I opened my eyes and was blinded by a sea of white. I could hear a symphony of machines working nearby. As my eyes adjusted to the lights, I realized that I was in a hospital room. Stiff and sore, I tried to sit up and stretch, but my attempt was shortly halted. I had various tubes and wires connected to me, and the throbbing pain by my abdomens did not help matters. I struggled to remember what had happened. My mind was blurry, and I had a difficult time even thinking. As I sat there, searching my memory, it hit me. I suddenly remembered the whole thing: the mall, the gas station, everything up until I blacked out. A chill of fear accompanied my revelation. I became worried about Tori. What if the robber shot her after I took the first bullet? I knew I had done everything possible to protect her, but I still wouldn’t have forgiven myself if she got hurt. However, unable to do anything, I just tried to think about other things. This proved to be next to impossible to accomplish. Thankfully, it was only a few minutes when a nurse came in to check on me.
“Oh good. You’re awake.” She said. “Are you feeling alright?”
“I’m dandy. Is everyone else okay?”
“Yes they are. The clerk at the gas station was able to apprehend the robber after you were shot. That was very brave of you to push that girl out of the way. You’re quite the hero.”
“Thanks” I said, relieved that everyone was alright. “But I’m no hero. I’m sure everyone would do the same thing if they were in my shoes.”
“I’m not quite sure you’re right about that, and neither is the press. It’s been all over the news the last couple days.”
“Last couple days? How long have I been out?”
“Well, today’s Sunday, and you were shot on Friday. So, it’s been two days. You’ve been in and out of surgery twice, too! They were worried you might not make it out.”
“Really? What all happened? Am I gonna be OK?”
“You’ll be fine, but you’re going to have to wait until Doctor Morrison can talk to you. Why don’t you rest a bit while I call your parents and tell them your awake?”
“Okay.” I said as the nurse left the room. Not being tired, I grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. There was nothing on, so I settled for an afternoon baseball game on ESPN. I never really was a fan of the sport, but I gladly chose that over some stupid soap opera on the next channel.