Gen Two- Chapter Thirty Seven

It's a strange feeling- not understanding consciousness. Not remembering what it was to be awake or, heck, even alive. There was no clear line between when I was trapped in the darkness, when some senses started to return, or when I began to recognize the noises, scents, and sensations of everything around me with any sort of clarity. The dark was familiar. It was my escape. It felt good to be there, and I didn't question its presence. What I questioned was anything that intruded the peace. Strange beeps echoed out like long trills. Distant murmurs buzzed along like slow moving clouds. A pressure, though gentle, placed itself upon my head every now and again. Sometimes I could get it all to go away if I concentrated hard enough on the quiet I could find, but it was impossible for me to keep it at bay for forever.

Eventually, and this eventually was a great length of time, the pieces started to make sense. The murmurs I understood were people talking. The beeps were coming from machines. The pressure was a hand tenderly stroking my forehead. Part of me was curious about the change in location, as my subconscious did remember a bit about what happened, but the darkness wasn't done with me yet. I was still out of it, and I remained out of it for what would have been hours if my sense of time was working. The thing that finally snapped me back to reality was a loud rush of noises. Multiple, mildly panicked voices joined together as the sounds of wheels clattered past nearby. I wondered what was going on, grew upset that I couldn't know, and then remembered it was possible for me to see things. There was an existence I lived. This vague position of hovering detachment wasn't where I was supposed to be.

As the knowledge that I was a person returned to me, I did what was natural. I tried to open my eyes. Expectation built as I anticipated the colorful rush of vision return to me, yet the darkness remained. It grappled and held me still no matter how much I struggled. Even worse, with every passing second my state of bliss fell away. Intense pain dug and scratched at my eyes as I attempted to see. Each tiny breath of mine had me thinking maybe I didn't want to breathe at all. Moving my arms didn't go much better. I could move, but it was slow and sluggish like I was trapped in tar. The panic set in immediately. I needed to see. I needed to know what was going on. I couldn't be left defenseless like this, but here I was. My heart pounded against my aching chest, leaving it sore and weak like it could break through the skin any moment. Wetness burned the corners of my eyes from the sudden onslaught of pain, but I couldn't even cry properly either. Through a massive force of effort I got my left arm to move with more intent despite it being unable to break free from whatever kept it tangled.

     "Coal? Coal, are you awake?"

That was when the voice broke through to me. Its sense of familiarity was what cleared away a good portion of my delusion. I could at least understand that I was in a bed with this person right next to me sitting on a chair.

     "Dad?" I forced a huffed syllable out of my uncooperative lungs.
     "Yes, it's me."

A rushing wave of relief calmed me somewhat. This was a miracle as far as I was concerned. Dad was here, and if he was around then things would be fine.

     "Dad, I-I can't see. I can't..."

I stuttered as I tilted my head this way and that. No matter how much I fought against the pain, my world remained black. Dad quickly shifted to sitting closer to me on the edge of the bed, and his hand found its way to my forehead once more. His touch showed to me what he then revealed through words.

     "That's because your eyes were injured. They're bandaged at the moment."

I stared up, as much as I could stare up in this situation, in the direction his voice came from. My eyes were injured? Why? Thankfully, pieces of recollection floated back to me as I willed myself to remember. I had almost claimed freedom, but Buckeye had been unable to let me leave without making a scene. How had I gone from that situation to this situation though?

     "What happened? Are we at home?" I questioned, somewhat learning how to utilize what little air I had.
     "You're back in Berrybrook, if that's what you mean, although we're at the hospital. You were in a bad condition, Coal. The doctors at the hospital in Violet Fields weren't sure when you first arrived there if you were going to make it."
     "Violet Fields?"
     "It's a small city like Berrybrook a few miles past the state border. That's where you were found. An ambulance drove you to the hospital, and the police in that area contacted me when you were identified. You were in the middle of surgery when I drove the few hours there."
     "Surgery? What for?"

