Page 6 of Wild Life

The car swung again, but this time, it was faster, like that ride with the teacups at Disneyland, except this wasn’t fun. My tummy dropped, and I squeezed the sides of my seat. Something wet and warm spread under me, a puddle of liquid soaking into my seat.

“Uh-oh! I had an accident,” I cried out.

“Damn it!” Mom shouted. “Frank!”

“Shit!” Dad spun the steering wheel, but we rolled in the opposite direction.

Lights whirled around me, my head spinning like the car. My screams mixed with Mom’s, sounding so far away from my ears, like from another planet. My body slammed forward, and Bit flew off my lap. Cold air pricked my skin. Glass met Bit, raining onto him like the water outside of the car. It was the last thing I saw before my head hit the back of my seat.

***

Cold and wet.That was how my body had felt as everything had turned black.

Now, it was the opposite. I was warm and dry.Too warm. Too dry.

I lay in a bed with rough sheets tucked under my chin. I should have pushed them away, but I stayed still because I was too scared to move.

Everything was wrong.

The cloth wrapped around my head was tight, scratching the tops of my ears. The beeps from the machines were loud. The TV on the wall was showing the news instead of cartoons.

And suddenly, I really wanted Mom and Dad.

Where are they? They have to be okay. I need them to be okay.

Where is Bit? I need to hug him. To talk to him.

I heard voices outside the door.

“She was very lucky her bladder wasn’t punctured. The paramedics said they smelled urine when they found her. We suspect she emptied her bladder sometime before impact.”

I didn’t know who the man was. His voice reminded me of the way Dad spoke when he was on the phone with work.

Another voice. “What about her head?” It was serious and belonged to my Aunt Sherri.Why is she here? Why am I in a hospital?

“She suffered a mild concussion, so we recommend keeping her here for observation.”

“When will she be able to go home?” Aunt Sherri asked.

“If her vitals check out and nothing new arises, I anticipate her to be discharged tomorrow. Will she be staying with you?”

“Yes.”

Why am I going home with Aunt Sherri?

I didn’t know how far from Nana and Pop-Pop’s we were, but it couldn’t have been too far for my parents to drive.

I watched the TV. A small boat flashed, then I saw helicopters flying in the air over the ocean, the words “Search Continues” at the bottom of the screen.

“She’s been asleep, so she doesn’t know about her parents yet,” the man outside the door said.Know what?

“I’ll take care of it,” Aunt Sherri replied.

My head hurt trying to figure out what they were talking about, and the weird tube in my arm wouldn’t let me leave the bed to go and ask them all my questions. My stomach hurt, and not from the accident. It hurt like when you knew something bad was about to happen…something you couldn’t change.

Why won’t they come in and tell me whatever it is?

The man spoke again. “Please make arrangements with your funeral home of choice to transport the bodies. Again, I’m sorry for your loss.”

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