince. I’m sorry Isla. This is going to hurt.

I begin to pull on the piece of glass, slowly, carefully. When the piece of glass finally begins to remove itself, I hear Isla groan. I stop pulling, and wait a couple minutes. She doesn’t make another noise, so I continue to pull. It won’t move. I look at my wristwatch. I called the ambulance at 5:01, its 5:19. Only 12 more minutes. Wait till the ambulance gets here. My obedient side says. If you wait too long, it could cause serious damage. My practical side argues. What do we do? And there’s my indecisive side. Make a decision idiot. But choose carefully. The wrong choice could kill Isla. Kill. Oh God. I could kill Isla. If I make the wrong decision, I could kill her. It’s 5:22. Just leave it there! Then if the doctors screw up, it’s their fault. Good reputation side. But then you’d always live with the guilt of knowing you could’ve saved her. Self-condemnation. Take it out! Leave it in! She could die. Death. Gone forever. And it’d be all your fault. Your fault… Dead… Forever…
“SHUT UP!” I scream. “Just shut up already! I know the consequences for either decision. Just… SHUT UP!” It’s 5:26. I think over the pros and cons of leaving it, or taking it. You could kill her either way. Leaving it might cause more damage, but taking it out could cause her to bleed freely, and she could die of bloodloss. Which is worse for you? Having her die of bloodloss, even though you tried? Or the guilt that you’ll feel if she dies, and you could’ve saved her. Which one ya gonna pick Danny? I don’t know. Daniel! Danny! I freeze. Is that...Isla? How is this possible? She’s unconscious. Daniel. Choose what you think I would do if the situation was reversed. What would Isla do? I know what she would do. She’s a daredevil, and she can’t stand living with guilt. I know what to do. I lean over her. I wrap my hands with the rest of my shirt, and grip the piece of glass with both hands. 1...2...3. Now. I yank upward as hard as I can.

All I see is black. But I can hear. I hear someone talking. It’s more like screaming though. Or yelling. And I can feel. I can feel a huge, stabbing pain near my left kidney. And I can feel lots of small cuts bleeding everywhere. But I can’t feel my arm. My left arm has gone completely numb. Numb. I think about the word. Numb. N-U-M-B. It’s spelled like nu-mb. With a ‘b’ sound. But it’s pronounced N-U-M, no B. No B. Poor, poor, B. No recognition. I feel bad for- My thoughts are interrupted by an even greater pain in my side. It hurts so much. All I feel. Pain. All I see. Pain. My life is pain. Pain at its rawest. I want to scream. I need to scream. The pain is crazy. I feel nothing else. Just pain. It’s burning. It’s freezing. I want to die. Yes...death is good right now. I scream. The pain is horrible. I want to die. I need to die. I am going to die. I am choosing to die. I will die. My heartbeat slows. I need to die. I’m dying. I’m so happy. I’m finally dying. I’m floating on a cloud of happiness. Death is a welcoming sight. I see clouds. White fluffy clouds. And a castle. A beautiful white castle. With banners. And a marching band… To welcome me? One of the young men there walk up to me. He seems nice. He looks familiar though. Like someone I know. Like...Daniel.
“FIGHT!” he screams at me. “ISLA! YOU NEED TO FIGHT. FIGHT FOR ME! PLEASE!” he’s begging me. I look at his face and he’s crying. I need to make a choice. Stay…Or leave?