There was a pause, and dad chuckled ever so slightly.

     "You really were a mess, and you still are. You have four broken ribs, and a fifth was broken to the point where it snapped and punctured your left lung. You had to have both blood and excess air drained, and the snapped rib had to be put back into position. It was discovered during the surgery that you also..."
     "Also what?"
     "It's rather ridiculous really," dad mumbled to himself, "It was discovered you also have a slight case of pneumonia."

That took a bit of time to sink in. Pneumonia? Me? I had pneumonia?

     "You got it because of your broken ribs. The doctors could tell from the bruises on your chest that they had been injured for a while," dad continued, "The shortness of breath they surely caused for you apparently made your lungs the perfect breeding ground for the illness. Thankfully though, your case is indeed very slight. It shouldn't be long before it goes away."
     "That's good...I guess..."

I tried to sigh, but I couldn't inhale enough to get out a strong exhale. I felt better though. The talking was giving me a focus. Save for the distraction the pain caused and the lingering effects of whatever medicine I'd been given, I felt pretty lucid now. With a bit of dad's help, I was able to sit up somewhat.

     "What about my eyes then? How bad are they?"

This time there was a dragging, slow silence that terrified me. I wondered at first if my weak words weren't actually audible. Perhaps dad hadn't heard me. I went to ask the question again until I realized the weird way I was hearing all the noises around me wasn't a detriment. It was an improvement. The ringing that had been there when everything first came to my attention sharpened into a clear collection of sounds that amplified themselves to me eagerly. Hearing the way dad shifted and how he breathed shakily himself signaled he was struggling to answer.

     "They were both attacked with a knife from what the doctors were able to gather. Your left one will be fine. The damage was mostly dealt to the eyelid. The actual eye was scratched, but it is superficial."

He faltered once more.

     "And the right?" I pressed.
     "You...it..." dad struggled, "You...there, there had to be surgery on it as well. I'm sorry, Coal, but there was no saving it. It was too damaged to fix, let alone leave in the socket. You're...you're going to be half blind. Well, y-you are half blind."

The ringing in my ears returned for a moment. My mouth hung slightly open as I did stop breathing fully for a moment. There was no way that was true, right? I couldn't imagine the bandages coming off but my sight remaining half black. I didn't want to believe it. However, with every passing second my chest grew colder and colder from this reality I somehow had no trouble accepting.

     "I've been doing a lot of research while you've been sleeping," dad continued with great effort, speaking with especially forced cheer and enthusiasm, "There's been incredible improvements in regards to artificial eyes. You can't even tell they're not real, and the main company I've been looking at has recently opened up a trial run for models that have the artificial pupils grow and shrink in response to light like an actual pupil does. I sent them a message about it, and they contacted me a few hours ago saying you're eligible once your socket heals."
     "I don't care about what fake eyes look like or what they can do!" I loudly snapped without warning, not bothering to acknowledge the protest my broken ribs put up, "I don't even care at this point that I'll be half blind. I just care about what it means. You can't be a police officer if one eye doesn't work. You have to have 20-20 vision!"

More silence took over the room. Dad finally removed his fingers gently brushing against the side of my head as he took in the news. He took in that news, and, as I predicted, he tried to encourage me, which only made things worse.

     "I'm sure there's some way they can make things work. If you can pass all their other requirements, then-"
     "It doesn't work like that! I know way more about this than you do! If you've got one bunk eye, that's it- you're out! They might give you a chance if the vision can be corrected somehow, but if I don't even have an eye in the socket then what the hell can be done?!"

It was the weirdest thing how I could hear every tiny breath dad took as if his mouth was right against my ear. I could practically feel the laboredness of it as he struggled yet again to respond. By the gentle rustling of his clothes as he moved, I could almost see the way he turned his head this way and that before looking back at me.

