Damn This Twisted Heart of Mine (Chapter 1, Part 2)

Chapter 1: Life. Sucks. Period. (Part 2)

Ugh... Raina thought. Her head felt as though it were in a vice, and she tried to sit up. No. That definitely made it much worse. She tried to open her eyes, but all she saw was moving red figures, dashing madly about. That also just worsened the throbbing pain in her head. She quickly closed her green eyes and attempted to decipher the strange sounds she heard. It sounded like multiple people were speaking, mumbling, something. But it all sounded too far away, too different. It didn't even sound like English. So she stopped trying everything altogether, and descended once more into the comforting dark.

Now Raina could hear something wonderful, though she was still in the dark. She heard her mother laughing, the high, tinkling sound of her giggles, rising in power along with her father's throaty guffaws. And finally she heard the beautiful harmony intercepted by the cute, tiny giggles of a five year-old girl. Wait. The five year-old girl was her. So the Raina who had lived eleven years older than that past image of her listened intently, wanting to catch every part of this... this... angelic laughter-song. It had been so long since she had heard this wonderful euphony... Slowly, Raina tried to see something, just a glimpse perhaps of the happy family she used to be a part of.

What she saw, was so infinitesimally perfect she started to cry.

Her father, Scott Thomas, was on all fours, playing tag with Raina and her mom. When he stood, he was tall and brawny, with wind-touseled golden hair, his green eyes flashing in the sunlight like a cat's. He was dressed in plaid knee-length shorts and an orange shirt. On his scruffy, slightly unkempt face was a smile to break hearts, dazzling, brilliantly white teeth, grinning from ear to ear as he stared down at his daughter.

Raina scanned the forest-green park that she remembered so vividly for her mother. And then she saw her, pretending to hide behind a tree, though in plain sight of the younger Raina. Raina's heart broke at the sight of her happiness.She had a look of pure joy on her pointed elfin face as she watched her tottering child and goofy husband. Suddenly she ran up behind the child version of Raina and scooped her up, throwing her in the air and catching her on the way down. Shrieks of laughter and the warm tones of her doting parents mingled as Raina's vision became foggy. She had the sensation of moving backward, slowly, then accelerating until she landed hardly on the cement of the hospital floor once more.

Raina moaned, wishing she were with her parents once more. She heard the worried voice of Dr. Malone, and felt the gentle shaking which was becoming more and more urgent.

"Why did you wake me up?" Raina mumbled. Or at least she attempted to. What came out was "Ydwameup?"

"Pardon?" The relief in Dr. Malone's voice was prominent. Raina opened her eyes to see the rounded, feminine face of the doctor watching her carefully, but not as worriedly as she had expected. 

Raina groaned and sat up, Dr. Malone's arm bracing around her shoulders. "I said, 'Why did you wake me up?'"

"What do you mean? You were out for a full minute. I thought... Never mind. What matters is that you're up now."

Raina looked around for her mother's comforting face, only to see it a few feet away, still asleep. Disappointed, Raina started to ask what was next, but Dr. Malone interrupted. "Now, is your dad around? Why wasn't he here with you?"

Suddenly depressed, Raina replied shortly: "He's dead."

"Oh..." Dr. Malone looked uncomfortable, embarrassed. "Is there someone we can call for you? Are you alone?"

"Well..." Raina didn't want to respond. She was alone. The only source of income for the family was her mother's and it didn't look like she would be getting a paycheck anytime soon. There was her rickety old grandfather, but he didn't care about her. He was her dad's father, but ever since her dad died, there had been no contact. She didn't even know if he was alive. "I suppose there is one person..."

Alright, that's it for Chapter one. Chapter two is on it's way soon!