“Miss Caulder, I’m Dr. Hutchins. You’re in the hospital. I know you’re probably confused but your family is right here with you. Don’t try and move, your body might not cooperate but don’t panic. You are being well taken care of. I’m going to give you something to help you sleep for a while, so your body can rest.”
Sleep. Yes, sleep was good. I felt something warm in the back of my hand and then the blackness was back.
Chapter 13
I don’t know how long I slept but this time I was anxious to open my eyes. I wanted to see Jackson. Other than I’d figured out that I was in the hospital I still had no clue what was going on.
When I opened my eyes, it wasn’t as bright as it was last time. I didn’t know if Jackson was here and the last person I saw was my mom. I thought I’d try and use my voice to see if she was still here. At first, I couldn’t get anything out but after a few tries I was able to get something out.
“Mom?” I said in a very hoarse voice.
“Eve? Oh, honey you have no idea how good it is to hear your voice. But don’t try to talk much, you haven’t used your voice in quite a long time. Let me get you some water.”
As my mom poured me some water I thought about what she said. I was so confused. Why hadn’t I used my voice? Why was I in the hospital? The last thing I remembered was falling asleep in Jackson’s arms.
I saw my mom come closer to me with a glass and one of those bendy straws. I tried to take the glass from her, but my arms still weren’t working. I was starting to get a little scared. She put the straw in my mouth. The cold water tasted and felt like heaven. It was like I hadn’t had a drink in days. I took another sip. My throat was feeling better, maybe I could talk now.
“Mom.” At least it didn’t sound as bad as last time, so I thought I’d try more. “Mom, what’s going on? Where’s Jackson?”
She must have heard the panic in my voice because she put the water on the table and sat down in the chair next to my bed. She held my hand and squeezed.
“Evelyn,” she started. Oh, my first name, that couldn’t be good. “honey, this might be hard to understand at first, but you were in an accident.”
I started to say something, but she stopped me.
“Please let me tell you everything first. You were on your way to work one morning when your car was hit by a semi. You had multiple injuries and the doctors had to operate to save your life. One of the worst was a head injury. Eve, you’ve been in a coma for eight months.” Mom had tears in her eyes by the time she was finished.
I had a million questions, but I couldn’t find my voice. I let the tears roll down my face. After a few minutes I forced the tears to stop. They weren’t going to help anything.
“Mom, where’s Jackson?” I just had to know.
“Honey, I don’t know who Jackson is.”
“He was with me in the castle.”
“Castle? Eve, you’re not making any sense.”
“I was in the castle and couldn’t get out. Then Jackson was there, and we fell in love. He’s so wonderful,” I told her.
“Sweetie, I think you’re confused. You haven’t ever been to a castle and you don’t have a boyfriend or husband.”
I started to argue with her when I came to an awful realization. It hadn’t been real. There was no castle, no Princess and no Jackson. That made me sadder than finding out I’d been in a coma. “It wasn’t real,” I managed to whisper then broke down sobbing.
Mom held me the best she could in the bed, but I didn’t stop for a long time. Long enough that someone came and gave me another shot of something to make me sleep.
* * *
The next time I opened my eyes it was bright. The curtains were open, and the sun was shining on my face. I closed my eyes. I didn’t feel like facing reality at that moment. I remembered what mom had told me and that everything I’d remembered about most of the last year hadn’t really happened. It had all been in my head.
I wanted to go back there. I had been really happy. Jackson was perfect. Maybe that should have been my first clue. No one was ever that perfect. Even though he was a figment of my imagination I missed him, I couldn’t help it. It was still so real in my head. His smile, the way he touched me, his scent and how he made me feel like the most special woman in the world.
I wouldn’t cry again, it just made me feel worse.
My life didn’t get any better over the next few days. Yes, my family and friends came to see me and were extremely happy I was awake, but I couldn’t help but think about Jackson. How much he would have liked my dad and I know he would have gotten along with my brother. And my friends would have loved him.
I think I was going mental. I was talking about him like he died or something, but he was never real to begin with.
And then I found out what all my injuries had been. I was lucky to be alive. My legs and pelvis had been shattered, both my arms had been broken, there had been internal bleeding from multiple places and broken ribs. And then there was my head injury. They told me that there was swelling on my brain and that’s what caused the coma. No one knew if I would ever wake up and if I did I might not have been the same or I could have had amnesia.
I know I was lucky that I survived and that I seemed to remember everything about my life. I knew that in my head, but my heart was hurting. I was mourning Jackson. He had been real to me and I’d committed my heart to him. I knew that nothing would ever compare to the feeling of loving him again.
Two weeks after I woke up in the hospital I was moved to a long-term care facility that was going to help me. Due to my injuries and being in a coma for eight months, I was unable to use most of my body. I had to be fed and physically taken to the bathroom when I needed to use it. It was humiliating. But the people who were caring for me were great and helped to make everything feel less awkward.
