Learning to Breathe (22 page)

“Mum … what’s the damage?”

I watched my mother throw me a wary glance.

I sighed. “Tell me … I can handle it.”

She sighed heavily.
“Okay. You’ve broken your right leg pretty badly and cracked a few ribs. Then there’s your dislocated shoulder and a surprisingly mild concussion.”

I bre
athed in slowly before speaking. “Not too bad then.”

I attempted a chuckle but the movement disturbed my tender ribs. I winced and then
looked at my mother curiously.

“Hey, what did you mean by ‘surprisingly mild concussion’?”

My mother laid her hand on top of mine and gave me a weak smile. “The doctors were genuinely puzzled by your injuries.”

“Why?” I frowned at her.

“Well,” my mother began but then hesitated a moment. “It’s really quite strange. The paramedics had to cut you out of the car. They couldn’t believe that you were still alive since it was crushed so badly …”

S
he trailed off, a faraway look on her face for a second before she continued.

“
I mean the truck hit you directly on the driver’s side. The impact alone should’ve killed you but it didn’t. The paramedics said it’s a miracle that you’re alive at all … never mind the fact that your injuries are mild compared to other cases they’ve seen.”

We exchanged soulful looks
and both remained silent for a few minutes before my mother spoke again.

“
When they brought you in … you – you flat-lined for a few minutes until they managed to bring you back.”

I avoided my mother’s gaze as the words
‘It’s time for you to go back now’
echoed in my ears … was it even possible? I frowned to myself and contemplated the possibility that I was actually going crazy.

However, in the jumble of memories that had come flooding back when I woke up, the ‘meeting’ with my father was the one that had stuck out the most. I didn’t tell my mother any of this but I was seriously beginning to believe that maybe it hadn’t been
just a dream after all …

After my chat with my mother, I dozed off again and woke up to find a doctor looming over me.

“Ah, Ms Gilmore – it’s good to see you looking so alert.
I’m Doctor Kennedy.”

“Darcie.” I told him as I threw him a half smile.

He smiled and checked the clipboard he was holding before he spoke again.

“You are a very lucky young woman Darcie.
I’ve seen worse injuries from less serious accidents – I’d say you’re very fortunate to only have a few broken bones considering the severity of your car accident.”

I nodded.
“So I’ve heard. Well, how soon can I get out of here?”

Dr. Kennedy consulted his clipboard
again. “Well, in the past 48 hours since you were brought in, you’ve made a significant improvement. However, I’d be happier to keep an eye on you for a few more days – those ribs of yours will need to be checked on quite frequently.”

I didn’t even try to
hide my disappointment. “Aw really?”

Dr. Kennedy smiled.
“I’m afraid so. But it might be earlier if I’m pleased with your progress.”

I grinned at that, even if it was quite painful.

Dr. Kennedy chuckled. “Don’t get your hopes up too much – you have several broken bones after all.”

I nodded.
“I know but at least there’s the possibility!”

He laughed and checked me over before he left the room, satisfied with the results.

Sighing, I noticed that my mother had disappeared but when I realised that it was around lunchtime, I figured that she was at the canteen.
Slightly bored, I looked around the room for something to amuse me and it was then that I noticed Harriet standing in the doorway.

“Hey,” she began with an apprehensive look on her face. She slowly made he
r way over to my bedside.

“How you feeling?”

“Oh fine – not like I was in a car crash at all!” I told her with a smirk and I watched as she visibly relaxed.

“Well I see your sense of humour is still intact so you must be okay.” She smiled at me and then added, “Seriously though, when I found out about the accident, I
was flipping out.”

I m
anaged to give her a half shrug. “Well I’m here – a little damaged – but I’m fine all the same.”

Harriet
smiled and then asked. “Has Danny came by yet?”

“I dunno.” I told her honestly.
“I’ve only been conscious for a few hours in the last two days. Why?”

Harrie
t suddenly looked uncomfortable. “Well, he was the one who told me about the accident. Did you know he followed the ambulance here and stayed in the waiting room with your mum the whole time you were in theatre?”

I shook my head but didn’t say anything, I wanted to know more.

“Well he did.” Harriet continued. “When he knew you were gonna be okay, he came by to tell me what had happened.”

“Was he okay?” I asked curiously.

Harriet shook her head. “Darcie, I’ve never seen Danny look so freaked.”

Her face lo
oked haunted as she continued.

“He was a total mess. I honestly don’t know how he managed to stay calm when he was waiting with your mum but when he got to my house … I’ve never seen him look so terrified.”

I frowned at her and was about to speak when she stopped me.

“No, let me fini
sh. Danny totally lost it … he kept saying that it was all his fault … he wasn’t making much sense really. But he was really upset and when he told me that you’d flat-lined during surgery – the look of pain on his face is something I will never forget.”

I nibbled on my lip – I was
afraid to hear any more but I had to know. “Is he okay now?”

Harriet shrugged.
“I think so – when he knew for definite that you were gonna be fine, he seemed to calm down. I haven’t seen him since though.”

“Yeah, well before the accident, we had a fight – a big one.” I admitted to Harriet, she suddenly looked shocked.

“But I thought you guys were really starting to get along and everything.”

I nodded.
“Yeah but some of the things we said were pretty ugly.”

Harriet gasped.
“Now it all makes sense! He was probably afraid he wouldn’t be able to apologise for whatever he said to you.”

I nodded.
“Yeah, well I need to apologise to him too. If you see him, can you tell him to come by?”

