73| The After-effects

Zoey could hear people screaming beside her. There were voices of machines beeping, of doctors and nurses rushing around her, of the gurneys and crash carts. There were few voices that she could recognize, like that of her father. She tried to wake up but her body felt like it was run over by a truck or something. Everything hurt, her head, her stomach, her skin, her legs.

Soon, an oxygen mask was put on her mouth to help her breathe and then she felt a prick, followed by sudden numbness and relief of pain. She felt like she was going into warm embrace of sleep and she couldn't figure out if it was just sleep or she was dying.

Maybe she was dying; maybe that's why she didn't feel pain anymore.

•••••••••

When she opened up her eyes next, a white ceiling greeted her. She blinked twice and then tried to move but her body felt too weak. Angling her neck, she saw Travis sitting on the stool, his face hidden in between his palms.

"H... Hey." She muttered weakly but he didn't hear it.

"T... Tra... Travis." She tried to speak up.

Travis' head jerked towards her and his eyes widened. Standing up, he leapt towards Zoey and called for the nurse. "God, are you okay?" He asked, leaning down to cup her cheek.

"Ah..." His sudden touch on her wounded face made her wince

"Sorry." He said and that's when the doctor appeared in the room. He assessed her for a moment, checking her vitals and then shone some light in her eyes that made her head ache in pain. Her body felt so fragile, as if it would break by a light touch.

"How is my daughter, doctor?" She heard her Dad's voice coming from the door. His eyes looked swollen and there were tear stains on his cheeks.

"Her CT and other tests are clear but we need to keep her here until full recovery." The doctor told him and then pointed towards her junior. "Dr. West will keep an eye on her."

After both doctors left, Richard stood on one side of her bed and Travis on the other. "Zoey, how do you feel?" Richard asked.

"T... Tired." She breathed out and closed her eyes.

She could hear her Dad talking with Travis and telling him about the driver who died on spot. She also heard about Maya and Althea. Both of them were still in the surgery. From their conversation, it appeared that Zoey was lucky. She fell out of the car before it rolled over. Althea and Maya couldn't leave the car in time and they got stuck inside an upside down car.

"Doctor has asked me to give her sedative." A nurse said.

Soon, Zoey felt another prick on her arm. The thought of the accident and her friends escaped her mind and she felt herself succumbing to the darkness once again.

•••••••••••

This time when she woke up, she felt a lot better. She was still in pain but it was a lot less than before. Stretching her neck, she turned her head to a side and found Rose sitting on the bench by her side.

"How do you feel now, Miss. Zoey?" She asked. Her voice sounded hoarse, as if she had cried recently.

"Better." She said. "What happened? Where is Dad and Travis?"

"I'm here." Travis' voice reached her ears. He reached her bed and motioned something to Rose with his eyes. Rose nodded in return and walked out of the room.

Travis' own face was pale like someone who had seen a ghost recently. "What happened? Where were you?" She asked.

"I... I just went to buy coffee." He said but there was no sign of coffee in his hands. "Are you okay?" He knelt in front of her.

Zoey felt too tired to speak so she just nodded.

"D... Dad?"

"He will be here soon." Travis said. There was something wrong with his voice but she couldn't figure out what.

"Althea? Maya?" Zoey whispered.

Something flashed in Travis' eyes but he hid it before Zoey could catch it. "They both are fine." He said, not looking directly into her eyes.

He seated himself beside her and then patted her forehead in relaxing manner. His touch made her feel sleepy again but she decided against it.

"We had a fight." Zoey said as she remembered what happened yesterday.

"Forget about it. I was being a dick." He said, holding her hand with his other one.

"No. I was clearly the dick in that scenario." She smiled weakly. "It won't happen again. I promise."

A thin layer of moisture appeared in Travis' eyes as he muttered, "It better not." And then, he kissed her forehead.

"Stop being so dramatic, Anderson." She smiled, although her mouth hurt in doing that. "I am not dead."

"Don't say anything like that, ever again. It's not a joke." He replied sharply and Zoey frowned at this. His face softened a little and he whispered. "I mean, I can't lose you Zoey, not now, not ever."

"You are not losing me." Zoey replied in consoling manner. "What happened at the prom?"

"All of us left when the news came." He replied.

"Oh. Althea must be throwing a tantrum that she didn't get to be the prom queen." Zoey chuckled but Travis didn't reciprocate her expression.

"You should take some rest." Travis said.

"I will." She replied. "First tell me, where is Zachary? And Ethan? Olive?"

"They are with Althea." Travis told.

"Hey, I was also in an accident. I need some attention too." She pouted. "Tell them Zoey is angry."

"I will." Travis said and covered her with the blanket. "Sleep."

"What is wrong, Travis? Is everything okay?" She asked. He gulped and then nodded. Before she could ask more, he left the room, leaving her alone.

She spent the next half an hour looking around in confusion. Travis was avoiding being with her and it was frustrating. Was he still angry at her for what she did? Has he decided that she wasn't worth the hassle? Why hasn't anyone come to visit her?

