Caged No More: Chapter 37

Instructions

CW/TW: Mentions of severe injury, minor swearing, hospitalization POV: Sable I open my eyes to see harsh fluorescent lights shining in my face. I prop myself up with my arms and take in the white walls, sheets, mattress. I shudder, realizing I'm in the hospital. The door creaks open. Onyx rushes in, tears streaming down her face. I hug her around the neck and try to speak, but I can't. She looks up, eyes red. "You passed out after you got out of the cabin. They said you inhaled a lot of smoke." She wipes her eyes before continuing. "That was three days ago. I think I got 7 hours of sleep in those three days combined." I try and clear my throat again, but I still can barely talk above a whisper. I look at Onyx, who's shaking a little. "Your lungs were permanently damaged. The doctors said your voice might come back, but not anytime soon. And you'll never be able to raise your voice again without pain." I sigh, shifting my position in the hospital bed to get closer to Onyx. I won't be able to talk for a while, but how am I going to communicate? I can't just carry a pen and paper around all the time. I feel my throat itching, but I push away the feeling and wait to see if Onyx'll continue. She takes a deep breath. "I forgive you for what happened. I'm sorry for lashing out at you, Sable. I understand that I spend a lot of time with Birch, not doing that much to help off. And when you get discharged, I promise to help out." I forgive her, but I can't say it out loud. I smile, and she gets the message. "Thank you," she murmurs, putting her hand on my chest. She talks to me about what happened in the past days, how everyone's doing, and the gossip going around at the hospital. So now I know there's a husband and wife who are on opposite sides of the hospital and think the other one ghosted them when they were sick. I laugh softly, because any louder and it feels like my throat is being ripped apart. I can still make small noises, but not talk. Onyx suddenly jumps up, running out of the room. Did she literally just leave me? I think to myself, confused as hell. She comes back a few minutes later with a hoodie. "The doctors said you can put it on," she tells me, handing over the soft, warm black thing. I squeeze her hand and grin at her, a silent thanks. She talks some more until the goldbeast pokes its head into my room. "My turn, Onyx," it calls. She leaves the room, and it slides in and sits in the hard plastic chair across from me. "Hey, Sable." I nod. "Glad you're looking better. There's something important I need to discuss with you. But first! A visitor!"

Notes & Credits