She nodded.
“Sure, I’d better get going anyway – Samuel’s meeting me soon.”

I smiled.
“Thanks … for everything.”

Harriet smiled and left the room, leaving me with a thousand confusing thoughts about what she had told me about Danny.

I was finally allowed to leave the hospital three days later. Dr. Kennedy was happy enough to discharge me but told me to take it easy. He also informed me that my leg should be healed in about six weeks and my ribs and shoulder would be better in about a month. Overall, I was just glad to be going home.

However, my only gripe was that I hadn’t heard from Danny at all. Harriet had called in a few more times but when I asked her about him, she said she hadn’t seen him all week.
I was really annoyed about this and had promised myself that I would phone him the first chance I got.

So, when I arrived home, I charged up my mobile (it had somehow survived the crash too) and dialled Danny’s number. After a few rings, he picked up.

“We need to talk.” I told him before he had the chance to speak. “I want to meet up. When can you call by my house?”

“Um, I suppose I could be there in fifte
en minutes,” came Danny’s reply. “I’ll see you soon.”

I hung up, relieved that he would be here soon.
Frankly, I was glad that he was able to come by so quickly, but then I realised that it was Sunday so he wasn’t likely to be busy anyway.

Fifteen minutes later and I saw Danny’s car pull up. My mother let him in and left us alone in the living room so that we could talk. My first thought was that he looked terrible. He didn’t meet my eyes but sat down on the couch beside me.

“Hey,” I began,
breaking the silence. “No offence but you look like crap.”

Danny met my gaze then and
smirked. “Thanks. I’m glad the accident didn’t seem to affect your glittering personality.”

I chuckled at him.
“Yeah, I’m very lucky! Seriously though, how are you?”

Dann
y looked at me as if I was crazy.

“How am I? Seriously – that’s what you wanna know? How are
you?
You’re the one who’s been through hell.”

“Sore.” I smirked.
“No, I’m fine. A bit banged up but apparently I’m very lucky to be here right now so I can’t complain.” I threw him a grin but he didn’t return it.

Instead, I watched as Danny stared at me for a few seconds. His expression was odd … he looked troubled.

“Are you okay?” I asked, a little alarmed by his behaviour.

Danny nodded.
“Yeah, it’s just I – well to be honest – I’m having a hard time erasing the image of you being pulled from that horrible wreckage …” He trailed off, shuddering slightly at the memory.

“Oh
.” was all I managed to say.

Danny held his head in h
is hands but continued to speak. “I – I haven’t been that scared in a few years. I thought you were already …” He trailed off and I saw that he was shaking all over.

I didn’t say anything; I just let him keep talking.

He took a shuddering breath.

“Yeah, a
nyway, when I got to the hospital, I had to keep it together when your mother arrived … but inside, I was a mess. I was torturing myself about what if you didn’t make it and the last thing I said to you was so horrible – it was driving me nuts.”

Danny the
n lifted his head to look at me. “When they told us that you’d flat-lined during surgery, I was ready to explode. I – I felt sick to my stomach … the thought of …”

H
e shook his head abruptly as if he was trying to erase the unspoken words from his mind.

“Yeah,
” he continued a few seconds later. “So when they said you were gonna be fine, I was so relieved. I know I didn’t visit but I was trying to come up with some way to apologise before I saw you again.”

I nodded and placed
my hand reassuringly on his arm. “Hey, I think we both said things we regret. Maybe we should just forget it ever happened, yeah? Oh, and I’d appreciate it if you would keep the whole thing about my father just between us.”

Danny threw me a weak smile.
“That’s fine and I’d like us to get back to normal but there’s something I want to tell you first.”

I frowned in puzzlement.
“Okay, what is it?”

Danny took a deep breath.
“The day of the fight, do you remember when you said that I didn’t know anything about what you went through?”

I nodded.
“Yeah and I’m really sorry about all that.”

Danny shook his head and waved h
is hand impatiently to stop me. “Let me finish. Well, the thing is, there’s something about my past that I think you should know. Since I pried into your private life without your permission, I think it’s only fair if I tell you the truth about mine.”

Danny sat in silence for a few minutes while I sat and patiently waited for him to speak. He took a few deep breaths and then looked directly at me.

“
You know when you asked me about my scars and I was a bit vague? Well, before I tell you what really happened, I need to start at the beginning. Before moving to Dover Springs, I lived in Spearhead. It was a big place but the part where I grew up, everyone knew everybody. In the end, that’s part of the reason why we ended up moving.”

I threw him a puzzled look and he continued on.

“Anyway, back to my point. It was 2008 and it was the start of the summer holidays. I remember looking forward to eight weeks of freedom and hanging out with my friends, making plans for my 15
th
birthday which was three weeks later on the 23
rd
of July. Anyway, it was the 7
th
of July and we’d been off school for a week. We were driving Mum insane so she decided that we should go to the swimming pool.”

I instantly picked up on his sudden use of ‘we’ but I didn’t question him. Instead, I watched him take
another deep breath but I also noticed that he was now shaking slightly. He avoided my gaze when he spoke again.

“We spent two hours mucking about and that’s when I first realised that I enjoyed swimming. Anyway, it was time for us to go home and it was pouring down quite heavily but Mum was anxious to get home since Dad would
be home from work soon. But we were fighting about who had to sit in the back and Mum was in such a rush she told me to just let Josh sit in the front … and I stupidly let him.”