CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
"And then we'll carry out an assessment using the GCS like my colleague explained to you ma'am but you should note that over 90% of patients with head injuries are perfectly fine within 48 hours andâ,"
Alex wasn't paying attention to the doctor droning on, in fact he wasn't paying attention to anything around him other than Kalila lying on the bed in front of him; her face pale, eyes closed and a bandage around the back of her head. It was almost evening and she still hadn't woken.
He had been in his English class when Melissa had burst through the door, her eyes wide in fear and her hands red causing everyone to look up from the test they were doing. "Alex!" She panted, having run from the other side of the school. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to, I â it was an accident I swear! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" she rambled, guilt evident on her face.
Realizing it was blood that was streaked on her hands, he had yelped and jumped up. "What happened?!"
Her face had paled even more and when she'd muttered Kalila's name, he felt his heart sink as he ran out of the door to find her. She was being carried out in an ambulance and all he could feel was the twist of his gut in fear but he managed to control himself enough to force a paramedic to let him go with her. 'She'll be okay, she'll be okay,' he had chanted to himself the entire journey.
He'd almost thrown up from the sheer panic of being in a hospital again but had managed to hold it together somehow. The last time he'd been in one, it was as a patient after the car accident and the memories wouldn't stop swirling in his mind.
"My sister," I managed to croak out when I gained consciousness and realized where I was from the white ceiling. "Where's my sister?"
The nurse winced a little as she cleaned all the cuts on my side made by the shattered windshield but stayed silent. She didn't need to say anything though, the answer was in her the way she kept her eyes of my face.
"The doctor will come to see you soon," she said as she stood up and picked up the blood pressure kit and walked away. Before she left, she turned around and looked me straight at me. Her eyes were a green-grey colour, light and full of empathy. "I'm sorry," she whispered as she left me all alone.
Alone.
Alex was thinking back to the day he woke to find his sister was dead and hadn't really been listening properly to the doctor talking to Kalila's mum. He did however, manage to catch some of what she was saying. "What's the GCS?" he asked, his eyes not once leaving his girlfriend.
The doctor â a frazzled looking Indian woman â pursed her mouth at being cut off but explained. "The Glasgow Coma Scale is a scale from 3 to 15 that the NHS uses to identify any brain injuries, with 3 being the most severe and 15 the least. Once Kalila here wakes up, we'll check her verbal responses, physical reflexes and how difficult it is for her to open her eyes and thenâ,"
Alex couldn't help tuning out. It was rather warm in the ward, a nice change from the usual harsh winter weather, and his body felt tense. He tugged on his shirt sticking to his body and kicked his school bag under the chair he was seated on. He had shoved everything in his bag as he was running out of his lesson and hadn't thought about it since then. It had been about eight hours and he was exhausted so he closed his eyes for a minute.
The doctor was interrupted again but this time from a small sigh as Alex curled up on the chair and fell asleep.
---
Everything was dark.
There weren't even any shadows or a hint of light; only pure blankness and a throbbing. She tried to call out and run but found she couldn't move anything. Kalila tried to remember what had happened but her mind was a fog, she felt as though she was spinning in circles and couldn't bear the fact that she couldn't see.
She forced all her energy to her eyelids; concentrating so hard she could almost feel the pulse of blood rushing through the capillaries in them. Slowly, and with excruciating pain, she managed to open her eyes just a crack. Her entire body winced, she felt as though she was being blinded.
"The lights! Lower the lights!" she managed to make out a voice. It seemed distant but was somewhat recognizable.
"Mum?" she croaked.
The blinding light had dimmed and she was able to make out the face of her mother, kissing her all over her face and praising every God she could think of.
"Give her some space Mrs Woods," an unfamiliar voice said, "She's likely to be very confused about what happened."
Kalila blinked. It was clear she was in hospital, the horrible smell of disinfectant and white walls were enough to tell her that, but she had no idea why. She remembered being in school, talking to her friends and Alex but not much after that.
Alex.
Although her vision was a little blurry, she could see him lying awkwardly on a chair behind her mum. Although his eyes were squeezed shut in sleep, he was chewing his lip anxiously; something she knew he only did when he was worried.