I could talk and move my head, that was about it when I first got there. I was working with physical therapists every day. I was determined to walk again. Some days I hated them, but I knew what they were doing was helping.
Three months after I got there I was able to use my arms again. The first time I picked up my fork and put food in my mouth we all cheered. My mom was with me the entire time and I saw a few tears in her eyes when I raised that fork.
Now that I could use my arms, I was making them stronger every day. I wanted to be able to get myself in the wheelchair, so I could do something as simple as go to the bathroom on my own. There were days I wanted to give up, but I would think of Princess and Jackson and I would get my determination back. I never told my family or friends this because I’m sure they’d think I was crazy.
As part of my treatment I had to see a psychologist. Her name was Dr. Grey and I loved her. She was the only person I talked to about my time in the castle. Logically, I understood that the time I spent in the castle was actually the time I spent in a coma, but my heart didn’t feel the same way. Dr. Grey seemed to understand this. She never told me it wasn’t real, and I needed to forget about it. In fact, she encouraged me to remember because for those eight months it had been my reality. She thinks that’s how I managed to survive the coma intact.
By the time six months had passed in the care facility, I was making even more progress, but my friends had mostly stopped coming to see me. It made me sad, but I also understood. We didn’t have anything in common anymore. They were still working, going out, having fun and jumping from man to man. I was solely focused on walking again. They probably saw me as a bit depressing, but I couldn’t help that. I wasn’t depressed though, just determined. I could now get myself in and out of a wheelchair. I motored around there like a race car driver. My legs were coming along nicely as well. I still couldn’t stand but I could at least move them a little bit.
The staff had become like my second family. They were proud when I accomplished something and cheered me up when I was having a bad day. And as great as they were it was nothing compared to my actual family. I was convinced that I had t
he best family in the entire world.
My mom was my greatest champion. When I’d been in the accident and fell into a coma mom had quit her job in order to be with me full time. Dad told me she spent every single day at the hospital with me. She wasn’t allowed to stay all day with me at the care facility, but she was there every day to visit me. She would stay as long as they would let her.
Dad was the best too. He had to work to support mom and my brother, but he was there every Saturday and Sunday to see me. He brought me a surprise every single weekend. I loved him to death.
As far as little brothers go I had a great one. He came to visit me as often as he could. When I got in the accident he’d only been a high school senior for a couple of months and now he was finishing his first semester of college. I had been a little sad when I found out I’d missed his graduation and eighteenth birthday, but they had taken a million pictures and videos to show me in case I was to ever wake up. See, the greatest family ever.
Some days when my physical therapy wasn’t going very well I would start to dwell on what I’d lost. I’d missed turning twenty-four. I’d missed some important events in my brother’s life. I’d lost my apartment and my job. I’d lost over a year of my life. And now I’d pretty much lost all of my friends. Dr. Grey told me that when I started feeling like that I had to try to focus on the positive things in my life. I was alive, had the use of my arms again, had a great family and I still had my cat Molly. Mom had taken Molly to live with them when I’d been admitted to the hospital.
One thing I was really looking forward to was Christmas. It was December and the care facility had gone all out on the decorating. Mom had even got me a small tree for my room. I loved Christmas. It made me sad to think that I’d missed it last year but that meant I was going to enjoy it twice as much this year.
I had asked if I could spend Christmas Day at home with my family. The doctors agreed that I was doing well enough that they had permitted me to go. I was still in a wheelchair, so mom and dad had to make a few changes to the house in order for me to get around, but they said they didn’t mind. I think they were just as thrilled as I was that I would be there for Christmas. I wasn’t able to go out and buy gifts, so I made them all something at the care facility.
That Christmas Day was the best one of my life. It had been so long since I’d been home that I cried happy tears when dad wheeled me in the door. Mom had outdone herself with the decorations. It was like the North Pole exploded in the house. It was awesome. All of my extended family was there too. We ate too much, and we laughed a lot. It was perfect. I wasn’t even sad when mom and dad took me back to the care facility. I was full of a new purpose. I was going to work even harder and get walking. Next time I went back to my parent’s house I was going to walk in that front door.
Chapter 14
It had been just over a year since I was brought to the long-term care facility. When I got here I couldn’t do anything for myself. Now, I was walking out on my own two feet. I was ecstatic. I had celebrated my twenty-fifth birthday in the care facility, but at least this year I was awake to celebrate it.
I wasn’t ready to live on my own again, so I was going to live with my parents, but I didn’t mind at all. My brother was home for the summer from his first year of college and I was looking forward to spending some quality time with him.
The instant I stepped out the front doors of the care facility I had tears in my eyes. I was going to miss the staff. Without them I wouldn’t be where I was at this moment. The tears were also for me. I was extremely proud of myself. I’d pushed myself and accomplished what I’d wanted to do. I was never going to take anything for granted again.
