Nine: Colin Colton

Eleven years ago... Avery Demetry's Point of View...

   I slept with some premed student. He was back in Pennsylvania for his parent's wedding anniversary or something like that. It was sloppy and quick and fueled by alcohol. What was his name? His sister, his younger sister, was a grade below me. I'd just graduated from MENA, where his mom taught... Colton. Surname Colton. I needed to know who he was.
   Because I had some news for him.
   Dammit, how could I have been so stupid?

   "What are you doing here?" I glanced down at the stray cat that was on the deck. I couldn't afford a cat. I'd moved to South Carolina, since I got into college here and now... Now, I don't know. Could I go to college like this? I couldn't afford college and... And this and the cat. "Look, baby doll, I can't take care of you."

   "Oh, baby doll, you're so cute... I. Damn hormones. I can't afford you, you know that? I really can't." But she was so cute and so innocent and so, so... Damn hormones, making me want to be all motherly and not abandon some dumb stray. "I guess you can stay with me, keep me company."
   I named her Baby Doll and she kept me and my actual baby company. I knew Colton had to be the father, I had a boyfriend in high school, but we'd decided to part ways after graduation. The last time he and I had slept together was on my eighteenth birthday, in April. I supposed my baby would be due in February. I'd be an eighteen year old mom. A teen mom. Great. I had to find out, remember Colton's name, I couldn't do this on my own...
   As the months passed, I spent more and more time going to the library to read pregnancy books and research Coltons...

   Going to the thrift shop so I could barter for baby supplied and pet supplies...

    Until my little bundle of joy finally arrived: Colin Colton. Born February fourteenth, six pounds, three ounces, eighteen inches. Mom Avery Demetry, dad Harrison Colton. I just didn't know how to contact Colin's daddy.

Sorry this chapter's so short!

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Nine: Head Injury

   "Skedaddles, no! We don't- damn." I sighed, clutching my head, as my tabby played in the toilet bowl. After having fallen during last night's impromptu ice skating session with James, a knife began lodging its way into my skull; the pain was treacherous and only slightly dulled by the contents of my medicine cabinet. "Don't do that. Bad cat." I walked forward, my heart not in the scolding, as I felt the floor slip away from me, as I slid on the water Skedaddles had splashed onto the tile. "Dammmn..." I groaned, blinking rapidly, clutching my head, as the bathroom spun.
   I struggled to stand, grasping at the commode's edge, as I slowly moved towards the medical cabinet, tossing three pills into my mouth. I moved my hand away from my mouth, to see it covered it a sticky, crimson liquid...

♢ ♢ ♢

   Bright light blinded my, as the smell of antiseptic filled my nostrils. Hazy shapes, people perhaps, loomed in front of me.
   "Mother... Father?" I murmured squinting to see them standing in front of a white curtain. "What's going on? Where am I?"
   "Lavender darling, you're in the hospital." My mother sympathetically said.
   "Hospital? What day is it?"
   "You've been a coma for four days; it's the thirty-first." My father answered, holding my mum's hand, as her bottom lip quivered, as she stuttered, saying how she'd been so worried, her and dad hadn't left the hospital since they got the call that I was here.
   "There's the doctor," dad gestured, "she can explain things better." The tall woman in a white lab coat came over, holding a clip board.
   "Ms. Mumsy, we're glad you're awake. How are you feeling?"
   "Tired... I-I why am I here?"
   "Yes, it is expected that you experienced two traumatic events, the first causing a closed fracture in the occipital region, the second worsening the fracture, leading to an intracranial hemorrhage. You're luck that you were found by your neighbor, we were able to get you into surgery quick enough, so there will be no long term effects. You may temporarily have short-term memory loss and you'll need to minimize strenuous activity for a bit and make sure that no pressure is applied to your skull, however you'll be fine."

   "I passed out?"
   "Yes, dear." Mother nodded, as I looked from the doctor, to her, then to dad.
   "Why? From the bleeding in my skull? I... I don't really remember what happened, after I fell in the bathroom."
   "The hemorrhage could have lead to bleeding from the nose or ears. Are you hemophobic? You could have seen the blood and passed out." The doctor replied, glancing at their clipboard.
   "I... I despise seeing blood." I could barely handle my monthly cycle, even then, there was a lot of squeezing my eyes shut or looking away. I was lucky that all the kindergarten classes went to recess together, so if one of my students fell, Quinn or Sandi, who knew of my fear, could come to their aid.
   "It's probable that this caused you to faint. If you need anything, press the button by he nurse has been instructed to give you two cc's of your meds and hour, we'll keep you here for a few more days for observation, and you'll need to go on medical leave for two to four weeks, depending on your condition when we release you."
   "Thank you." I smiled, as she turned away, going to attend to another patient.
   "Your teacher friends, Sara and Quail-"
   "Sandi and Quinn?"
   "Are those their names? Such nice young ladies." My mother beamed. "I'm glad you have such nice friends, they stopped by, gave us a card to give you. Your class signed it." She handed me a piece of pink construction paper that was covered in glitter, with a crayon rendering of me frowning, with a band aid of my forehead.
   "Get better soon, Ms. Mumsy, we love you!" I read, tearing up. Every year, I received a new class of eager five year olds and every year they managed to touch my heart.
   "There's also another friend here to see, you, Mr. James Colton?" Dad raised an eye brow. "Why has there been a boy in the waiting room for four days, wanting to see you?"
   "Chuck!" My mother exclaimed, attempting to swat him with her hand. "Lavender's a young lady, I know she's a very gorgeous young woman, with a generous, lovely personality; she's bound to have lots of gentleman callers."
   "I, James, he... He's here?" I ignored her comment about gentleman callers; it wasn't true in the least, however when it came to one night stands, if you dropped the gentle and added a W-O, it became a different story.
   "We'll send him in." They left together, as my mind frantically began going into over drive. James was here. The hospital. He'd been here for four days. For me.
   "Lavender..." He paused, looking at me. How did my coma make his British accent seem more dreamy?

  "You're-You're here."
   "Course I am, you're lurgy and Jesus, I couldn't stop thinking of you, I... You had to be okay. I had to come, had to be here when you woke up."
   "My parents-"
   "Were bloody confused, the poor bastards. I told 'em I was your mate."
   "You know you're more." I winked, taking his hand, pulling him towards me. He sat on the edge of the bed, as I tenderly began kissing him. His arms were wrapped around my back. We maneuvered ourselves, so I was on top, careful to avoid hitting the back of my head, which was apparently bruised to pieces.

   "I want you, so bad..." I moaned, kissing him.
   "Darling, please stop kissing me.
   "What?" I paused, pulling away. "James..."
   "I can't kiss you. You're heavily medicated."
   "But... I... I'm stable enough to make my own choices."
   "Lavender, you're hopped up on pain pills. I can't; it wouldn't feel right... Kissing you when you're drugged I'd feel like I was taking advantage of you."
   "I... Thank you." I paused, a faint smile appearing on my face. "That's... You're a good man." He helped my lay back down again, as he stood, holding my hand.
   "I never want to lose you." He whispered quietly, as I yawned, suddenly feeling exhausted.
   "You won't." I smiled, as my eyelids grew heavier, a side effect of the medication. He stood, holding my hand, as I drifted into a dream filled sleep.
   Jesus, I loved him.

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