Catching You Read Free Page B

confused. I could have sworn …the
thought trailed.
    “Yes, you came in Friday night unconscious and since then
you haven’t been conscious more than a few minutes at a time.”
    “I could have sworn that I talked to Elisabeth right after
the accident, though,” I said, still fuzzy about details.
    “You could have been talking to her in your dreams. It’s
said that people in a coma have vivid dreams that they think are real.” He
frowned. “Do you have a headache?”
    I nodded.
    “Do you remember what happened before the accident?” he
asked, concerned.
    “Now, that you mention it, my head does hurt a little bit.
Is that a sign?”
    “Yes, it is. I want to do some tests and we’ll see what to
do from there.”
    Just then, my mother walked in the room. “Why is my daughter
having tests?”
    “Well, I think she may be showing signs of a concussion and
I want to do some tests to see if I’m correct.”
    “What kinds of tests?” My mother was the kind of person who
needed to know every detail about something.
    He paused, but continued before my mother could ask another
question. “A CT scan is the standard test that doctors perform to assess the
brain right after injury. The scanner takes multiple cross-sectional X-rays and
combines all the resulting images to give us detailed, two-dimensional images
of Lauren’s skull and brain. During the procedure, she’ll just lie very still
on a table that slides through a large doughnut-shaped X-ray machine. It’s easy
and painless.”
    The doctor turned to me. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
    “Wait!”
    He stopped in the doorway, “Do you need something else?”
    “Where’s the morgue?” I asked.
    Dr. Summers frowned. “In the basement level, why?”
    “I want to see him,” I requested
    My mother interrupted me, “I don’t think that would be a
good idea. I don’t even think that you’d be able to see him. Hospitals have
rules you have to follow. Only family members are allowed to see the deceased.”
    “I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye,” my voice quivered, “I
need to tell him that I’m sorry. You don’t understand.”
    “Well, we haven’t been able to get a hold of Ryan’s parents
to identify the body yet, so Lauren could do that for us. But I’ll only agree
to this if you let the nurse take you for those tests first. I know you want to
see Ryan, but I want to make sure that everything is okay with you.”
    My mother turned to me. “I agree with Dr. Summers. Making
sure that you’re okay is my first priority. I still don’t know if seeing Ryan
is a good idea.” She frowned.
    “I do. He's my...I mean was my boyfriend,” I said calmly. If
my mother noticed the change, she didn’t comment.
    “I guess that would be okay, but you’re waiting until a
nurse comes with a wheelchair and you’re going for the tests first,” she said
sternly.
    Dr. Summers left the room to get the nurse. A few minutes
later, a woman walked in the room with a wheelchair. She had black hair styled
in a pixie cut. She reminded me a little bit of Lucy Hale from Pretty Little
Liars.
    “Here you go. Do you need help getting in?” she asked,
pushing the wheelchair to the bed.
    My mother spoke. “No, thank you. I’ll get it from here.” The
girl smiled at me and left the room. I pushed away the covers and slid my legs
off the bed. I’d been stuck in bed for the last two days, so my legs felt like
jelly as I got in the wheelchair.
    I looked up. “I’m ready,” I said. She sighed and began
pushing me down the hallway. I’d never been anywhere, but my hospital room so I
looked around with interest. The walls were the same antique white as the other
rooms but with rails running alongside them for patients to hold onto as they
walked along. I saw a young guy with spiky, blonde hair walking around, one
hand on the rail and the other on the pole he drug beside him.
    “What’s that?” I asked my mother, pointing to the guy.
    Her gaze followed my