Chapter 21
The door opened and in walked the doctor. He smiled. “Ah,” he said, “You are up and out of bed. That is a good sign.” The doctor walked into the room and stopped when Josh and my mum could see him. He looked at my charts and sighed. “Well,” he said, glancing up at me with a smile. “You are allowed home in a few hours. All your tests that I did today have all come back clear. I will need to monitor the headaches that you have had. We will make an appointment in about three weeks to make sure everything is okay.” He smiled. “All you need to do is rest for a few days and you should be fine,” he said. I stared at him as the doctor looked at my mum. “I need you to fill out the discharge forms and Leah can shower here before she leaves,” he said, glancing at me. I gave him a small smile. “I will see you at your appointment,” he said, turning away and walking out of the room. My mum stood up and smiled. “I will fill out the forms,” she said. “You can have a shower and Josh can get you something better to eat, say a burger.” The thought of a burger made my mouth water. I gave her a nod. Josh smiled. I watched as Josh moved. “A cheeseburger?” he asked me. I nodded. Josh walked out of the room and left me with mum. I looked at her as her eyes stayed on me. “I brought you some stuff for a shower and some clothes,” she said. “I bet you want to get out of that gown.” I like that idea. My mum moved and grabbed a bag, that I didn’t notice was by the side of the bed. She gave me the bag and walked over to another door. She opened it and looked at me. “The shower is in there,” she said. “I will be outside if you need me. I will get the forms ready and signed, then we can leave.” I didn’t say anything as she headed to the other door and walked out. I looked toward the door to the shower. I was about to move when a nurse came in and smiled. It was the same one who moved me into the chair. “You are having a shower,” she said. I nodded. “Let me help you and get the shower on for you,” she said. What a nice woman! I watched as she went into the bathroom and pottered around. I heard the water start to run. The nurse came back in and walked over to me. “I will take the bag and help you to the bathroom,” she said. She grabbed the bag from me and placed her hand out for me to take. She helped me up and helped me into the bathroom. I leaned on the sink, and she placed went into my bag and got out everything I needed for the shower, placing them on the little shelf provided. “I know you will be fine on your own,” she said stepping back and looking at me. “Use the handrail for support, and I will wait outside. Just call if you need me to come in to help.” I smiled as I held onto the sink. The nurse smiled and headed back through the door, closing it behind her. I stared at the door but turned to look at myself in the mirror. Oh God! I looked like I had been dragged through a hedge backward. My hair was everywhere and looked like a grease pan. I wouldn’t like to know what I smelt like as it was good to me, so God knows what I smelt like to people who have come in to see me. I looked around and took off the gown. I felt sick, just looking at my body. I did a lot of sports and exercise, but being stuck in bed hasn’t helped me. My body felt achy. I needed to start running or something. Maybe when I’m feeling up to it. I turned around and walked into the shower, holding onto the handrail for support. I stood underneath and let the water cascade over me. It felt so good. I stood like that for ages but grabbed the shampoo and started to wash my hair. Once the shampoo was in, I quickly washed everywhere and then rinsed everything off. After a while, I held onto the handrail and walked out. I didn’t know how to knock the shower off and walked out, only for me to slip on some water and land on my ass. I landed with a thud. “Fuck,” I grumbled. Seconds later I heard my name being called. “Leah, are you okay?” the nurse called out. “What was that sound?” I stared at the door and sighed. “I slipped,” I grunted. The door opened and the nurse walked in. “Oh my heavens,” she said, coming into the bathroom. She helped me up. I grabbed hold of the sink for support as she cleaned up whatever was on the floor. “Did you hurt yourself?” she asked, handing me a towel. I placed the towel over my front half. “No,” I lied. Only my pride and ass took the hit. The nurse stared at me but didn’t say anything. “I will help you get ready,” she said, but I shook my head. “You don’t have to.” The nurse smiled. “It’s okay,” she said. “I don’t mind. I have seen it all and to be fair with everything going on with your mum, I thought it might be best.” I stared at her. Nope, my mum isn’t helping me. “Thanks,” I mumbled. The nurse grabbed the towel as I watched her in the towel. I felt humiliated that someone had to help me, but the nurse dried me off