My parents threw me a welcome home party. It was the most fun I’d had in a long time. I still got tired more than I used to, and we wrapped the party up early. My mom had redecorated my room and I loved it. It was now done in shades of blue and grey instead of the purple and black from my high school years. My new bed felt like laying on a cloud. I laid down and stared at the ceiling. Molly jumped up and took her place beside my pillow. I’d missed that, but it made me think about Princess.
I’m not going to lie, I still thought about Jackson every day. And staring at the ceiling made me think about the beautiful wood ceiling from my room in the castle. On my last appointment with Dr. Grey she suggested that I keep a journal in order to keep my thoughts from becoming too much. Mom had bought me a black leather one. I planned on writing in it every day if I could.
* * *
I’d been back at home for a couple of months and I was doing great. My brother and I had spent as much time together as we could before he had to go back to college, but he promised to come back to see me as often as possible. His college was only an hour away, so I knew I’d see him more than just the holidays. It’s funny how things have a way of changing. Before my accident I thought of him as my kid brother that played stupid video games. Now I saw him as a man in college working toward a degree in computer science. He wanted to design video games and I knew he would be good at it, he was a smart cookie.
I’d spent a good amount of time over the summer teaching myself how to bake. After the disastrous episode with the cookies in the castle, I wanted to learn how to actually bake something from scratch that was edible. After a few weeks I was pretty good. My dad and brother were only too happy to be my test subjects.
Summer was over and now that my brother was back at college mom could tell I was getting a little restless with the extra time I had. She thought I should volunteer somewhere so she found me a volunteer position working at a hospital three afternoons a week. I was one of those people that went around to patient rooms and offered them books. It wasn’t very exciting, but it helped me build up my strength and got me out of the house.
The months went by and I was almost back to my old self. We celebrated Christmas and in January I got a job. It had been over two years since I worked, and it felt strange to be employed again. It was another data entry position but with a much smaller company. The owner was a friend of my dad’s, so they knew about my situation. I started off part time but within a couple of months I was put on full time. It felt great to be useful again. And I got my driver’s license back as well. It had been terrifying getting behind the wheel, but I wasn’t going to let fear stop me from doing anything ever again.
We celebrated my twenty-sixth birthday with a party at my parent’s place. It had been three years since we could all celebrate together. Three years. I’d lost over two years of my life. I’d never asked about the driver that hit me. I didn’t want to know if they were alright and I’d suffered so much.
My life consisted of going to work, coming home, cooking dinner, and reading or watching TV. I still volunteered at the hospital but only twice a month now. I’d pretty much stopped talking to all of my friends. Even though I was physically like I had been before the accident, I wasn’t mentally or emotionally in the same place. Going out and partying wasn’t for me anymore. I wanted to find a man I could fall in love with and get a house together. I knew I’d never find someone as perfect as Jackson, but I was starting to open up to the possibility of finding love again … one day.
I still wrote in my journal every day, it was my own version of therapy. Even though it had been over a year and a half since I’d woken up from my coma, I still thought about Jackson every single day. I couldn’t help it. I could still see his eyes, hear his laugh and taste his cooking. To be honest that was the reason I cooked dinner every night. I told my parents it was my way of helping around the house, but the truth was I did it because it reminded me of Jackson. I loved watching him move around the kitchen, it had been so sexy. It made me both happy and sad to think about my time in the castle. It still amazed me that my brain had conjured up something that was so real to me.
* * *
I was writing in my journal one night when I had an idea. I was going to write a book about my life. I didn’t think I’d become a millionaire off of it,
but if I could help one person get through a tough time in their life it would be worth it. I finished my entry for the day and went to find my mom. I was going to run the idea of a book by her and see what she thought.
“Hey mom, I have an idea,” I said when I found her in the kitchen.
“What’s that honey?”
“I want to write a book about my life and what happened.” I waited for her answer.
“I think that’s a fabulous idea Eve, but why do you want to do it?” she asked.
“I think it’ll be good for me and if my story even helps one person I feel like I will have done something to help society.”
Mom came over and hugged me. “Your dad and I always knew you were a special little girl, but we are so proud of the woman you’ve become. You are stronger than anyone else I know.”
Mom’s words brought tears to my eyes. I didn’t have any words to give back to her, so I just hugged her.
My idea for the book had given me a renewed excitement for life. I went and bought myself a laptop, so I could get started. I didn’t know the first thing about writing a book, so I just wrote what I thought. I started with my childhood and growing up with two loving parents and a little brother. Then I moved on to school and eventually college. I talked about my friends and what college life was like for me. After that I talked about getting a job and moving out. I wrote about dating, my co-workers and partying with my friends.
Then I got to the part about my accident. I waffled back and forth about how much I should say about what happened during my coma. In the end I decided to write everything about it. I wasn’t ashamed of it and again I was hoping that sharing the whole truth may help someone else. So, I wrote about feeling trapped at first and then trying to make the best of my situation. Then I wrote about Jackson arriving and how we fell in love.
Trapped in a Castle Page 6
