Always and Forever (Part 3)

Chapter 9

A week later, Chloe had been able to open her eyes, and at the time, her mother was at her side.

She opened her eyes with a real effort, and saw a woman with dark hair. Chloe didn't recognise her, although she knew it was her mother as she recognised the voice.

"Mu.. mum.." Chloe stuttered.

She saw her jump visibly. She leapt out of her seat, and opened the door. "Nurse! Come quickly!" Linda went back to look in her daughter's eyes.

"What is your name?" Chloe heard her mother ask.

"Chlo.. Chloe Spring.. Springer. Chloe Springer."

"How old are you, Chloe?" Linda asked.

That's funny, Chloe thought. Why is she asking me my age? She should know.

"Thir..teen. No, four..teen." she answered, her mouth feeling dry, and unused. It felt as though her words were fighting to get out from under her tongue. It felt fuzzy and thick.

The nurse came running in, and a beaming smile lit up on her face.

Chloe looked at her, and wondered if she could get something to drink.

"Can.. I... can I have some..thing to drink?" She spluttered out, with a great deal of effort.

"Not just yet, Chloe." the nurse said briskly. "I'll have to get the doctor to have a look at you first. OK, now.. how old are you?"

Her mother cut in, "I've already asked her, nurse."

The nurse looked annoyed, but turned to Chloe with an encouraging smile on her face. "Chloe?" she asked.

"Fourteen," Chloe said after a moments hesitation. She was getting used to speaking, but was still thirsty. The doctor had just come into the door, studying a clipboard carefully. He looked up, and beamed at Chloe.

"How are you?" he said, his tone cheerful.

"Thirsty" Chloe replied slowly. "I want a drink."

"Not just yet" the doctor said, still cheerful. "Now, let's have a look at you."

Chapter 10

Chloe sat up in her hospital bed. Her fingers and toes had been a little tingly at first, but now they were fine. She was aching for someone to have a giggle with. Maybe.. Melanie. She could learn again about her friend. She had forgotten lots of things. Five years and two months in a coma was too much. Chloe was aching to go out and see the world she had been taken away from.

The door suddenly opened, and a woman with short blonde hair and a big smile came into the room. A few people stood behind her, but only stood at the doorway while the woman crossed the room to Chloe's bed.

She smiled what seemed to be a false smile at Chloe, all her teeth showing, grinning, snarling.

"Hello Chloe. I'm here to help you walk again. You see, your legs will be very weak from the years of neglect, young lady."

Chloe stared at the wall glumly. She hadn't even considered how she was going to walk. Then she realised that the woman had brought a wheelchair into the room. It was obviously meant for her, and for her to use right then.

"You want me to come now?" Chloe asked numbly. She didn't want to have a walking session. It seemed like too much hard work, and although she wanted to go out and see everything, she didn't really want to wait for her legs to get stronger. She wanted to go now.

The woman beamed, and nodded her head. "Come on Chloe. The sooner we start, the sooner you'll be able to use those bonny legs of yours."

The woman who introduced herself as Adelaide helped her to swing her legs over the edge of the bed, and sit in the wheelchair. Then, briskly, she swung it out of the door, and for the first time in five years, Chloe was out of the hospital room.

The corridors were bright and cheerful, with sun streaming in through tissue paper patterns dreamt up by five and six year olds.

Nurses and doctors walked up and down past them. Busy. Some wheeling people down, some just walking patiently from room to room.

Soon, they turned a sharp right into a large gym-like room. In it were all sorts of equipment, but Chloe was led to a part which had two parallel bars, and had several walking frames nearby. She drew in a breath. This looked hard. Chloe didn't think that she would enjoy this in the least. The woman leading her stopped, and walked in front of her. Everyone else who had followed did the same. They looked as though they had been programmed to stand and grin deranged smiles. It frightened her, but she did what they asked her to.

Chapter 11

Chloe lay in the hospital bed that night, sobbing. The session had not gone well. Her legs were so weak she had not even been able to stand up with people holding onto her. The walking frames might have helped, but her arms were weak as well. It seemed as though nothing would go right for her.

Finally, Chloe drifted off into sleep, full of nightmares, and monsters, the things she should have grown out of when she was eleven. She tossed and turned, trying to run away from the monsters in her sleep.

"No, no!" she muttered as the monster chasing her almost caught up.

In her dream's terror, she ran as fast as she could, and skidded to keep from falling off of the cliff that appeared before her. Chloe toppled over it.

THUD

Chloe woke up suddenly, and she realised in amazement that her entire right hand side of her body was aching like crazy. It hurt, and she noticed she had fallen from her bed onto the floor.

It was pitch black, and her legs couldn't support her to scramble into bed again.

Outside, Chloe heard the tapping of someone's shoes along the corridor. Someone opened the door, and clicked on the light. It was the nurse who tried so hard to get her to walk, the one with the maniac smile, only her face did not hold the smile this time.

Adelaide walked into the room where Chloe was covering her eyes.

"What are you doing on the floor at this time of the night?" Adelaide said quietly, yet sympathetically.

"I-I .. nightmare.." Chloe stuttered.

"Well, you silly girl, have a drink of water, and go back to sleep."

Adelaide hauled Chloe back onto the bed, and tucked her in. Chloe took the glass of water from her hands, and drank it thirstily. She handed the glass back, and her head dropped onto the pillow. It was as though she had been drugged.

Chapter 12

It was at least three months before Chloe had learnt to walk again, but she was once again strong on her feet, and was allowed home.

Chloe could not remember what her home looked like, or if she had any pets, or anything! It wasn't like she had amnesia, it was just that she hadn't seen anything for five years. She was looking forward to seeing her home for the first time in five years, and fidgeted excitedly in her seat. She saw her mother look in the rear-view mirror at her, and saw her smile. She looked just as excited as her daughter. Her father swung round to look at Chloe, and grinned all over his face.

'These people really love me.' Chloe thought. 'I am so lucky to have such caring parents.'

As Chloe didn't know where she lived, she didn't know what to look out for as they sped along. The car pulled into a road, and immediately, she saw a castle through the trees that she hadn't been able to see before. She read the sign.

CASTLEVIEW CRESCENT

'No wonder' she thought. Suddenly, she was sick of thinking. She had been thinking practically non-stop for the last five years. She wasn't able to do anything else.

The first words were out of her mouth before she could stop them.

"Are we nearly there yet?"

Chloe thought that her mother would cause a crash, and expected to hear the crunch of metal behind her. They had come to a stop in the middle of the road, and her mother unbelted herself and hugged Chloe delightedly. She got back into her seat and belted up again.

"Yes, we are, darling. Very nearly there."

Chloe waited patiently, and about thirty seconds later, they had pulled up into a drive, and her parents both unbuckled themselves, and she did the same. She got out, and stood in front of the house.

It was a semi detached house, a pleasant beige colour, with roses growing up the wall. She walked up to the roses and breathed in deeply. She turned round and smiled at her parents, who were standing in the drive way with their arms around each other. They were watching her with happy smiles on their faces. Chloe grinned suddenly, and rushed up to them, and hugged them as hard as she could. She looked into her parents eyes, and she saw the tears rolling down their faces, and felt her own eyes grow moist with overwhelming happiness. Chloe wanted to yell out, her happiness was so great, she wanted to let the whole world know.

Always and Forever (Part Four)
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