     "I'm sorry, Coal," he apologized, his throat locking as he grew heartbroken, "I knew it would be a hard thing to hear that you've lost your right eye, and I can't imagine what it must feel like to know that it's also taken away your future. If someone told me I could no longer have anything to do with the stars, well..."

I sank back harder against my pillow and worked my arms free of their blanket prison to press my palms over my eyes. It was a reaction of habit that proved useless as the tears I could feel coming manifested. There was no way the wetness would seep through the thick wad of bandages. That fact made things worse still. The dampening of the cloth tickled the skin inside the right socket where I could now feel there was nothing. My eye was truly gone.

     "I hate this," my voice still quivered and shook as if the tears were running properly, "I'm such a fucking idiot. I let myself be caught."

I wanted to rip the bandages off. The tears were welling up without restraint, and they burned in a way I'm sure they weren't supposed to. They were made worse by me remembering everything else that was screwed up. I had met my grandparents. I had found the two dad had dedicated a great chunk of his life to avenging, and I couldn't say a damn thing about it. Then mom's face appeared in my mind.

     "I'm sorry," my broken voice croaked, "It must have been hard enough for the rest of you dealing with what happened, and my disappearance only screwed things up more."
     "It's not your fault. I already knew there was no way we would be able to prevent this from ever happening. Buckeye was going to get you no matter how much effort we put in to keep you safe." dad comforted, taking one of my hands and holding it.
     "It's totally my fault. I got home from the party, and when I overheard Desi talking on the phone about mom I just lost it. I bolted because I didn't want to accept it. Buckeye basically got me walking right into his hands because I was a coward. I couldn't face the news or the fact that I didn't get to say goodbye..."
     "Um, Coal, I don't quite follow. What happened with Ethereal that you overheard Desi talking about, because I wasn't aware of anything going down that afternoon you vanished. And why would you need to have said goodbye?"
     "Why would I need to have said goodbye?" I repeated incredulously, "If your mother dies, I think it is pretty obvious you would want to get one last word in with her before it happens."

The pressure of dad's hold on my hand loosened significantly. It was easy enough to imagine the confused look of shock he wore.

     "Uh...I think there has been a massive misunderstanding somewhere. Ethereal is alive and perfectly fine. Well, she's as fine as she can be considering the cancer and her crazy worry over you. She swore up a storm this morning when you were transferred here from Violet Fields, because she's not allowed to see you while you have pneumonia. The doctors, naturally, don't want the illness to pass from you to her." he explained slowly.

Dumbfounded, I froze.

     "B-but," I sputtered, "I heard Desi say stuff like it was cruel that we had gotten the good news, but that it happened so suddenly. She talked about someone, you I think, being busy at the hospital but needing someone there at the house with her as she didn't want to tell me the news by herself. What else would she be talking about if not mom dying?"
     "So that's what you heard," dad mumbled before squeezing my hand once more, "Your sister was indeed talking to me, and I was currently busy at the hospital. However, not with anything that wasn't normal. I was simply entertaining your fussy mother. The thing that had Desi so shaken up was Jasper breaking up with her. Those asshole parents of his finally pressured him enough to where he felt the relationship wasn't worth it. The good news was them having received word only that morning that the loan for their house had been approved, but that's obviously now worthless as Desi is going to move back in with us since she can't afford either the house or apartment by herself."

The monitor tracking my heartbeat beeped erratically several times as I frozen even further and momentarily stopped breathing. The tears I'd forgotten about the second dad said mom was alive disappeared entirely due to shock.

     "W-what...?"

It was all I could say.

     "You truly thought she was dead?" dad pressed.

I nodded miserably.

