my head is on fire. Before I went down, the guy's jaw collided with my forehead. My head throbs so intensely I almost pass out. It’s like my brain has exploded within the cage of my skull. Searing pain shoots from my forehead and radiates to the back of my head to trickle down my spine. When the guy rolls off of me, I heave air back in, quick and hard. Blood oozes from my forehead. That's when I feel something small but hard sticking out from above my brows.
“Ow, ow, ow,” I whimper.
Sawyer straightens and stares at me. He blurs from two people to one and his outline is hazy. Ben gawks at me too before wiping away the blood spilling from his mouth. They stare at me like I’m a freak. Like I have the letter L tattooed across my forehead.
“What are you staring at?” I manage to ask.
Ben spits blood on the ground and rubs his eyes. He laughs out loud, a full belly laugh that leaves me thinking I’ve entered the twilight zone. One minute ago these guys were set on killing each other, yet now their dispute seems to have completely resolved. Sawyer turns white. He looks almost ashen, like he might pass out. Does he recognize me?
“What?” I scream at the two idiots.
Ben points to my head and says, “Can I have my tooth back?”
I lift my hands to touch polished enamel of a tooth protruding from my forehead. It’s smooth and hard and a little bit wet. When I pull my fingers away from it, my fingertips are dotted with blood.
“Oh my God,” I say quietly before my eyes roll back in my head and I fall backward.
I’ve been hit.
Five
I SMELL THE stale air before I open my eyes. The faint sound of a heartbeat beeps on a monitor. It beats in time with my own, a little fast, a little furious. My eyes flutter open and at first, everything is fuzzy. When the world blurs into focus, I find myself lying in a hospital bed, clothed in a pastel green gown. The lights are on and they're blinding me. I narrow my eyes to shield them from the glare. An IV in the bend of my arm stings when I lift my arm, so I immediately straighten it.
"What happened?" I say to no one.
I realize I'm not alone when I hear Amy's voice.
"So last night didn't go as planned," she says matter-of-factly.
I'm in a hospital, so this is a little bit of an understatement. My head hurts so bad, particularly my forehead, and it throbs so forcefully I feel as if my head might split open from the pressure.
"Your head got in the middle of a fight last night, and apparently it lost."
The fight. The night before comes rushing back at me and I squint through the pain. "How long have I been out?"
"Ah…it's ten am now. So…maybe twelve hours, give or take. But you've been in and out of consciousness with the painkillers."
"Was there a tooth lodged in my head?"
Amy laughs and then quickly pulls her lips into a firm line. "Ben Morrow has literally been inside of you. Or at least his tooth has. Do you know how many girls would love to say that?"
"He was at the bar the night I met Sawyer, right?"
"Yep.”
“I kind of remember the fight, but I don’t remember what happened after.”
"You passed out. The ambulance came. You made the news. They took some awesome pictures of you on the stretcher, tooth in your head and all. It was kind of epic. Combined with your wedding video, you're an overnight success story."
"Fuck my life."
“So it hasn’t been a bouquet of roses lately. Onward and upward.”
I glare at her. Onward and upward? She’s spending too much time with Megan.
"I need to get out of here,” I tell her.
"Hang on. I’ll get the doctor."
I wait for over an hour before the doctor comes by. I'm chomping at the bit to make the night before a distant memory, but every minute I stay in hospital it feels like I'm continuing to live this nightmare. I need it to end.
When the doctor enters the room, he has a smile on his face. He’s kind of cute, maybe a few years older than me. He has short, neat, brown
“Ow, ow, ow,” I whimper.
Sawyer straightens and stares at me. He blurs from two people to one and his outline is hazy. Ben gawks at me too before wiping away the blood spilling from his mouth. They stare at me like I’m a freak. Like I have the letter L tattooed across my forehead.
“What are you staring at?” I manage to ask.
Ben spits blood on the ground and rubs his eyes. He laughs out loud, a full belly laugh that leaves me thinking I’ve entered the twilight zone. One minute ago these guys were set on killing each other, yet now their dispute seems to have completely resolved. Sawyer turns white. He looks almost ashen, like he might pass out. Does he recognize me?
“What?” I scream at the two idiots.
Ben points to my head and says, “Can I have my tooth back?”
I lift my hands to touch polished enamel of a tooth protruding from my forehead. It’s smooth and hard and a little bit wet. When I pull my fingers away from it, my fingertips are dotted with blood.
“Oh my God,” I say quietly before my eyes roll back in my head and I fall backward.
I’ve been hit.
Five
I SMELL THE stale air before I open my eyes. The faint sound of a heartbeat beeps on a monitor. It beats in time with my own, a little fast, a little furious. My eyes flutter open and at first, everything is fuzzy. When the world blurs into focus, I find myself lying in a hospital bed, clothed in a pastel green gown. The lights are on and they're blinding me. I narrow my eyes to shield them from the glare. An IV in the bend of my arm stings when I lift my arm, so I immediately straighten it.
"What happened?" I say to no one.
I realize I'm not alone when I hear Amy's voice.
"So last night didn't go as planned," she says matter-of-factly.
I'm in a hospital, so this is a little bit of an understatement. My head hurts so bad, particularly my forehead, and it throbs so forcefully I feel as if my head might split open from the pressure.
"Your head got in the middle of a fight last night, and apparently it lost."
The fight. The night before comes rushing back at me and I squint through the pain. "How long have I been out?"
"Ah…it's ten am now. So…maybe twelve hours, give or take. But you've been in and out of consciousness with the painkillers."
"Was there a tooth lodged in my head?"
Amy laughs and then quickly pulls her lips into a firm line. "Ben Morrow has literally been inside of you. Or at least his tooth has. Do you know how many girls would love to say that?"
"He was at the bar the night I met Sawyer, right?"
"Yep.”
“I kind of remember the fight, but I don’t remember what happened after.”
"You passed out. The ambulance came. You made the news. They took some awesome pictures of you on the stretcher, tooth in your head and all. It was kind of epic. Combined with your wedding video, you're an overnight success story."
"Fuck my life."
“So it hasn’t been a bouquet of roses lately. Onward and upward.”
I glare at her. Onward and upward? She’s spending too much time with Megan.
"I need to get out of here,” I tell her.
"Hang on. I’ll get the doctor."
I wait for over an hour before the doctor comes by. I'm chomping at the bit to make the night before a distant memory, but every minute I stay in hospital it feels like I'm continuing to live this nightmare. I need it to end.
When the doctor enters the room, he has a smile on his face. He’s kind of cute, maybe a few years older than me. He has short, neat, brown
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