I yank upward as hard as I can. And I almost pull the whole piece of glass out from where it’s wedged. But something interrupts my process. It’s Isla. She’s screaming and it’s the kind of scream that makes your blood run cold. I immediately remove my hands, and regret it. She hasn’t stopped screaming. I don’t know what to do. And then it hits me. The glass. It must be stuck again, and moving it made it worse. I kneel by her side again, and rip the piece of glass from between her ribs. She’s still screaming, and it’s deafening. I quickly step back, and look at her. She’s stopped screaming, but something is wrong. I move back to her side. I put two fingers to the pulse in her neck. It’s faint. Too faint. Oh God.
“No. No no no no no. No. Please no. Please. FIGHT! YOU NEED TO FIGHT!” I’m crying now. Tears are streaming down my face. “FIGHT FOR ME!” I choke out. “Please.” I’m begging her. I’m full on sobbing now. She can’t die now. Not after all I’ve done. Not now. She has too much to look forward to. She’s always wanted to be a professional skateboarder. Like for the X-Games. She needs to achieve that. She can’t just die.  I grab what’s left of the gauze and wrap it around her abdomen. Softly, so as not to stir her too much. I look at my watch. It’s 5:30.  I hear the sirens. Thank God they’re here. It took them long enough. 30 minutes can feel like forever. The ambulance pulls up, and the paramedics jump out. They run over to where I am with Isla. I am bombarded with questions.
“How old is she?”
“15.”
“How long has she been in this position?”
“About 40 minutes thanks to your slowness.” They ignore my anger.
“Was anyone in the vehicle with her when it was hit?”
“Her father.”
“Who hit the car?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did the person who hit them get hurt?”
“I don’t know.”
“Was the driver drunk?”
“Her father doesn't drink. I don’t know about the other driver.”
“Are there any serious injuries?”
“The truck has been sitting on her arm for the past 40 minutes. She had a large piece of glass wedged between two of her ribs.”
“Had?”
“I removed it. I thought that she might die if it was stuck there for too long.”
“Where is her father.”
“He’s in the truck. He’s dead. Head cracked open. Brains everywhere.”
They went silent. No more questions were asked. Some of the tougher paramedics went to remove Isla’s father. Mr. Fynn. That’s what he told me to call him. No last names with him though. He wanted to be as casual as possible. He always told me he was rooting for me. For what? I used to think. I think I know now. The truck is lifted for a couple seconds while they move Isla onto a stretcher. They start to roll her towards the ambulance and I freak out. I run up to a paramedic who’s taking notes.
“Excuse me. Miss. I need to go in the ambulance with Isla.”
“Who?”
“Isla. The girl who was under the truck. I have to go with her. Please. I can’t just-”
“Relax… What’s your name?
“Daniel.”
“Relax Daniel.The paramedics are trained. This is their job. But if it makes you feel better, you’d better hurry. They’re loading her into the ambulance now. If they resist, tell them Bailey gave you special permission.”
“Thank you so much Bailey.”
“Oh. I’m not Bailey, but I’m Bailey’s daughter. Everyone fears my mom. She has all rights and permission and such. Better run Daniel. Good luck.”
“Thank you…”
“Marissa.” she gives me a warm smile.
‘Thank you Marissa.”
“Good luck Daniel!” I run off at full speed to the ambulance. I try to hop on, but a paramedic pushes me back.
“Sorry kid. We can’t allow you to be here-”
“Bailey gave me special permission.” The paramedic’s eyes go wide. He nods. “Alright. Go ahead.”
“Thanks.” I jump on board and sit on the vacant metal bench next to Isla’s stretcher. She’s hooked up to so many machines… A paramedic is looking at me strangely. Maybe I’m not supposed to be here. I think. But then I look back at Isla, covered in blood, and know I’m in the right place. A paramedic is currently tending to her left arm where the piece of glass and the truck were pressing. Her arm is completely white from the elbow down and bleeding heavily from the cut. Another paramedic is tending to the cut on her stomach and shaking his head grimly. One paramedic comes over to me, and I see that it’s Marissa.
“Want me to take care of your cut?” It probably should be taken care of. But I can’t feel the pain. Anyways, Isla is what’s important right now.
“No. It’s okay. Just help Isla.”
“I don’t currently have to do anything. Just cause my mom’s boss, doesn’t mean I get special treatment.” She gets up and grabs rubbing alcohol, a band-aid, and gauze. She puts the alcohol on a cotton ball and starts cleaning the wound. It stings, but I only let out one hiss of pain. She puts the band-aid on it and wraps it up with gauze.
“There. Better?” I nod. All of a sudden, the heart moniter makes this beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep noise.

“What’s wrong with her?” I ask. The paramedics are running around frantically. They grab the defibrillator paddles.
“Set them to 150.” They place them on her chest.
“Clear!” Whump. She jolts.
“Set it to 250!
“Clear!” Whump.
“She’s stable!” On of the paramedics call out. I let out a breath, realizing I’d been holding it since her heart stopped. She’s gonna be okay. She’s okay. She’ll be- My thoughts are interrupted by a paramedic saying.
“She has severe kidney damage. She’ll need a replacement. And her arm has to be amputated. From the elbow down she can’t move a muscle. When we get to the hospital, we’ll have to find an acceptable kidney replacement.”
“I’ll do it!” I speak up. “She can have my kidney. I only need one, right?” The ambulance goes silent. No one is speaking. No one even takes a breath. One paramedic sighs.
“Alright son.” he says. “We’ll prepare you for surgery as soon as we get to the hospital. While you’re in surgery, we’ll amputate.” My heart stops. Amputate.
“Amputate? You have to amputate?”
“Yes. She’ll live, but only if we amputate. We’re going to leave it up to you as you’re her only living relative-”
“We’re not related.” I speak up quickly. The paramedic looks at me shocked. I see his nametag says ‘Dr. Anderson.’
“If you’re not related then we’ll have to do a kidney test to see if it’s a match.” Now I stop.
“How long will that take?”
“Only 20 minutes for the test, and two to three hours for the transplant.” We’ve arrived at the hospital. Isla is rushed out on the stretcher, and I’m next. They push me towards the test room. I put on a hospital gown and sit down. They drug me so I don’t feel anything.
I’m fading…
Fading…
Going…
Gone.

