Takes a Quick Turn On Me

Claire's POV 

I walked around the dark room for hours and shouted for help. My voice echoed around the room and the sound kept bouncing back to me. No one answered. No footsteps came closer. Nothing changed except the ache in my throat from screaming.

I gave up and sat on the floor. The cold surface pressed against my legs and I pulled my knees to my chest. My eyes felt heavy so I let them close.

Light flooded my vision. Bright and harsh. I forced my eyes open and white ceiling tiles came into focus above me. Beeping sounds filled my ears. The smell of disinfectant burned my nose.

I was lying down. The mattress under me felt stiff and unfamiliar. I turned my head and saw metal rails on both sides of the bed. Medical equipment surrounded me with wires and tubes everywhere.

"How did I get here?" I tried to sit up but my body would not cooperate. "What am I doing here?"

"Calm down Claire! You've been in a coma for almost a week now!"

A week. The word hit me like cold water. I had been in that dark room for what felt like hours and now someone was telling me a whole week had passed. My heart started racing and the beeping sound next to me got faster.

"What do you mean by that?" My voice came out louder than I intended. "How is that possible? I just had an accident yesterday! This isn't possible at all!"

I kept yelling and my voice carried out into the hallway. Footsteps rushed toward my room. Multiple voices spoke at once outside the door.

The person standing next to my bed moved and I blinked hard trying to see them clearly. Everything looked blurry like I was looking through foggy glass. I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them again. A man in a white coat stood there holding a clipboard.

"Calm down please! Only her family will be allowed into the ward!"

"I'm her dad, please let me in!" My father's voice cut through all the other noise. "Is she ok? I heard she's in a coma. Is she going to be fine?"

"Please tell me my daughter is fine!" My mother's voice joined in. "Say something doctor! Is she alright?"

"She's fine now! She just recovered from a coma!" The doctor moved toward the door. "Wait, are you Mr and Mrs Smith?"

"Yes I'm Edmund Smith and this is my wife Felicia Smith and these are our daughters!"

"Wow! Well I am Doctor Rogers and I am so honored to meet one of the most popular families today. Although it's an unfortunate event that brought us together."

The door opened and my parents rushed in. My two sisters followed behind them. I could barely make out their faces but I knew their voices. I knew the way my mother's heels clicked on the floor and how my father cleared his throat when he was worried.

Doctor Rogers leaned closer to me and lowered his voice.

"Ok what about the rest? I still see three people outside. Should I let them all in?"

"Yes please."

My friends walked in. Ciara came first then Matilda and Eliana followed. They stopped at the foot of my bed and looked at me. Even with my blurry vision I could see them exchanging glances with each other.

"What happened Claire? How did this happen?" My father stood next to the bed and gripped the rail. "We've been worried sick for a week now and we already declared you missing!"

"Yes Claire when we came back home you were not there!" My mother touched my hand. "We patiently waited thinking and hoping you'd return but you didn't return! We declared you missing after two days! The police searched for days with no sign of you till we heard about the accident. Someone directed us to this hospital. He said this is where they took the two patients to! Who is the other patient?"

"Talk to us big sister!" Violette moved closer and her voice shook.

"Please don't pressure her! She just recovered from a coma an hour ago. A little pressure will affect her nervous system."

I looked past my parents to where my three friends stood. They had their heads down and their hands clasped in front of them. Anger rose in my chest and pushed away the confusion and fear.

"I'm not saying anything because I don't have anything to say to you! Three of you stabbed me in the back! I called you my friends. I didn't know you were my enemies in disguise!"

They lifted their heads and stared at me. Tears ran down their faces and dripped off their chins. Ciara wiped at her eyes. Matilda's shoulders shook. Eliana covered her mouth with her hand.

I did not care about their tears. Before the accident I had seen something that changed everything. That dark room had given me time to think and remember and now I knew better than to trust anyone.

"What are you talking about Claire?" Matilda took a step forward. "Whatever we did we did it to make you happy. We didn't plan for any of this to happen."

"Yes Claire! We've been friends since we were in middle school! We wouldn't do anything to harm you!" Ciara wiped more tears from her face.

"They're right! So please forgive us." Eliana's voice barely made it across the room.

"Shut up all of you!" My father turned away from me and pointed at them. "I know you fake three musketeers! Just pray nothing happens to my daughter! I've warned her severally to stay away from company like this but she wouldn't listen. Now look where it landed her!"

"Calm down sweetheart, remember what the doctor said." My mother put her hand on my father's arm. "We need to take it easy with our daughter! She just got out of a coma and she needs rest!" She turned back to me and her expression changed. "Claire sweetheart who is the other patient? I just remembered a handsome guy was the one who told us about the accident and the hospital you were rushed to! He's too sweet, do you know him?"

My chest tightened. Only one person came to mind but I pushed the thought away. It could not be him. It had to be someone else.

"Mom, I don't know him!"

My mother smiled and leaned in closer. Her perfume filled my nose.

"You don't have to be shy! If you know him, tell us. We won't bite! He's very handsome. He said his name was Dave Don Carlos."

The name hit me like a physical blow. My whole body jerked. My muscles started contracting on their own and I could not make them stop. My head turned from side to side without my permission. The room spun and the lights above me blurred into streaks.

"Look what you've caused! I told you not to speak about that Devil's spawn of a guy! I don't like him at all! There's something strange about him. I can't place my hands on it!" My father's voice sounded far away. "What's wrong with her doctor?"

"You all must have said something to trigger this! What could that be?" Doctor Rogers pushed past everyone and grabbed my shoulders. "If you all want her to get better, treat her like an egg! Whatever issues you have should wait till she fully recovers! She's in a convulsive state right now! Let's pray she recovers!"

His hands pressed down on me but my body kept shaking. I tried to speak but my jaw locked. The beeping sound next to me got faster and louder. Footsteps ran into the room. More hands touched me. Voices overlapped and I could not tell who was speaking anymore.

The light above me got brighter and brighter until everything turned white.