TETHERED (Unpublished)

Violently, Stephanie jolts up from her bed. She tries to fill her lungs with air and gags on the  feeding tube. Slowly, she pulls it out and , once she removes it, she  coughs out  the  remaining  regurgitated food from  her throat   and   attempts to  fill  her lungs  with air  until they’re close to exploding. Without prepping herself, she hops out of bed and stands upright. Stephanie’s head suddenly throbs in pain and her world spins and tilts until her legs give in. She falls back, completely missing the bed and landing bare ass on the cold tile floor. Pain shoots up from her tailbone through her spine and sends a tingling feeling through her toes. s he chuckles  a bit ,  and then  eventually  begins  rolling on the floor in pain-filled laughter. “This just gets better and better.”

Stephanie slowly brings herself to her feet and limps to the restroom. She gazes into the mirror, tracing the scars on her face and arms, admiring the careful crafting of her bandaged head. She pauses as images of the accident flash in her mind. With each section of bandage removed, she breaks down. The clash of metal, crashing of glass, screaming and shouting, the blood,  the  pain, her Marcus, and then waking here in darkness. Bandages finally off, she sobs loudly. Her hands trace the staples tracked across her now bald head. Stephanie crumples to the floor, feeling alone in this abysmal white .

The sun from the window blinds her. She attempts to block it with one hand over her eyes and the other on the floor to keep the earth in one place. A silhouetted figure walks past the window, then stops in front of her. “Marcus!” she manages to force the words through the rasp . “I knew you’d come for me.” He holds his hand out for hers. She grasps it and he effortlessly lifts her into his arms. Finally close, she gazes into his big grey eyes. The ones she loses herself in every time they catch her. She jumps back from him  puzzled when the eyes looking back are green.

“You’re not Marcus!” she shrieks.

“I’m sorry  miss,” H e replies. “I’m not your husband. However, I am glad to assist you with anything you desire.” The strange man gently lays her back in bed, his eyes holding her attention. He brushes the tears on her cheek away with a cloth she didn’t see him reach for. “Do you know where you are?”

Stephanie breaks their locked gaze to look around the room again. “In the hospital. Is my boyfriend Marcus Thompson here? What room is he in?” She shoots her questions back to him  first,  to get answers about Marcus, and second,  to break the entranced feeling she gets when she looks into his eyes. Each time she’s caught by them she feels her body relax deeper into her hospital bed.

“I’m not sure, but I can try finding out . ” H e says as he  holds her head up  gently by the back of the neck . She didn’t even notice the man grab the gauze to rebandage her. She only felt his hands tenderly graze around her head as his eyes held her focus.

“Thank you so much, sir.” Stephanie watches as he walks to the phone on the wall, holding her breath for what felt like forever. He unhooks the phone and pulls it to his ear, still watching her from the opposite side of the room. She can’t quite hear what he’s saying, only making out the words “ She’s awake .”   F rom his lips.

 “I’m sorry  miss. Your Marcus is here, but it seems he has yet to awaken. However, as soon as he is ready, I will personally bring him here.”

“Thank you, Dr … ” Stephanie fishes for his name, trying to focus on his blurred nametag.

“Please, no titles  miss. You may call me Gabriel . ” H e says as he leaves  and  gently clos es  the door behind himself.

She lies  up  in her bed, still  with the  feeling of his eyes  holding her there. Tears roll down her cheek  as her worry grows for Marcus. She l ays  down, covering her face with her hands  and sobs. “Marcus could be hurt badly, and it’s all my fault.”