“Mills.”
And can you tell me where you live?”
“C of I.”
“Ok. Can you tell me what happened?”
My mind let the memory surface. I was walking toward the house; I remembered my temperature getting colder. The little voice in my head tried to tell me it was a bad idea, but I just had to keep going. I needed to talk to the girl. The ghost girl. “No.”
“Can you remember what you were doing today?”
Today, that seemed so long ago. “Studying.”
“Ok and what were you doing after studying?”
“Heading to get food.” My stomach lurched at the thought. Nope, not hungry anymore.
“And then what happened.”
I saw a ghost girl, who I have seen several times before, but had been avoiding at all costs, only this time I decided to go see if she wanted to visit.
“Not really sure.” My mind was starting to clear. It still pounded relentlessly, but at least ideas were bobbing up to the surface.
“That’s ok, we’ll get you all fixed up.”
The doctor left the room, and I closed my eyes again, just wanting to rest.
Voices broke through my mind. Was that Camryn?
“Yes, I will make sure she isn’t alone. It’s not a problem.” Another voice muttered something I couldn’t make out, and Cam answered, “Yep, I understand. I won’t let her use it.”
More muttering. Geeze, couldn’t they speak up a bit, if not take it to another room so I can just go back to sleep.
“Thank you, doctor.” Camryn sounded so responsible. Another woman’s voice was in the background. It sounded familiar, but I gave up. And tried to tune it all out.
“Hey there Han. How’s it going?” Camryn squeezed my hand.
I smiled but kept my eyes closed. “I’m tired.”
“Ok, go ahead and rest.” Camryn kept ahold of my hand. I drifted, ignoring the beeps and sounds from outside the room. My eyes felt so heavy. Memories of the girl taking one step towards me. The overwhelming blackness.
I knew better. I should have never gone without preparing. My mind pounded as proof for my poor choice.
“You ready to get out of here?” Camryn had dropped my hand at some point. Her words came from the other side of the bed.
“Yeah, but I’m still tired.”
Camryn laughed. “We will let you rest more when we get you home.”
We? My brain tried to remember if I was supposed to know who ‘we’ referred to. It was too foggy. Dang it, why couldn’t I think straight?
Camryn’s arm came around my back. “Ok, here we go.” Another arm wrapped around my waist.
“Got her?” I was lowered into a wheelchair. “Thank you, we will keep an eye on her.”
We wheeled down the bright hallway. My head pounded and I squeezed my eyes tight to try to block out the light.
We were outside, and I felt the change in the air, felt nature around me.
“Hey, let me help you.”
Oh shit, I knew that voice.
“Here ya go.” He leaned in, buckling me into the back seat.
Damn it. I was a hot mess, and the last thing I wanted is for Tyler to see me. The door slammed and the sound amplified. I scrunched my face tightly trying make the echo in my brain stop.
“Thanks for being here Ty, I know she appreciates it.” Camryn’s voice spoke softly in the front seat.
“Of course. Do they know what happened?”
“Not really. She said she doesn’t remember.”
“Hmm.” He added, “She was outside of Blachley?”
“That’s where campus safety said they found her.”
“Why was she there?” Tyler pressed. “I thought she didn’t like that building.”
Camryn remained quiet for a minute. “You know it’s probably easier if you just drop us off at the basketball court. I’ll get her upstairs.”
The click of the blinker pounded away. Camryn was unbuckling me this time. I stood on my own, although it was shaky.
“Thanks guys.” I whispered leaning on Camryn’s shoulder.
“Yeah, thanks Tyler. I really appreciate it. I’ll let you know how she’s doing later.” She scanned her ID at the door, and we were inside climbing the echoing steps. Each footfall resonated through my skull. Today I was never more thankful to only be on the second floor.
We stepped into the hall and before I knew it, I was laying on my soft bed. I pulled the pillow over my head tightly. “Thanks Cam.” I said not far above a whisper, hoping she heard it. My brain needed rest, and I couldn’t fall asleep fast enough.
The next morning, I woke to Camryn right above my head. “Hey, how are you feeling?”
Honestly, I felt drugged. It seemed like my brain was scrambled a bit, and I still really hated whoever invented florescent lights. What was so wrong with candles anyway? “I think I’m better.” I tried to move a little, and honestly my brain slapped a sharp pain that radiated through my whole skull. “Umm, maybe not that better.” I tightened my eyes again. “Yeah, I don’t think I am going anywhere today.”
Camryn chuckled, “No you are definitely not. Look, Campus Safety has the accident report. I’m going to drop your papers from the ER off to Campus Disabilities and Learning Department. I am sure she is going to need stuff from you, but for now-just rest. They can chill.” She patted my leg.
“You are seriously the best, Cam.” I flopped back down on the bed and pulled the pillow back over my face. Sleep seemed ridiculous when I’d been sleeping for so long, but honestly, it overtook my conscious mind quickly.
I woke up seriously needing to use the bathroom. It was dark and the whole room was empty. I had slept the entire day away.
When I got back to the room, I grabbed some crackers, feeling like food may be important.
