Free SCARRED - Part 5 by Kylie Walker

had a nap...
    Derek wasn’t sure how long he slept, but this time when he woke up the first thing he did was concentrate on pulling open his eyes. He had them open just enough to once again see the bright light. He couldn’t see anything else.
    “Hey!  Derek? It’s Jake, buddy! Can you hear me?”
    Jake is here? Where did Chloe go? He concentrated on pulling his eyes open a little more and trying to focus them. The light is so bright. He blinked a few times and this time moisture actually accumulated in the corners of them. They weren’t dry any longer, that’s good...right? That will make it easier to keep them open anyways.
    “You’re in the hospital, Derek. There was an accident. Can you hear me buddy? If you can, squeeze my hand.”
    Derek’s head felt better from his nap. He concentrated hard again like he’d done with Chloe and let his fingers grip his brother’s hand. “That’s it, buddy! You’re doing it! I’m so glad! Can you see me, Derek?”
    Derek could see a large shadow. His vision was blurry and it looked like nothing had any real mass. There was a big, dark shadow in front of him. He assumed that was his brother even though he couldn’t make out his features. I was in an accident? When? With who? Sarah? No, Sarah died in our accident. Chloe was here...
    “Can you see me?” The large mass moved slightly to the right. Derek had to concentrate hard to do it, but eventually he moved his eyes and followed it.
    “Hey! You can see me!”
    Not really, unless you’re the shadow man, Derek thought. I do see something though. He pulled his eyes open just a little bit further...it was still blurry, but now Jake had shape to him.
    “There you go, buddy.”
    Jake hadn’t called him buddy since he was twelve. He must be in really bad shape, he thought. His brother was reverting to his childhood nickname. That couldn’t be good.
    “There you go. You’re doing great! I’m so proud of you!”
    Derek blinked a few times. Jake’s face was beginning to take shape. He tried to say something, but nothing would come out still. His throat felt raw. It hurt like a son of a bitch too.
    “You’re going to be okay, Derek! We’re all pulling for you. We all love you and have faith in you!”
    Jake wasn’t usually one for sappy, flowery words. This must be really bad. Derek thought again. He tried to move his legs again. He thought he felt a twitch in the right one, but the left one wouldn’t move at all. His eyes were starting to burn and dry out again. He closed them and again, he slept. The next time he woke up it was even easier to open them. It took him another few minutes to get his focus.
    “Hey there! You’re awake!”
    Hi Dad. Where am I? Where’s Chloe? And Jake? Derek was beginning to understand that they couldn’t hear him, but he kept trying. There was something getting in the way when he tried to talk.
    The breathing tube? He thought that was probably what was making that annoying beep...swoosh...beep....swoosh noise too. As a matter of fact, there were all kinds of annoying beeping noises.
    “Can you hear me, Derek?” His dad slipped his hand into his. Someone must have spread the word that he was squeezing hands. Derek squeezed it. For the first time that day...or had more than one day passed? Anyways, it wasn’t as hard as it had been before.
    “Awesome! I’m so happy, son. You’re going to be okay.”
    That’s what everyone keeps telling me.
    “Mr. Stark?” A man’s voice.
    “Hi Doc. He’s awake.”
    “Good. He’s been waking up off and on for the past twenty-four hours according to the nurses. That’s great.”
    Twenty-four hours? How long have I been here?
    “Are you going to take the breathing tube out today?” Derek’s dad asked him.
    “Yes. I’m going to ask you to step out here in a few minutes while we do that.”
    They’re going to take the tube out of my throat. Then I can talk. Take it out now! Derek turned his head slightly towards the doctor.
    “Did you