Jaidyn's Pov
My arm was gently caressed by a warm hand, and then I heard a muffled voice. My eyes felt heavy, despite my attempts to flutter them open. I gave it another try, but I failed. My pulse quickened.
What is happening? What is wrong with me?
I attempted to move my fingers, but they seemed stuck to the mattress. I felt a wave of panic, and then I heard a loud beeping of something. When I heard a man yelling, I tried to move my hand again and peeled my eyelids open but I failed again.
"OH MY GOD! SHE MOVES HER FINGERS! TRAIAN!"
I had trouble clearly recognizing the voice. It became more difficult for me to move or open my eyes, and eventually, I started to feel lightheaded once again.
“Why won't she open her eyes now?”
"Calm down, Jane. The doctor said she might be anytime,"
“Goodness, my Jaidyn, oh my god”
"She will wake up, Janice. Our daughter will wake up"
It was one of the remarks I overheard. Those voices are familiar to me. It belongs to my mom, dad, Jane, and my brother-in-law. They are here. When I tried to flutter my eyes open again, the ceiling's harsh light prompted me to hastily shut them while wincing.
"JAIDYN!"
“You're awake, thank God!”
“Call Dr. Suarez right away!”
It was those noises that followed, and I instantly felt a calloused palm clasping my right hand as others grasped my left. I could feel the bodies all around me. I slowly opened my eyes, blinking to adjust my vision to the assault of the bright light.
My eyes first focused on the ceiling's white tone before descending to the area's dark-themed walls. There was a familiar scent about the space. My gaze then moved to my left, where I could make out my sister's and my parents' features, who were also crying.
I raspily said, "Mom," noting how parched my throat was.
As tears streamed down her cheeks, my mother kissed my hand and murmured, "I'm here, sweetie. Mom's here,"
Suddenly, another set of people barges into the room. A strange middle-aged couple entered the room, wearing stethoscopes around their necks.
The man looked at each person in the room and said, "Please, leave us for a moment as we check the patient”
My father promptly responded, "We're her family, can we stay?"
The doctor nodded and immediately came to my side to check on me while I heard some people who went to the door. I closed my eyes as the doctors checked my vitals and thoroughly checked me when I heard the voice of my mom and sister.
It was my sister who called out "Traian."
My mother said, "You should stay here; you're family."
I pushed back all the thoughts that were swirling in my head feeling it ached for a moment and pry my eyes open again.
The doctor's assistant gave me water and asked me softly, "Are you experiencing any discomfort?"
I sluggishly drank a bit, feeling it ease me a little and quench my dry throat. I honestly answered, "My head was aching a little."
“It was expected given your situation, so try not to ponder too much,” the two doctors said, nodding.
As the two medical professionals checked me once again, I nodded at them.
Traian's rich, alluring voice reverberated across the space as he asked, "How is she?"
While the other doctor checked my vital signs, the man turned to my family and Traian and said, "Her vitals are all good; she is now far from danger but we will do some tests again to be sure."
Traian breathed out a sigh of great relief and placed his palm on his face, saying, "Really? Thank heavens."
My sister questioned, "Is it okay if we talk to her?"
"I advised later. We will check her thoroughly first and letting her rest was advisable before she engages in conversation" the doctor said.
I shut my eyes once again to soothe the sharp headache I was experiencing, hearing retreating footsteps until the closing of the door echoed in the room. I felt the doctors remove some things from me as I gave in to another wave of sleep that came to me.
............
When I opened my eyes, I could already see the sun's golden rays slipping through the windows and striking the ground. I believe it was already afternoon.
When I turned to face my side, I noticed that my sister was dozing off with her head resting on my bed and my parents were seated on the couch. I fix my attention on my sister. Jane was a stunning woman with black hair, a sharp nose, a light complexion, thick brows, long eyelashes, and full lips. Glittering eyeshadow adorned her eyes. Since she was in college, she has always worn that style of eyeshadow wherever she goes and even within the house, which caused a small smile to go over my face.