slowly. When she patted my ass, I couldn’t help but notice her eyes widen slightly. She never said anything. Well, there was a bruise there. After she got me dried, she helped me into my clothes. I brushed my hair quickly, leaving it dry naturally. I was dressed and ready to leave the bathroom. The nurse opened the door and I walked out with the nurse behind me. As I got into the room, Josh and mum were there smiling. “Ready?” mum asked. I nodded. I thanked the nurse for everything and followed Josh out of the room. Mum was beside me, but she held my arm, and only stood close. We walked through the corridor. I couldn’t believe how quiet it was for a hospital. There was no one around, only silence. We headed through and outside, where there was a car. Josh went down the steps and opened the back door. I slid in, and he closed the door. I looked up at the hospital and realized that the building was roughly the same as the other one opposite but with more windows. I looked over to the other one and noticed there were lights on in most, but there was one window that had someone in it—a woman. I stared at her. She wasn’t looking at me, it seemed like she was in a trance as she didn’t notice the car. I heard my mother and Josh get in the car. I kept my eyes on the building. “Let’s go home,” mum said. I hated that word, home. I would use it loosely here. I didn’t know what this place was, but it didn’t feel like home. I heard the engine start and we started to move. I looked back to find Josh driving. His eyes met mine in the rearview mirror. I didn’t want to talk. I looked out the window and noticed that we were heading toward a little road, but not far up the road we turned and headed down another dark road. There were no lights around. Where the hell were we? I thought there were just trees everywhere. I stared out the window, and a house came into view. Josh pulled up and stopped. “We are here,” he said, making me look back at him. “You drove here,” I said. “We could have walked.” Josh stared at me, but didn’t say anything. Mum got out of the car and opened my door. I climbed out and looked around. It was nice to feel the air on my skin. I felt a shiver run through me suddenly. Someone was watching me. I looked around, but there was nothing but darkness. I looked over to Josh who was staring where I was looking at mere seconds ago, but he looked at me. “There’s nothing there,” he said. “Just the wind.” Wind? There was no wind. “Come on,” Mum said. “Let’s get you inside.” I looked at her and nodded. I followed my mum up the steps and headed inside once she opened the door. The warmth of the house hit me. I walked inside and stopped, as Josh came in and closed the door after him. I took in what I could. Mum stood to the side, I could feel her eyes on me as I looked around. I walked toward a chest of drawers that had some photo frames. There were mainly some boys as I scanned over them. “That’s Alec and Ethan,” Josh said. I nodded but didn’t look up. I looked over some, but there was one that made me stop. I didn’t say anything as a lone tear slipped down my cheek. 1 My mum cleared her throat. “Let me show you your room,” she said. I looked over at her as she motioned for me to follow her upstairs. I moved away from the photos and followed her. She walked slowly, but once we were on the landing she stopped after passing three doors. “This is your room,” she said, turning around to me and smiling. Mum opened the door and I stepped inside. I walked in and stopped in the middle. Most of the stuff was here, but still in bags. There was a bed and wardrobe, and not much else. Mum was right, the room needed decorating. “I didn’t unpack anything,” she said, making me look at her. She smiled. “You can decide where everything goes.” I didn’t say anything, but my mum sighed. “I’m going to go downstairs,” she said, backing out the door. “I will make you something to eat and bring it up to you. You can eat here if you want.” I didn’t say anything as she stared and sighed. She left me in my new room as she closed the door. I looked back and walked over to the window. It was dark out. Does it get this dark quickly here? I glanced over to the side and noticed a clock that read six P.m. I sighed, feeling exhausted. I looked back out through the window but the feeling of someone watching me came back. There was nothing there, but I couldn’t help the shiver that rippled through me. I hated this. I turned and walked over to the bed. I dropped down and sat on the edge of the bed. I looked around. I didn’t want to be here. I looked over to one of the bags and noticed something that was sticking out. I leaned forward and grabbed it. It was a photo frame. I glanced down. It was of me and my father. A lone tear fell and landed on the photo as I stared at it. It wasn’t long till I was crying. I missed him so much. Why did he have to go?