     "These past weeks must have been absolute hell for you," dad now spoke with angry indignation, "For you think Ethereal was gone while Buckeye did this to you..."
     "I don't know how you managed ten years with him. How did you not come home a broken mess of a body?"
     "I...I don't think he was nearly as rough on me as he was on you. He beat me up a few times during the first several days, but after that it was a random punch every once in a while when we were alone. There were special occasions when it was worse, of course, but for the most part he left me alone."
     "God, he was beating the shit out of me everyday. Sometimes once in the morning and then again at night. I swore he was trying to kill me." I remarked in horror.
     "He might have been. I knew his temper went darker than what he showed me. The doctors said if there had been a bit more pressure put into the swing that took your eye, the blade could have easily hit your brain to make that the end of you."

Well, that certainly wasn't a pleasant thought in any way, shape, or form. I began blocking out the imaginings if things had gone slightly worse for me, but dad soon interrupted me by leaning in closer and whispering.

     "There's a million things I want to talk to you about, Coal. I never want to leave this room because I still haven't reassured myself that you're back and you're safe. However, the nurses and doctor need to look at you. What I need to hear before that happens though is truly what actually happened. There will be the explanation you will have to give the police about what happened. I, on the other hand, require the truth. All of it."

If only I could have honored that. Attempting again to position my head as if I could look at him, I struggled to open my mouth. I wished I could forget.

     "There's not too much to say that I won't already tell the police. Buckeye was the one who captured me. I woke up in the room they kept you in, and he got me working in the warehouse. He did tell me something he said he never told you, but it was just about his dad. Buckeye hates us so much because his dad used to work for The Company. He was put in jail when they were outed in order to protect Buckeye from also being caught, and one of the other inmates killed him a year later. I don't feel that's really important information though."
     "Not terribly. What is most crucial to know is how you got out. What kind of repercussions can we expect? How much danger are we still in?"
     "We shouldn't have to worry, to tell you the truth. The CEOs of the whole organization showed up to the building for a surprise inspection. They caught wind of me being there, which hadn't been a 'hiring' they approved. They basically told me they would let me go home in exchange for my silence about the whole matter. They feared the attention a search for one of the famous Ethereal's sons would bring upon them," I lied on the spot, "Buckeye caught wind of that, and he attacked me as they were letting me leave. I blacked out after he crushed my ribs and stabbed my eyes. Now here we are."
     "You met the leaders of the whole organization? What did they tell you? What kind of information did you find out?"
     "Dad, of course they didn't tell me shit," I pretended to be amusedly exasperated, "They just had me sit in their office until it was time to go."
     "Right. No, no...of course, that makes sense." dad cleared his throat.

A sigh escaped his lips a moment later. He kissed the top of my head.

     "I know it'll be hard, but don't go anywhere," he teased, "Let me get a nurse before I start a stampede of people by telling everyone you're awake. All three of your sisters, even Cerise, have been bawling non-stop since your disappearance. Visitors are going to be coming and going with such fervor you won't be able to keep up with them all."
     "I'll look forward to it."

I said that with a smile before chuckling lightly as dad stood.

     "Is that funny now because I'm half-blind? Well, full blind at the moment because of the bandages?"
     "Not really, you dork," dad chuckled despite himself, "But keep working on it, I suppose. I'll be back in a minute."

I shifted for a moment. My fingers lightly ran themselves over my chest where the feel of the disconcerting bumps caused by the swelling of my broken ribs sent a cascade of shivers down my spine. I prayed with each breath that the ache caused by breathing would subside, but, of course, that was a fruitless hope. I instead spent the time until dad and a nurse arrived trying out different positions and angles to help reduce the discomfort. Any semblance of relief I found went away though when the nurse gave me a good poking and prodding. Diagnostics were run, and I had to be wheeled out for some x-rays. Then the questions came. It started out with the medical ones, and the police arrived afterwards. Lie after lie spilled out of my mouth. In that moment, I was highly glad the majority of my face was covered by the bandages. My ruse surely would have been noticed otherwise as the officers grew frustrated with the lack of tangible answers. There was nothing they could do though. There was no reason for them to suspect I was covering for anyone. Eventually they had to leave with no new information.