"Whatâ what happened?" she asked, trying not to wince from the pain in her head when she spoke.
"You had a nasty fall in school, darling," her mum answered, fussing over her and trying to fluff the pillows.
She roll her eyes at her mums mollycoddling and answered all the questions the doctor was asking her to assess her injuries. Although she couldn't remember how she fell, she could remember the rest of the day which was a good sign.
Her mum noticed the way she was watching Alex and smiled. "He hasn't moved since you've been here, I've never seen a boy more in love!" Janet exclaimed to her daughter, laughing when she blushed. "I'll just wake him."
Noting that the sky outside was dark, Kalila protested but her mum wouldn't hear of it, mumbling how he'd want to be woken. And she was correct, Alex rubbed his eyes sleepily but jumped up once he realized Kalila was awake. "Hey you." He whispered, squeezing her hand.
She was about to complain that she wasn't broken and for him to kiss her but the doctor cleared her throat. "Okay well everything seems fine although I'd recommend you stay overnight so we can monitor you, your head did bleed quite a lot."
She nodded absentmindedly until she remembered what day it was and shook her head violently. "No! No way, our art presentation is due tomorrow and everyone will be there and Mr Jamison said thatâ," she tried to say but the pain got too much and she closed her eyes tightly, trying not to let any tears out. "Ow," she finished pathetically, her voice trailing off.
Alex shuffled a little closer and sat down on the edge of her bed, ignoring the red and white sign on the wall that clearly said it wasn't allowed. "It's not like you'd be bunking school for the sake of it! We'll get a letter from the hospital so you don't get in trouble and don't worry about the presentation. I'll do it. It's not like Central Saint Martins are gonna reject your application just 'cause you're not there, they'd be stupid to once they've seen how incredible your painting is," he reassured her, his heart rate returning to normal once it was obvious she was okay.
Kalila's mum watched in affection as they interacted, not missing the way her daughters' eyes shone in happiness. Like any protective parent she had been wary at first, not wanting her daughter to experience the heartbreak that almost inevitably comes with relationships. But now she could see that Alex was good for her, they fit together perfectly. Giving them a chance to talk alone, she kissed Kalila's head and left them to go to the hospital café, promising to bring back some chocolate.
"I â I was so scared," Alex confessed, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "The last time I was in hospital was when Alice.,."
Kalila squeezed his hand in comfort as his voice trailed off, his eyes becoming cloudy as he was lost in his thoughts. He didn't know what he would have done if he had lost someone else he loved, it would have been too much. 'Love?' he thought with a surprise as he assessed his thoughts. It was such a foreign concept to him but somehow in that moment he knew it was true. He loved Kalila Woods and had no idea how that had happened.
"I'm okay though," she said with a slight smile, making him stop the internal debate inside his head and concentrate on her again.
Alex laughed in relief. "Thank God or else I'd be wringing Melissa's neck by now!"
Kalila tilted her head to the side in confusion. She had known there was more to the story than her just falling like her mum had said but just couldn't remember what had happened. Alex noted her confusion and explained the situation, his fists clenched in anger. Kalila was surprised and admittedly a little pissed off but it was okay, it hadn't been intentional. A push was just a push, she wouldn't have fallen if the floor wasn't wet and she definitely wouldn't have been knocked out if it wasn't for the sink. It wasn't really Mel's fault.
Alex shook his head in amazement at the size of his girlfriend's heart. She was genuinely so kind, something quite rare to find.
'There really isn't anything about her that isn't perfect,' he thought with a smile.
A/N: this was kinda crap as it was a filler chapter â sorry! - but I need your advice on something. At the time of starting this story, I couldn't think of a title and just wrote anything but tbh I don't like it. It sounds a little... idk, childish compared to what it's about. Also, my title is usually a negative point when people critique this. So, I decided to ask my readers (cuz you're awesome!) what they think. Please leave a comment below saying if you think I should change the title of Suicide, Skittles and Skates or not. The only other title I can think of is 'iterum' which is an old fashioned word for a second chance. What do you think? I'm also open to suggestions if you have any ideas of what to call it! Thank you! :3 xx