When they finished the testing, they tell me that my kidney is compatible with Isla’s. I’m smiling. I'm so happy. I can save Isla. They do the kidney removal surgery on me which doesn't take too long. Then they take my kidney to Isla, waiting in the surgery room. Marissa came and visited me. She told me that Isla was stirring a little while I was in surgery. Mumbling little things. Daddy. Daniel. Mommy. Things like that. They gave knocked her out before the amputation though. They gave her the 24 hour stuff, so they didn't have to worry about her waking up in the middle of surgery, and maybe having a panic attack. Marissa told me they would tell me when she wakes up. I'm excited to see her. But what if she hit her head? What if she doesn’t wake up?  My thoughts are consuming me. Dragging me down...down...down. Deep into a stage of my mind I didn't know existed. The bad side. The negative side. Where bad things happen. And I'm having a panic attack. I can't breath. I hear Marissa calling for a doctor. And next thing I know I'm hooked up to some sort of machine. A machine that helps you breath. Did my heart stop? Was I temporarily dead at some time during the attack? I look at a clock. It's 4:58 am. Marissa is sleeping on a chair next to my bed. I poke her shoulder. She stirs. She opens her sleepy eyes.
“Hey Daniel.” She says sleepily.
“Hi Marissa. Any news on-”
“Isla woke up about an hour ago. They wanted to wake you, but I didn't allow it. You needed rest. Here.” She hands me a glass. “Have some water.” I down the glass in about 3 seconds.
“Can I see her? I need to see her. I have to see Isla.”
“Okay. I'll page her room.” Soon, I'm in a wheelchair rolling to her room. I told them I could walk but, since I just had surgery, they wouldn't let me. I had never used a wheelchair before, but I was kinda getting the hang of it. As long as there wasn’t any big objects in my way, I was pretty good at it. When Marissa stopped at a doorway marked ‘E174, Isla’ my heart started racing. Marissa knocked on the door softly. A young, pretty nurse answered the door.
“She’s resting now, but she’ll wake up soon. The drugs are wearing off, but she’s still recovering from surgery.” I’m looking at her questioningly. She sees my face and says,
“The amputation and kidney transplant. Those were the two surgeries she had to go through yesterday.”
“Yesterday?!” It’s August 23?! How long has she been out? How long is being unconscious considered healthy? Was there any way-”
“Shh! Isla’s waking up. Do you want to see her?” I just gulp and nod. She holds the door open for me, and I roll in in my wheelchair. I roll right up to the bed. She’s mumbling little things. Things that don’t mean much. Meaningless words. Help. Dead. Gone. Fight. Daddy. Bethany. Gemma. Puppy! Brooke. When she says Brooke, she starts to shake. I stand up abruptly, and immediately regret it. There’s a small sharp pain in my abdomen, where my left kidney was. Isla’s still shaking, and it’s scaring me. I move over and touch her shoulder. She screams, and I pull my hand away as fast I can. It kills me to think that Isla even imagines me harming her.
“Try not to touch her when she gets like this. It makes the memories of yesterday more realistic.” She pauses, and looks at strangely.
“Was Isla…assaulted at all yesterday.” I hesitate before answering,
“Yes.” The nurse nods her head.
“I assumed as much. She was mumbling things like ‘Stop. Brooke. Please.’ and such.” I’m astonished. What could Brooke have done to her that would make her say things like that? I think. Isla stirs. She groans. Her eyes are slowly opening. One eye at a time. Her right eye is still bruised from when Brooke punched her.
“Hey Isla.” I say softly. “How you doing?”
“I’m...fine.” She says. She sounds hesitant though.
“You sure?”
“Yes. I’m fine.” I look at her closely. She has a large bandage wrapped around her waist, and a big lump of gauze around this stubby thing where her left arm should be.
“Could I have some water?” She asks.
“Of course.” I respond. I move the wheelchair back so I can get her a glass when she says,
“Not...you. I meant the nurse. I don’t really want a stranger getting me water. Why are you here anyways?” I freeze, and look at her slowly.
“Isla… Do you know who I am?”
“Of course not. Should I?” She doesn't know who I am. She doesn’t know who I am.
“Isla. It’s me Daniel.”
“Daniel who?” I’m lightheaded. The room is spinning. She doesn’t know who I am.