Despite having slept for so long, the state of my body already had me clamoring for more rest. That, however, wouldn't find me for some time. Dad abruptly placed his phone against my ear, and I instantly burst into more captured tears when I heard mom's voice on the other end. She blubbered as well. The two of us were sobbing messes as we held a highly sniffly conversation. Dad gave me a break after that emotional talk, and I was just about asleep again when more tears woke me up, although they weren't mine. It was visiting time. Glade nearly pile-drived onto me, and I gave her the longest hug in existence after dad got her under control. All of my siblings were there. Wisp also brought along Papaya and Tangerine, and Uncle Eden and Aunt Deny showed up with Hunter and Malachite shortly after. It was a grand reunion full of, yup, even more tears, and I wasn't too upset only family was allowed for the moment. I barely got to chat with each person before my body demanded I stop ignoring its request for sleep. With me basically conking out without warning, everyone was ushered out for the afternoon.

I got a glimpse of what mom had experienced the past several years. It was the most difficult thing to stay awake for very long. The ridiculous amounts of medicine I was given to combat pain and infection constantly pushed me under, and even something simple as talking expended anything left I had to spare. Dad, Uncle Blaze, and Prism were the three on hospital duty that day. They rotated between mom and me until evening came and they went home. When I woke the next morning, I assumed Desire had switched out with one of them, for a feminine hand stroked my head this time.

     "Desi?"
     "No, it's me."

The sound of her voice jolted me instantly awake, and I reached for her hand.

     "Holly?"
     "Yes."

I strained with my left eye to catch any hint of light or color through the bandages, but black everything remained.

     "I wish I could see you."
     "You'll be able to soon. I heard your dad talking with mine this morning about how the bandages will be switched out for only an eye patch on right eye tomorrow. I drove home last night the instant I got word that you'd woken up. It's a long holiday weekend, so I'll be here until Monday."

With every word she spoke, her voice broke more and more. Determined optimism crashed into suppressed heartbreak and devastation. Relief mixed with the cruelty of rough consequences. My chest bursting with a new kind of ache at her quivering tone, I motioned her towards me. With a sniffle, she positioned herself so her forehead touched mine. I reached up as best I could and found her cheek without too much difficulty.

     "I'm so sorry," I apologized, doing whatever I could to keep my voice steady though it shook anyway, "I'm so sorry I made you worry. I can't imagine what it must have been like having me go missing like that."
     "Of course you know what it was like, you idiot," Holly teased, rubbing at one of her wet eyes while chuckling quietly, "You spent ten years enduring what I felt for a few weeks. I'm just glad you came back. I didn't know what I would've done if you hadn't."

Smiling at the subtle love dancing in what she spoke, I lured her head closer until her lips touched mine. Whether because of the lack of her touch in recent weeks or the heightening of my other senses due to my current blindness, the kiss sent waves of emotions unlike anything else scattering up and down my limbs that had me forgetting about any pain. I didn't even realize a few of Holly's tears dripped onto my cheeks until she wiped them off.

     "I want to stay here with you, but I'll turn into a total crying mess if we're alone," she laughed at herself at she sat up, "Dad's right down in the waiting room with Uncle Am. Let me go get him. He's excited to see you. He seriously spent hours at the kitchen table last night coming up with a bunch of jokes to cheer you up."
     "I would expect nothing less." I laughed back.

Holly leaned over to give me one more quick peck before taking off down the hallway. Now more accustomed to the increase in my hearing, I listened to see how long I could catch the sound of her footsteps before they faded away entirely. It was a relatively useless experiment considering I'd never done such a thing when sighted to compare it against, but it kept me occupied. I was thankful it seemed liked the waiting room wasn't far away. A good laugh was much needed at the moment. I found more distraction in wondering if the majority of Uncle Al's jokes were going to center around my blindness, for I expected at least a few of them would be, until more footsteps caught my attention. Coming from the opposite direction Holly left, I assumed it was someone simply walking by. My heard turned towards the door curiously when the footsteps slowed, hesitated, and quietly took the person inside the room.

