An Excerpt from a Writing Project

From Rockybado 4: Running Up A Hill

Brody Ingram pulled up his shirt and applied the sandwich bag full of ice to his chest. He noticed a nice bruise in the center of his chest, but, of course, he couldn’t remember anything that happened. Brody tried closing his eyes and going back to sleep, but it was hard, given the amount of pain that he was in.

“What happened?” Brody asked quietly.
“You and Dawson were in a car accident last night. While you had a green light, someone ran a red light and totaled your car. Dawson came out unscathed, but you broke your right hand and bruised your sternum. Thank goodness that was all it was. You two are so lucky that it wasn’t anything too serious. And, while waiting for the ambulance, you were throwing up, and Dawson was helping you out,” Mrs. Ingram replied.
“Oh God.”
“Do you remember any of that?”
“I don’t remember anything that happened last night. All I remember is that Dawson and I were in the car. We had the green light, and someone crashed into us. That’s it,” Brody said, still quietly.
“Dawson told me that he owes you a lot for what happened last night,” Mrs. Ingram said.
“No. Please don’t. But, can he and Daniela still go on their honeymoon?”
“Yes, but they are delaying it. They were supposed to leave for Michigan tomorrow morning, but they are leaving next week. Dawson and Daniela were smart in that they were planning to start out close and then make their way to Hawaii. Oh, and by the way, do you remember Candace visiting you last night?”
“Candace was at the hospital?!”
“Yes, she was. Candace was very worried about you. Dawson let her know that you were in the hospital, and she came by for twenty minutes. Now, would you like some tea?”

Brody nodded slowly. And, of course, he started crying again. Brody remembered nothing, not even the twenty minutes that Candace Seales, his girlfriend, had spent at the hospital visiting him.

A few minutes later, Mrs. Ingram brought out a cup of English breakfast tea for Brody, which happens to be his favorite kind of tea. Brody still lay on the couch, trying to connect everything that had happened last night. He really did not want to do anything today, except lie on the couch and watch some of his favorite movies, and drink English breakfast tea, of course. 

After practically spending the night in the hospital getting x-rays done on his right hand and chest, as well as being hooked up to a heart monitor, Brody knew that he had gone through a lot. But, of course, he couldn’t remember any of that. Dawson, his older brother, could, but Brody didn’t feel like getting off the couch and looking for him. 

Dawson ended up staying the night at the Ingram’s house, as did Daniela, his wife. 

After realizing what little motivation he had to do anything, Brody closed his eyes and fell asleep again. He had a pillow on top of his face, and he was perfectly okay with that. It was now 2:15, and Brody didn’t know when he was planning to wake up again. 

Until….

“Hi, Brody,” Dawson said softly as he gently shook his younger brother of seven years.
“Wha….” Brody replied sleepily.
“How are you after what happened last night?”
“You were there, too, weren’t you?”
“Yes, I was. I just wanted to make sure you were doing okay,” Dawson remarked.
“I hope so,” Brody said with a deep sigh, which made his chest hurt.
“Did Mom tell you about what happened?”
“Yes, but I don’t remember anything.”
“I didn’t expect you to. You went through a lot.”
“I guess.”
“Believe me. You really did.”

Brody lay on the couch, completely out of it. He wanted to watch a movie, but he did not want to get up off the couch. Especially when Felicia and Honeybunny both got up on the couch and lay on top of him. Felicia lay on Brody’s stomach, and Honeybunny lay at his feet. Dawson stayed with Brody for the time being. When Brody had to get up, Dawson helped him upstairs since he knew he was going to be extremely sore. Fifteen minutes later, Brody and Dawson returned to the common area and watched their favorite comedy movie. Even though Brody generally loves to watch movies with his family and friends, he fell asleep. Poor kid. He couldn’t help it. Brody put the same pillow over his face and wasn’t sure when he was going to wake up again.