Selene's Latest Gift. (Chapter 3)
"Come now, Mr Elrod. Walk to me without the crutches now"
"I am trying my hardest doctor." David proclaims, awkwardly shifting his weight from leg to leg. David shuffles slowly towards the doctor.
"Thatβs good, very good." The doctor nods towards David, jotting down a few words on his clipboard.
David reaches out to a nearby chair, letting out a sigh of relief as he starts to sit.
"Yes... in the 6 months of your recovery, youβve made remarkable progress, Iβm quite impressed."
David slowly shakes his head to himself.
"How long do you reckon until Iβm back to normal?"
"Anywhere from 6 to 8 months. If we're being generious and you keep up with physiotherapy"
David nods once again to himself. Biting his lower lip before saying:
"Iβm assuming thereβs bad news though"
The doctor looks up from the clipboard.
"Well Mr Elrod, thereβs a possibility your memory was affected, both old and new. But until you recover more, itβs hard to tell, we can only speculate at this point."
He pauses, looking down at the clipboard again.
"As well as the court offering a conditional discharge."
David's eyebrows raising in shock.
The doctor looked up at David, raising an eyebrow.
He looks back down at the clipboard, hastily writing more words before looking back up.
"the conditional discharge. Do you not remember? The court said you wouldnβt face any of the dangerous driving, or public endangerment charges, in exchange for you giving up your license. You consented to it, remember?"
David gives a puzzled look ath the doctor.
"...yeah, I remember a bit."
The doctor puts the clipboard by his side.
"Other than that everything is steady. Your body has healed up, your recovery is going in the right direction. No long lasting injuries to your brain or elsewhere. Honestly if you ask me, your quite lucky. Psychologically though... thatβs harder to assess, and youβd have to refer yourself."
"Right...okay, thank you" David places his hands on his head.
"Do you think you're now able to leave on your own? Or should we call something to pick you up?"
he shakes his head in his hands.
"last thing I want is my parents to see me like this."
David grabs onto a crutch nearby him, leaning his weight onto it while getting up.
"I will take this though. Any final recommendations or anything?"
"Yes, plenty of sleep and activity."
"Okay, I can do that. Thank you."
The doctor nods at David, then confidently walkes towards the door.
"Iβll have your person belongings sent to you."
His final reassuring words before leaving.
David hobbles to the bathroom. Standing in front of the mirror, twisting the taps. Fillin the silence of the isolation room with a cool stream of water.Β
David sighs. Cupping his hands together and splashing water on his face, feeling the cold moisture cleanse him. He lifts his head up, looking at the mirror. He reaches to his left, grabbing a towel, pressing its soft material against his face, patting it dry. Putting it down after a couple minutes, he leans in closer to the mirror, almost inspecting his own reflection. Noticing the few new scars in his top left corner. David messes with his hair, testing if his hair could cover the scars, checking every possible angle. But eventually giving up.
"Wow...just short of a few follicles, and they couldβve been covered up."
He lets out a small chuckle at himself. He looks at his wristband, the characters "doedMN" etched into it.
"Strange. Why not use numbers?" He shakes the thought off.
David pushes himself off the sink, walking back into the isolation room. Taking a deep breath.
a knocking and a statisfying click fills the room. A nurse walks in carrying a silver tray beforte placing it on the patient bed.
"These are the things we recovered"
"Thanks but... whereβs Dr Aisling?"
The nurse turns her head to David.
"Dr Aisling? I'm.. not sure"
The nurse looks away, quickly waltzing out the room.
"Not one for conversation, I guess." he mutteredΒ to himself.
David leans on the bed, turning his body to the tray, as he sits with it, containing his: wallet, keys, phone, and watch.
David picks up his watch, feeling its cold steel warm up in his hands.
He then turns the watch, looking at its face.
He turns the grooved dial on the watche's side, while staring attentively at the hour and minute hands not moving.
He lets out a bigger sigh.
"stupid things broken, how am I going to explain this to dad..."
He rubs his forehead with his thumb and index finger.
"Iβm a fucking mess... I should just call them." he whispers.
He drops his hand onto his lap. He leans over to grasp his phone. He stares at the reflection of himself on the glass. Biting his lip harder out of hesitation.
A couple minutes go by before he finally dials his mother. The soft rings of anticipation reverberated around the room.
"Oh! David is that you? How are you darling?"
"Iβm not going to lie mum... I'm not doing well. Iβll explain everything later but can you please ask dad to come pick me up from the hospital, please."
"Alright darling, weβll be there soon. Love you. Bye, bye now."