     "Hello?" I called to them.

There was no response. I threw out the idea it was a nurse as he or she wouldn't have paused before coming in and wouldn't remain silent. Confused on who else it could be, my brain came up with one lone idea.

     "Mom?"

Her sneaking in to see me despite not being allowed was all that made sense. However, even that questioning got no response. The person slowly walked closer, and I tensed. Not being able to see or understand why the person said nothing was kinda creepy and a tad frightening given the sense of high paranoia still beaten into me by Buckeye. The figure stood right next to me after a few more steps.

     "You deserved this."

My ears perked up at the sound of the voice. It was feminine, and, though it was considerably deeper and colder than I'd ever thought I'd hear, I recognized it.

     "Mimosa?"
     "This is what you get for picking Holly."

Seriously? We were back to this without pause? I wasn't in any sort of mood or position to deal with her delusions. I also worried that Mimosa would try something funny like she'd done at the party. It wouldn't be long before Holly, Uncle Al, and probably dad came over, but my fingers fumbled to find the button for a nurse. I pressed something, but obviously I couldn't tell what.

     "If you had been with me, I never would have let you been kidnapped. This never would have happened." Mimosa continued haughtily.
     "None of this is Holly's fault," I sighed angrily, "There was nothing she did wrong, and there would have been nothing you could have done. The fault lies only with the ones who actually did the kidnapping."
     "No, I would have watched you all the time. I would have watched you everywhere. I would have protected you."
     "You following me around and watching me all the time is called stalking, Mimosa. There's nothing it would have done beside make me want to stay even further away from you than I already was. You were being far too unpredictable, and all your actions made me uncomfortable. I don't like you coming in here like this, and I certainly don't appreciate you saying I deserved it or that Holly is to blame. You need to leave."

I hoped my command would work, but, as expected, it fell on deaf ears. It actually made the situation much worse, I fear. Mimosa, having stood there relatively silent except when speaking, suddenly grew irate with her breathing. She inhaled and exhaled angrily over and over, and it didn't take much imagination to picture her expression contorting in frustration. In my mind I saw her glaring me down with clenched fists shaking.

     "Mimosa, I mean it," I demanded again, "I will not talk to you unless someone else is here. Holly is bringing your dad. Wait until they get here before coming back in."

More heavy breathing met my ears, and fear tickled my chest as it grew enraged. There was a steady crescendo happening here. It would surely lead to an explosion of sound, and that it did. A high pitched infuriated cry burst from Mimosa's lips. Her foot boomed onto the floor as she stomped it with passion. My muscles tensed further as I awaited her screaming at me or storming out of the room. However, Mimosa didn't say another word. Nothing that I was meant to respond to anyway. There was the briefest second where nothing happened before a cry of alarm escaped me when she suddenly grabbed my wrist, and, unfortunately, a loud and highly unmanly scream of pain erupted from my throat as a burning, searing pain tore through my arm. Mimosa had torn my IVs out.

I flung myself to the other side of the bed. Every moment of fear, desperation, and sheer terror Buckeye ingrained in me flew right back to strike with vengeance. I was that curled up pitiful pile of a person on the floor again, and this time the blows came from a person who claimed she loved me more than anyone else. Unable to see and burdened by slow movement due to injury, the crazed fit Mimosa fell into gave her all the advantage to pummel me in the worst possible place. A few of her flailing fists smacked the side of my head, but as she screamed at me, demanding that I finally get it in my head that she is the only one for me, my chest took blow after blow. Three hits in and my breathing was gone. My abused ribs had had enough. Such a violent burn of pain clawed into my torso that it made determining what kind of damage had been done impossible. My left lung fluttered and spasmed as if trying to detach itself. I wrapped myself into as much of a ball as possible and fought back blood engorging my throat as it traveled upwards. The flat-lining of the detached heart monitor merged with Mimosa's shrieks and the high pitched ringing in my ears to form one deafening shrill. It overpowered nearly everything, even the loud shouts and cries of panic, alarm, and anger that soon erupted from the hallway shortly before it all faded into silence as my mind sought the safety of the true darkness once more.

