[ six ]

“River Jones! You don’t hit an already injured girl! In fact, you shouldn’t even hit a girl!”

I heard in my half-conscious state. I tried my hardest to open my eyes but no matter how much effort was put in, my eyes still didn’t open and all I could see was darkness.

Where was I? I could faintly hear the quiet humming of the air conditioner and soft buzzing of machines. Other than that, all was quiet. And then I felt it. Someone was holding my hand and muttering something under their breath. A familiar voice.

I tried to catch it but I was tired and the words were too quiet to hear. My body felt tired even though I wasn’t moving. Deciding not to fight it any longer, I let the sleep overcome me and I fell into a deep state of pure darkness and nothing else.

I don’t know how long it’s been but my eyes finally decided to flutter open. My mind felt a little hazy while my vision blurred slightly. I blinked a few times before my eyes cleared but I still saw darkness.

It took a while for my eyes to adjust before realizing that it was just night time and that the lights were turned off. My aching body screamed out in pain as I tried to sit up and a groan escaped my chapped lips. I placed a hand around my neck, my throat felt like sand paper and my mouth felt icky.

A cough escaped my lips and something beside me stirred. I turned to see River, who sat in the chair beside the bed I laid in, rubbing his tired eyes as he opened them. His eyes settled on me before widening. I shot him a small wave with a bandaged hand, “Yo,” I said coarsely.

A slow smirk curved his lips as he settled back in his chair, “Well it’s about damn time you woke up, Summers.” I rolled my eyes as he checked the time on his phone, “It’s too late to call Mom now and tell her you’re awake. I guess I’ll just call her in the morning.” He said with a shrug.

I raised an eyebrow and spoke in my raspy voice, “Where am I and how long have I been out for?” River stretched out his arms, “We’re in the hospital right now and you’ve been out for about a day and a half.” I nodded my head before a chuckle left my lips, “I guess Casey and her gang really did a number on me.”

River rolled his eyes as he grabbed my right hand and lifted it up, “You think?” I shot him a sheepish grin as he placed my hand down on the bed gently. He got up from his seat, “Well, I should go get a doctor to check you out and maybe change your bandages.”

I inspected my right hand; the bandages looked new. I glanced up and River pointed to his head. My brows furrowed as I raised my left hand to touch my head. Oh, right.

He flipped the light switch as he exited the room and I flinched at the brightness. The fluorescent lights momentarily blinded me and I squinted. The disinfectant wafted into my nostrils as I licked my lips. I scanned the room; I was hooked up to different machines and an IV drip was inserted in my forearm.

This all felt so surreal to me.

I had waffles, went to school and before I knew it, I ended up in the hospital. I thought these things only happened in those novels that I read or the cliché movies I watched. Apparently not.

The more I thought about it, the more comical it seemed to me and a small wry laugh was elicited, “How stupid,” I mumbled to myself and placed a hand on my head.

The door swung open and in came River with a doctor and a nurse by his side. The doctor shot me a warm smile, “Hello Miss Summers, good to see you awake. I’ll be doing a simple check-up for now and tomorrow we’ll do the big scans.”

I read the nametag that was pinned to his white coat, Dr Stevens and nodded my head. Dr Stevens flashed a light and asked me to follow it with my eyes before changing the bandage that wrapped around my head. He placed the old bandage on the tray the nurse held and fished out his notepad and pen, "How do you feel Riley?"

“I guess I feel fine for the most parts. Just a little parched and my mind just feels a little hazy.” He jotted down what I said on his tiny little notepad. He clicked his pen before placing it in his breast pocket, “Great. You don’t seem to have a concussion for now and at most you’ll probably have some headaches but don’t worry. We’ll prescribe you some painkillers and get you a cup of water.” He chuckled good naturedly before patting my shoulder.

River thanked the doctor and nurse before they left.

He settled back in his chair and raised an eyebrow at me, “What?” I pursed my lips before pouting, “I’m bored, entertain me.” River snorted and leaned back in his seat, “What are you? A three-year-old?” I frowned at his statement, “I’ll have you know that I only got hurt because of you so, hurry up and entertain me because I’m not going back to sleep anytime soon.”

He stared at me with a look I couldn’t decipher before he gave in and sighed in defeat, “Fine. Let’s watch a movie, I brought my laptop.” A satisfied smile played on my lips as he bent over and fished it out. He held the laptop and looked at me expectantly and I quirked an eyebrow.

“Aren’t you going to move?”

I cocked my head to the side and scoffed, “I don’t see you injured.” He deadpanned for moment before he shrugged and grabbed his bag, “Fine, then I guess you’ll have to find some other way to entertain yourself.”

I scowled at him; he was threatening me. He stared at me with a challenging look and I grunted, “Fine.” I shifted on the bed and gave him just enough room to sit beside me. A smug smile crept up his face and my hand itched to wipe it off.

“You’re really annoying you know,” I grumbled to him. He smiled at me like a young child and raised his hand to pat my head but I swatted it away before nudging him. He chuckled, an amused one and typed in his password to unlock his computer.

My brows raised as I noticed the background wallpaper of his laptop. It was a picture of him when he was younger, with a frown on his face as he stood beside a young girl who, in contrast to him, had a wide toothy grin plastered on her face. The picture looked familiar and the more I looked at it, I realized it was a picture of the both of us when we were younger. I was the young girl standing next to him!

“Why do you have that as your wallpaper?”

He brushed it off, “No reason, it was just dare and I didn’t bother to change it back after.” I scoffed and leaned towards him with a smirk, “Are you sure it’s not because you’re secretly in love with me?”

River turned to look at me, our faces close in proximity.

Without a smirk or a frown painted on his face, he responded with his warm minty breath fanning my face, “What if I said that was true?” He spoke, barely above a whisper.

I felt my heart skip a beat at his words, “What?” Did I hear that right?

He pulled away and snickered, “As if. Don’t flatter yourself, Summers.”

A sense of déjà vu hit me and I rolled my eyes before turning away.

River searched up a movie and hit play as we leaned back into the bed. Within the first half of the movie, River was a goner. He fell asleep and his head fell on my shoulder. I frowned but no matter how many times I pushed his head off me, it would somehow fall back on me again. So, I gave up.

Eventually, the movie neared the end but I didn't get to witness how it ended. Whether the girl finally got with the guy or whether one of them died because I soon felt the sleep wash over me and my head fell atop of River's.