Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Denial

Beep. Beep.

"No, no, no, my baby," a woman shrieked. 

"Miss Everett, we are very sorry," a man said, "We did our best during the operation but her landing was the worst one possible. Her legs took the whole impact."

The woman sobbed harder. 

"Is it- is it irreparable?" A girl's voice quivered. 

Silence. Where was I? I couldn't see a thing. 

The man's tone was hesitant, "There's very little chance that she'll come out with both legs healed. I really don't want to give you both false hope. We'll have a better idea once she's awake and in bed for a few weeks." 

I was slowly starting to recognise the voices but felt so, so heavy. My head was pounding and my eyelids weighed tons. Beep. Beep. 

"Honestly, it's a miracle she even came out alive so don't cry ma'am," he continued. 

"Doctor, when will she wake up?" Mom. That was mom's voice. I wanted to call out to her but I didn't know how to.

"She's under heavy medication, it's not anytime soon." 

I was being pulled back into the dark and fell back unconscious again.  

I didn't exactly know when I awoke mentally again but it was probably long after since I couldn't hear anything anymore except for the Beep. Images came back to me in flashes and I finally remembered what had happened. The jump, the best and the worst moment of my life all in a few seconds, the parachute, the pain. I survived.

I had no idea whether I should be happy or anxious and how my body had taken it but something told me that I couldn't have gotten out of this experience scratchless. Fear and anxiety seized me as I thought of the worst possible outcomes. I knew that my legs had hit the ground first. What would I do if I couldn't move again? 

A lump formed in my throat and I couldn't breathe again. You survived, that's the most important, I told myself obstinately. How would I live on without moving? I mentally shook away all the negative thoughts and focused on getting out of this pitch-black place.

Beep. What was that sound? I focused on the sound then on all my senses. Beep. Beep. The sound sped up along with my concentration. 

"Hope?" A deep male voice echoed but it wasn't familiar. Who was that? 

"Ma'am! Wake up," The voice said again. 

"What?" Mom's voice sounded all groggy. Mom! I concentrated hard on all my senses, following the increasingly noisy sounds. Everything was getting loud and I could feel my body again. My heavy eyelids parted and closed, the light was blinding. 

"Hope! My baby, I'm right here!" Mom exclaimed and I felt her clutch my hands. I opened my eyes, trying to adjust to the bright lights and focusing on the blurry shapes. Mom, I smiled weakly. I could finally see her and Tina clearly.

"Hope," Tina was crying hard and suddenly we were all crying tears of joy. 

I was alive and I felt so happy about it. 

"Thank god," mom smiled and kissed my forehead tenderly. I grasped Tina's hand tightly, she had heavy eye bags and disheveled hair. It looked like neither of them had slept for days and it was probably all because of me. 

"I'm-" my voice croaked so horribly I winced. An unfamiliar hand reached out of nowhere, lifted my head and tipped some cold, fresh water down my throat. Blinking, I stared at this person whom I couldn't seem to recognize while gulping. He filled the cup twice and I drank the whole thing again. 

"Thanks," I finally mumbled, my throat feeling so much better. Water is life. 

"Who?" I whispered, still staring at the man. Mom glanced down and Tina said, "Hope, this is Dylan." I blinked once, twice, then it clicked. Hazel eyes, light hair, this was Aiden's older brother but why was he here?

"We will explain everything once you feel better, sweetie," Mom gave me a strained smile, "Most importantly, are you feeling alright?" 

That was when I really came to my senses. I arched my neck slightly and the sight of myself made me go weak. Both legs were in some kind of white cylinder cast from my upper thigh to my feet and I couldn't feel even one toe. My stomach was bandaged tightly and I struggled to breathe. 

"Is it fractured?" I whispered, tears welling up. 

Tina and mom exchanged knowing looks, "Yes, but we don't know to what extent. Your coach said that your parachute opened at the last second.."

I nodded, "It did." I didn't think it would ever open, I had already given up. What if it had never opened? I squeezed my eyes tightly at the thought that I could have died.

"Will I...be able to walk?"

Nobody answered. Nobody could answer at that moment, only time would tell. 

I really felt like I had actually lost my legs forever. 

Turning my head to the side, I spotted Dylan staring at me intensely on the couch. I was still confused as to why he was even here in the first place. 

"Did Aiden land safely?" I asked, fear gripping my heart. The boy was only 16 and the winds had been pretty strong that day. I could still remember his screams of terror when I went spiraling to the ground. 

"He did," he answered and the serious look he gave me was even weirder, "And it's all because of you, thank you. Thank you so much, Hope." His voice was filled with passion, eyes blazing. 

I frowned, feeling all groggy, "What?" 

"He told me that you exchanged parachutes on the plane. If it hadn't been for you, my little brother would be dead by now." 

It all came back to me. We had, in fact, switched bags in the plane and Aiden, being inexperienced, could have died in the fall with his original bag. Mom was going all teary-eyed again looking back and forth at our exchange. 

"It's not his fault, I was the one who suggested switching bags. It's nobody's fault," I whispered. I would have never wanted a small boy - or anyone - to lose their life in front of me. 

He shook his head, "It's my fault. I gave the bag to Aiden before leaving and I never checked it."

"I checked it on the plane, the parachute did seem weird in the bag but I still jumped. It's my mistake," I weakly protested, nobody could've seen it coming anyways. 

"No, it's my mistake so I'm taking responsibility," he stood up, ran a hand through his hair and shot me a determined look, 

"I'm taking care of you."