Waking up again was total deja vu. Coming to proper consciousness was a long climb upwards, but I eventually won that battle. Thankfully, understanding of what happened came quicker this time around. I listened for sounds of anyone nearby, and the shuffling of a book page being turned from where the couch was caught my attention.

     "Dad?"

The book was instantly closed, and the person stood up.

     "Close, but not quite. It's someone even better."
     "Good morning to you too, Uncle Blaze," I found myself chuckling in a quiet whisper despite everything, "Or is it afternoon now? Or did I sleep a whole day straight again? I sure as hell don't know anymore."
     "It's a little after four. You've had a busy day despite being unconscious for most of it. Someone got to go into surgery again," Uncle Blaze revealed with fake enthusiasm as he pulled the chair nearby closer and sat down, "Your poor lung apparently didn't like being made a pincushion by your own ribs. Can't understand why. Nothing was really made worse though. You just lost out on the day or so of recovery you had. Considering how bad your chest is and how long you're going to be here regardless, it's not going to make much of a difference in that way."

I nodded before letting it all sink in. The decision I made came to me in no time at all.

     "I want a restraining order against her."

Uncle Blaze took a deep breath, and I assumed he nodded as well by the shuffling of his jacket.

     "They had to sedate her she was putting up such a fight as they dragged her out. I had heard from Am who got it from Al that she has been especially bad in recent weeks, even before you disappeared. No one had any idea she would ever blow up to such an extent though, and I'm sorry that you had to go through that. I don't think requesting a restraining order is a ridiculous idea at this point. Am already...well, it was a joint action made by the hospital too, so the police were called due to the insistence of a group of people. They aren't going to take any real action as far as I know. They basically just made sure Mimosa was escorted off the property when the medicine kicked in. Am was going to stay until you woke up, but Ethereal and I made him go home after you got safely out of the surgery. He's been acting fine around you, but he hasn't been doing too well otherwise. The stress of all the shit that's been happening has really been dragging him down. He kindaaa, well, lost it a bit during Mimosa's tantrum. He was full out belting at Allium and her, threatening to beat her until she was broken like you if her attack ended up killing you. Hearing that heart monitor go flat freaked him the hell out, even though it was clear when we rushed in that you were alive."
     "Why is everything such a damn mess?" I whined in another sigh.

My right arm moved out of instinct as I went to run my hand through my hair in frustration, but the IVs were back in. A thick layer of bandaging also bound the tears in the skin Mimosa caused. My left arm took over the action instead.

     "Dad didn't get himself in trouble threatening stuff like that, did he?" I wondered.
     "No, I stopped him before he could make too much of an idiot out of himself. Allium was a saint in that moment as well. He kept calm, made sure everyone stayed separated, and came back to quickly sort things out with Am after they both had a moment to breathe."
     "Is he still around? What about Holly?"
     "No, Al took Mimosa home, and Holly went with them. Reluctantly. He needed her help."
     "I seriously got to talk to her for five seconds," I groaned, "Is my phone at least around somewhere? I can call her."
     "Actually...you didn't come home with anything. No phone, no wallet, no keys, no whatever else you had on you when you left."
     "Are you fucking kidding me?"

Looks like my grandparents hadn't thought to dig out my personal belongings Buckeye had stolen before I was sent away. I suppose I couldn't be horribly mad though. Replacing everything would be a major pain, but making sure I stayed alive had been the main objective in that moment. What good was a phone and wallet if I was dead, huh? I also then remembered that I had no idea how everything had truly finished in that fight. I'd assumed since I'd been sent to a hospital that Coal and Desire overpowered Buckeye, but surely some damage had been taken. Buckeye's blade had already had blood on it when he stabbed me, after all. I worried, yet Uncle Blaze interrupted my thoughts.