Lost in these thoughts, she didn't realize when Rose entered her room. "Where were you?" Zoey asked.

"I... I went to see Miss. Althea." Rose replied.

"How is she?" Zoey asked.

Rose shifted on her feet and lowered her face. "Okay." She said.

"You are lying, aren't you? There is something wrong here and nobody is telling me anything." Zoey said in anger and felt a sharp pain in her stomach.

"Miss. Zoey, calm down. You will hurt yourself." Rose stepped forwards to hold her.

"Help me sit up, Rose." Zoey said and attempted to sit straight. Rose tried to lay her back on the bed but she didn't let her.

"Don't force me Rose. You will end up hurting me even more." Zoey said to manipulate Rose into helping her.

"Where are you going?" Rose asked. "Don't do this, Miss. Zoey."

Ignoring her begging, Zoey slowly stepped out of the bed and took off the wires connected to her. "I need to see my friends. They will tell me everything."

"Please lie down." Rose mumbled nervously.

"Will you help me or should I go on my own?" Zoey asked. She had to know what was Travis and her dad hiding from her. Was there something wrong with her body? Does she have any disability? She tried to assess herself but everything felt alright.

Wrapping her arm around Zoey's back, Rose helped her slip into her sandals and then led her out of the room.

Despite the pain in her legs, Zoey moved forwards and let Rose take her to the Intensive care unit. Her stomach felt on fire and she had a very strong feeling that something was wrong.

From a far, she saw everyone gathered in the hallway. Pulling away from Rose, Zoey limped her way forwards. There was Zachary sitting on the desk, holding Mrs. Harper who was crying with hiccups. Senator Harper was standing in a corner, looking so defeated. In a corner was standing Ethan, still like a statue, with no emotions whatsoever on his face.

"Zoey!" Travis and Olive walked forwards to support her when they saw her coming.

"No!" Zoey replied in a state of shock. She got an idea of what was going on in here but she refused to believe. Her eyes met Zachary's who just shook his head in pure sorrow, tears leaking from his eyes continuously.

"What... What happened?" Zoey asked, staring at Althea's body connected to thousands of wires through the glass door. "Why is everybody crying? She will wake up. It's Althea, she will wake up perfectly fine."

Travis pulled her in for a hug and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Ssshhhh." He said.

"She will be alright, Travis. And then she will kick Blaire's ass for stealing the prom queen's crown from her." Zoey muttered.

She lifted her head and found him staring at her with pity. Parting away, she limped towards Ethan. "Say something. These people have gone mad. You know she will wake up, right?"

Ethan just stared back at her with a completely blank face. There was no humanity, no soul in his eyes; just black pools of nothingness.

"Zoey," Her father pulled her to a corner and enveloped her into a hug to comfort her. "She won't wake up, sweetheart." He said.

"Who told you that?" Zoey shouted.

"The doctors. They told us that there is no brain activity. She is brain dead and on artificial support right now. Soon, her other organs will shut down too." Richard said.

"That can't be true." Zoey hugged him back with trembling hands.

"It's time." A doctor appeared out of nowhere and told Senator Harper.

"What time?" Zoey said, moving forwards.

"Time to unhook her from the machines." Travis said, holding her back.

Hearing this, Isobel's cries got louder and echoed in the whole hallway. Zachary picked his mother up by her arms and took her inside to see Althea for the one last time. Travis linked his arms with Zoey and they both went inside as well, while the rest of them stayed outside.

"Ethan, come inside." Olive said to him, controlling her own tears that were threatening to spill out any second now. "Say goodbye to her." She patted his arms but he didn't give any response, just kept looking at the floor.

Inside the hospital room, Zoey held Travis tightly because she feared she might collapse any minute now. They all surrounded Althea's bed while the doctor stood at one corner. Senator Harper leaned down to kiss her forehead and then wrapped his arms around his wife, while Zachary muttered his goodbye to her.

Zoey couldn't see it anymore so she hid her face in Travis' chest and cried. She didn't even have the emotional and physical strength to say some last words to her.

Once everyone was done, Zachary's father nodded at the doctor, who moved forwards, warned the family about the coming emotional trauma and then pulled out the tube that was going into her mouth.

Her chest heaved up and down with a sudden breath, something that usually happened with brain-dead people like the doctor had already warned. The surge of energy was followed by complete cessation of any movement.

The sound of beeping of machine turned erratic and soon changed into a long, continuous beep, that caused everyone to simultaneously erupt in tears.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I know most of you are sad with the decision of killing Althea but I had always wanted to kill a major character in the end and I created Althea's character specially for that purpose. She was always supposed to die. That's why I created a character who would strive for so much perfection. She wanted to have everything planned out for her but there is one thing you can never plan; death.

P.s. chill out. It's just a fictional character. :p

*Cries in pain*

There are still three chapters left. Let's see what happens in them.