Twenty-seven

My eyelids flutter open to white ceiling and dim lights. I squint at the bulb while patting the soft surface I am sprawled on. This is not my office. Everything comes rushing back, images spill over me. El. Our argument. The blackout. My gaze returns to the ceiling, the walls become familiar. I am in my room. 

Where are my girls? 

An acute pain slices through my skull when I attempt to get out of the bed, I relax on the headboard till it subsides. A frown takes over my lips when I glance at my outfit, I am still in my work clothes. The door pushes open, Sophia walks in with another lady I instantly recognise as the second family doctor. Doctor Joy. I throw a leg over the bed, pushing myself until I am slouched over the edge. The house is too quiet, the girls should be here, chewing my ears off with questions. Every nerve in my body screams for me to check on them but my limbs have turned to jelly, walking will be hell. I haven’t felt this weak in years.