     "Holly isn't here, but you do have a few other visitors who have eagerly been waiting for you to wake up. Don't worry. I personally put them through a serious of rigorous tests to make sure none of them are crazies. I think you can trust most of them."

He left and then came back with the rest of my friends. Rosemary was the first to dash in. Midas and Azure followed, and Citrine and Pastel were there was well. Their presence brightened the day up considerably, figuratively speaking, of course. I was still blindy blind blind-blind. I talked with everyone as long as I could, and then I had to be content with letting everyone chat while I listened. I stayed awake a lot longer than I had the previous day. Sleep threatened me powerfully at one point, but that was when Holly reappeared. The fun continued until visiting hours were over. Uncle Blaze left me his phone for the evening, and a nurse helped me call mom, dad, my siblings, and a various few others. Those conversations took the last of my energy leading me to conk out in a dreamless sleep.

The following morning proved much better than the last. I got to experience more than five minutes of it for starters. Dad made a return, and he brought Holly and Glade along for the big moment. Due to my deep sleeping and couple instances of being forced under through trauma or medication, the several times the bandages on my head had been changed had been when I was under or so drugged up I couldn't remember a thing. Now, however, the big bandage was departing for good.

     "Ready?" the nurse asked me as she detached the clasps.
     "Tear it off." I answered eagerly.

She didn't quite due it to that extreme, but the bandage was unwound with expert speed. Still having some sort of deluded hope the sight in my right eye wasn't gone for good, I didn't open my left until the eye patch was firmly on. That way I could believe the lack of sight was only caused by it and not the nonexistence of the eye.

     "Fucking hell, everything looks weird. It all looks ten times brighter."

The words flew out of my mouth as I embraced the vision I had left.

     "Is it always going to be like this?"
     "No," the nurse responded with a smile, "The colors will return to normal as your eye adjusts. It shouldn't take long."
     "Look over here!" Glade requested merrily, "How do we look?"

I glanced over, having to turn my head much farther than expected to get them all.

     "I mean, you all look like yourselves," I grinned, "But I can see you, and that's what matters."

Glade rushed up to the bed and put me on the receiving end of one of the biggest hugs in the world. I eagerly embraced her back, and Holly kept the love coming as she wrapped her arms around the both of us. Dad chuckled, but he stayed back until he could get a moment with me alone, which had me grateful. Naturally, my chest could only take so much squeezing.

The nurse took a moment to check my left eye after that. She had me follow her finger, she shined a little flashlight at it, and then she carefully removed the few stitches that had helped heal the cut Buckeye's knife caused. With her job done, she left the room to give us some privacy.

     "Does the eye patch at least look cool?" I asked, gently rubbing my finger over the fabric.
     "You look like a pirate!" Glade answered brightly.
     "You look like a survivor." Dad added a bit more seriously.
     "My face isn't scarred up, is it?" I then questioned, not having thought of it before.
     "You have a little nick over your left eyebrow, but it's not all that noticeable unless you're looking for it." Holly said.
     "Good."
     "It's a little disappointing," dad responded sarcastically, "I was hoping we could be scar face buddies."
     "Yeah, no thanks."

I laughed along with the others, but I avoided dad's gaze as the euphoria at being able to see faded and faded. Being blind was better for a lot of things. Now that I could see dad, I could see Coal and Desire. My arms hung heavy at my side at the despair of the thought that my grandparents were a secret to carry for the remainder of my existence. I now also had to come up with a clever way of telling dad what I hadn't before- that The Company was still on the prowl. How was I supposed to reveal that after having told him I hadn't been told anything? How could I put that fear back in him after saying everything was alright? It was going to be a painful conversation, but as it was a conversation for the future, in that moment, I just kept smiling.