Page 94 of Muse (Fighting Fate)

I struggled, disorientated, suddenly frightened of being trapped in the darkness, but then I heard my mom’s voice and the relief I felt was almost overwhelming.

The first thing I noticed was the brightness. The instant I opened my eyes a crack, I had to close them again. The next was a dull ache through the top of my head. I groaned.

“Mia?”

Mom. Oh, thank god. I opened my eyes again, but it still hurt so I kept them closed. “Too bright,” I tried to say, but my voice only came out like a gravelly rasp. Shit, my throat hurt.

“Hang on, just let me get the lights…”

I heard Mom moving around the room, then I saw the lights go dark on the other side of my lids. Carefully, I opened my eyes and blinked.

“Is that better?” Mom asked.

I turned my head so I could see her. She looked tired. She had dark circles under her eyes and her brow was wrinkled with worry. Panic washed over me. What was wrong? Why was she so obviously distressed?

A persistent beeping noise caught my attention. It was getting faster and faster.

“Are you okay, baby? How are you feeling?”

What? How as I feeling? I didn’t understand. What was going on? Looking around the room, I suddenly became aware of my surroundings and the beeping grew faster again. Was this a hospital room?

I looked down at myself and saw tubes attached to my arms. My gaze shot up to Mom’s, alarmed. “What happened?”

Before she could answer, the door swung open and a nurse swept into the room. She smiled when she saw me. “It’s good to see you awake, Miss Campbell.”

Awake? What did she mean?

The door opened again and I saw a doctor walk in. “Miss Campbell.” He grabbed a chart from the end of the bed and plucked a pen from his coat pocket. “How are you feeling?”

“My throat hurts.”

He smiled warmly. “Yes. I’m sorry about that. You’ve had a tube down your throat, so that’s expected I’m afraid.”

A tube? What? I was beginning to get a little frightened. What the hell happened to me?

He must’ve seen the panic on my face because his expression turned slightly more serious. “Mia, my name’s Dr. Sanders. Do you remember what happened to you? Why you’re here?”

I shook my head, tears pricking my eyes.

That warm smile touched his lips again, easing my worry a little. “It’s okay. That’s quite normal. It’s just your brain’s way of protecting you. It’ll come back when you’re ready. All you need to know for now is that you fell and hit your head. You got quite a nasty cut on your forehead-” He reached out and touched my forehead with his fingers to show me where. “But you’re all patched up now and well on your way to recovery.”

I fell? When? How? Where? It felt weird not to know these things.

“Let’s check you over and see how everything’s going,” Dr. Sanders said cheerily, pulling out his stethoscope.

I nodded, too confused to answer properly.

He spent the next few minutes looking me over and jotting things down on the chart. When he was done, he smiled again, seeming happy with what he’d found.

“Mrs. Campbell, may I have a word with you outside?”

I threw Mom a sharp look, wondering why he wanted to speak to her without me hearing, but she just gave me a comforting smile and followed the doctor out the door.

She returned a few minutes later, a slightly drawn look to her face. It worried me. What was wrong? I waited for the nurse to leave, then I pounced. “How did I fall?”

“Just a little accident at school sweetheart. Don’t worry about it. Dr. Sanders said it’ll all come back to you when you’re ready.”

Stuff that. I wanted to know now. I didn’t see how it would hurt to tell me. “Well, I’m ready now, and I want to know.”

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