She stirred in her sleep and immediately looked at me. Upon seeing me, her emerald eyes grew wide. She stood up and promptly and delicately gave me a hug.
She screamed, "Oh my goodness, Jai," before backing off and stroking my cheeks. "You're awake at last"
"Do you need anything? Or are you feeling any discomfort? I can call the doctor—"
I cut her off, saying, "I'm okay, Jane. I'm alright."
Tears sparkled in her green eyes. With the exception of our hair, Jane and I are strikingly similar. Unlike me, she got her black hair from our father while I got mine from my mother. But we likewise get our green eyes from our dad. Sometimes, I felt like I was looking directly into my eyes whenever I stared at her. My gaze then landed on the bump on her stomach.
I made a light-hearted remark like, "Crying won't help my nephew or niece,"
She probably cries for me a lot. Despite having a sometimes stern visage, Jane was overly kind and overly protective of me.
Jane brushed her tears away before returning to her seat and grasping my hand. "I am just glad that you're awake now. I felt like I was being torn whenever the days passed that you have your eyes closed"
"I'm sorry for making you worry. You, Mom, and Dad" I said sincerely.
"No, no. You shouldn't say those words because whatever happens is out of your control. It was us who should be sorry. I'm sorry, Jaidyn—"
I shake my head, stopping her. "I don't want to talk about it just yet, Jane. I just can't right now"
All I want to do is forget everything for now. I wanted to clear my mind for the day. I don't want to recall any of the events that occurred or the reasons I left. I just want to savor the second chance of being with my family.
Jane smiled and nodded at me, but her smile also conveyed her sorrow. "I understand"
"How long I was in this state?" I asked, changing the topic.
"Two weeks. You've been in a coma for two weeks"
I remained silent. The injured driver whom I had left in the forest suddenly popped into my mind.
"Is the driver of the cab still alive? Is he alright" I said urgently while holding my sister's hand.
Jane nodded, “He is recovering now, Jaidyn. He’s alright”
I let out a sigh, “Thank god. If he didn't make it, I'll truly be the one to blame”
My sister gently tapped my hand. As a wave of relief swept over me, I smiled at her. My parents woke up, and when they spotted us, they sprung to their feet and walked to my side, while my sister moved back and grinned.
My mother held my hand and uttered, "Oh, my sweet pie. I'm so glad you're awake now. Do you need anything? Food or water?"
I shake my head and say, "Nothing, Mom. I'm OK, and please stop calling me sweet pie."
"Why? You're my still sweet pie"
"You call your two daughters a lot of names," my dad countered.
"And you're still boring as it is, Bernard"
My father grinned as he turned to face me, giving me a wink that could only suggest he had succeeded in aggravating mum, and then kissed my forehead. "I'm really thankful that you finally opened your eyes" He brought a chair over and sat beside me, adding, "You know we should flaunt our lovely eyes. You, Me, and your sister”
I overheard my sister laughing. We both get my dad's eye color, so he is aware that it irritates my mother.
My mother snorted, "Really, Bernard?"
Dad simply shrugged and the playful smile on his face vanished, "We really thought we would lose you and you know how your old man has a very weak heart, right?"
I held my Dad's hand and tried to lighten the mood because I felt like crying, "You mean soft-hearted when it comes to your daughters?"
"Exactly"
In the corner of my eyes, I saw my sister secretly wiping her tears.
"I'm sorry for worrying both of you, Mom and Dad"
Mom removed a stray hair strand on the side of my face and looked at me, "When you are not at home or we can't contact you, or when you're hurting, we always worry, Jaidyn. Parents always have permanent worries for their children. It's just this incident, doubled that"
My mother brushed away the tears that had come to my eyes as I smiled.
"I love you, Mom, Dad" I glance at my sister who was watching us, "And of course, my best friend and sister Jane"
With a warm and loving grin on her face, my mother said, "And we love you too. So much."