Chapter 2
Jen slowly woke up in the hospital bed to find her parents and brother, Rick, standing around her. She could feel a throbbing pain in her arms and legs and around the rest of her body. She tried to talk, but nothing came out of her mouth. She couldn't remember what happened to her until Dan and Lisa peered out from behind her family.
A flood of memories came rushing into Jen's head as she remembered Dan pushing her down the stairs. The last thing she could remember was her shoulder hitting one of the steps. Everything past that point was blank.
"Mommy," Jen tried again, finally finding her voice. "It hurts."
"I'll get the doctor," her father said, rushing out of the room. Dan came closer to her bed.
He picked up Jen's hand and gently brushed his over it. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you would fall," he whispered into her ear.
Jen wanted to hit him then and there. She was angrier at Dan than she had ever been. She never wanted to see him again. "It's over between us. I want you to leave," she retorted.
Without giving it another thought, Dan let go of her hand and walked out of the room. Jen tried to move her head to see where he went off to, but couldn't; she was restrained by a neck brace. Just then, Jen saw her father and another man in a white lab coat walk into the room.
"Hello, Jennifer. How are you feeling?" the man asked.
"I feel like crap. Are you the doctor?" Jen inquired.
"Yes, and fortunately for you, all you have is a sprained neck and broken arm. By the way, I'm Dr. Ravens," he replied. Jen sat there, shocked at what she had just heard.
"Will I ever be able to run again? I mean, I'm the track star, this isn't supposed to happen to me," she denied the prognosis.
"Don't worry. With physical therapy and patience, you'll be able to run again," Dr. Ravens answered. He walked up to Jen and looked at his clipboard.
"How long will it be before I can even walk?"
"A couple of months, maybe half a year," he said.
"Half a year!?" she cried, the tears streaming down her cheeks.
Jen couldn't believe what she was hearing.
She couldn't waste half a year on recovery.
She wanted to run on the track team and be able to walk home in the sunny
"Honey, it's going to be okay. I promise. You'll be able to run again," her mother comforted.
"Look at me! I can't even move my head, let alone the rest of my body!" Jen cried out.
Seeing her become hysterical, Dr. Ravens pulled out a syringe and a bottle of clear liquid. He injected Jen with the liquid and she began to calm down. "A mild sedative. It's harmless." He walked out of the room.
Jen lay there, all the thoughts drifting out of her head as she began to fall asleep. The drug was beginning to take effect quickly, and the last thing she heard was something about her cousin Jeff coming the next day. The next thing she knew was a deep and restful sleep to take her mind off of everything.
Dan came back into the room. He wasn't expecting Jen to forgive him, but when he saw her sleeping, he knew this wasn't the right time to say anything. "What happened to Jen? I leave the room for a few minutes, the next thing I know is that she's asleep."
"The doctor gave her a mild sedative," Lisa spoke up. She went over to Dan and patted his shoulder.
"Oh," was his reply. He sat down in a chair next to Jen's bed and slid his hand into hers. "Could we please be alone for a few minutes?'
"But why? She's asleep," Lisa asked.
"Five minutes," Dan pleaded.
"Okay, but don't wake her up," Jen's mother said. She walked out of the room along with Jen's father, brother, and Lisa.
Dan sat and watched Jen's chest rise with every breath. He wiped the wet tears still on her cheeks with his free hand and began to cry himself. Never, in his wildest dreams, did Dan want to hurt Jen. The first time he had ever physically and emotionally abused her was that day in the hall before she fell. He wanted to turn back time so he could prevent himself from making the mistake that he did.
"I'm so sorry, Jen," Dan said, gently giving her a kiss on the forehead and leaving the room again.