a place we know| ✓

twenty six

"And find a place where every single thing you see tells you to stay."
S E E K E R
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January 3rd
5:21 PM
New York
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Audrey's eyes were heavy. Apart from her lungs losing their ability to expand and dispense air, ignoring what felt like a sharp splinter underneath her ribs, she was unharmed.

As Audrey swam her way to the surface of consciousness, the first thing she became aware of was the persistent beep-beep-beep of a machine nearby. The sound was maddening, a steady pulse that seemed to be trying to keep time with the pounding in her head. The scent of antiseptic was strong in the air, a familiar but unwelcome reminder that she was in a hospital.

She tried to open her eyes, but the light was too bright, and she winced, squeezing them shut again. She became aware of a dull ache in her head, a reminder that something was not quite right. Slowly, she opened her eyes again, this time more cautiously, taking in her surroundings.

A hospital room. The walls were a stark shade of white, and there were machines and wires everywhere. She was hooked up to an IV, and there was a heart monitor beeping in the background. 

Audrey's throat clenched, the saliva she swallowed doing the least to moisten her airway. She could barely think because of the constant hammering against her skull as if her heart had worked its way there and beat mercilessly. There was a dull ache in her bones as she struggled to push herself up to sit, already regretting her decision the instant a mixture of nausea and pain fired down her spine.

The surface beneath her was soft and white. She bowed her head and looked at her attire; she didn't remember changing into a hospital gown, but she did recall Leah and Gunner and what had happened when he came home.

Her memory ended when she was sheltered by her boyfriend's arms. So here she was: bewildered but alive. She desperately wished she hadn't woken because of how peaceful the silence had been.

The world held a grudge against her and she didn't know why.

She turned her head and saw a figure seated in a chair by her bed. It was Gunner, and he was watching her with a look of worry and distress. 

Gunner leapt to his feet when he saw that Audrey was awake, and took her hand in his. "Easy, Audrey. Don't get up yet, lay down."

"Gunner?" His name was a wheezy, brittle sound. 

His blonde hair was rumpled, as if he had run his fingers through it countless times in worry. Despite his tired appearance, his green eyes were piercing, betraying the fear that still lingered within him. As he held fast to her hand, his face softened, and the lines of distress and exhaustion seemed to ease. 

Audrey smiled weakly, trying to reassure him, but she could see the fear in his eyes. "What happened? Why am I here?" Talking took too much energy, and she closed her eyes as a flash of pain burned the circuits in her brain. "Is everything okay?"

"You're fine, but you've been asleep since last night," he explained. "I called 9-1-1 when you fell unconscious and they brought you to this hospital. It was nothing major. I think they had to do an appendectomy."

"What does that mean?" 

The room was filled with a heavy silence, broken only by the beeping of the machines and the soft sound of Gunner's breathing

He shook his head. "I wasn't really listening. But I'm so glad that you're awake, baby."

Baby.