10. It All Went Black

The last thing I heard before it all went black was her telling me, "Baby! It's going to be okay!"

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The light. Is it real? I try to look around, but all I can do is see it, so it must be real. I then start to hear voices, but I can't tell what they're saying. The only person whose voice I can hear clearly is her's saying, "I'm right here. Don't panic. You're going to be okay. Please stay with me."

I started to hear counting, "One! Two! Three!" I started to feel pain in my chest, then I was laying there. She was staring back at me, smiling. "Thank the Gods! My baby's alive!" She leaned in to hug me, tears staining her eyes. "W..where am I? How did I get here... what happened?!" I ask and she says, "You're in the hospital. I had to run and get my mom and she called the ambulance. Baby... you got shot."

I stare at her in complete shock. "What?!" I ask, looking over to her mother and she nods. The doctor walks over to me. "Take this, it'll help heal you." He says, giving me two pills and handing me a glass of water. "Thanks, Doc." I say and take it as her mother says, "I had to perform CPR on you. