I woke to the beeping of a heart monitor.
Beep ... Beep.
I opened my eyes to see Amanda, my beautiful step-sister sitting with her head in her hands. She sobbed and sniffed before looking up, and seeing my eyes were open. She leapt out of her chair.
"Matt!" She cried with a smile on her face. "You're awake! Thank god! I was so nervous!"
Her golden blonde hair hung over and grazed my face as she leaned to give me a big hug. "Morning Sis," I said, though my throat was scratchy, "What's going on? What happened to me?"
"You don't remember?" The last thing I remembered was leaving my economics class to drive home. I shook my head. "You were in a car wreck; a drunk driver almost killed you."
She tilted her head and grabbed my wrist above my heavily bandaged hand.
"But you're okay now, just a couple of broken hands and a bruised rib."
It felt worse than that. My entire body ached like I'd been hit by a car. You were hit by a car, I realized.
"How long have I been out?" I asked.
"Just a day and a half. The doctor says we can go home whenever you're up to it."
"Okay, let's go then," I said, anxious to get home and in my own bed.
Amanda went out in the hall to speak to the doctor, and I looked at both my casted hands. What a nightmare. How would I survive like this? Amanda walked in with a serious-looking doctor in blue scrubs.
"Matthew," he said, "you've been in a serious accident, you should stay at least another night, and there's also the Matter of your home care. Will your parents be taking care of you?"
Amanda shook her head. "No, we're orphans, so to speak. Our parents were remarried, but then they both died in a car wreck."
"Then who will look after you?" the doctor asked me, instead of Amanda.
"I will," Amanda replied.
"Well, we can't release him unless you're of legal age."
"Of course, I am," She said, her face beaming, "I turned 18 two months ago."
"Amanda you can't. What about your classes? I'll figure something else out," I said. I felt terrible that she would be stuck with the burden.
"Don't you worry about it," She said leaning in to kiss me on the cheek again. The smell of her cinnamon perfume made me feel like home. I loved my step-sister.
"I don't want to stay here Doc, I want to go home." The doctor nodded his head, and Amanda wheeled me out in a wheelchair not ten minutes later.
I passed a few days sleeping. I didn't have the energy to do anything else. Amanda brought me my food and kept me company for as long as I felt like talking. About three days in I was gaining more of my usual energy back, but I was still stuck inside.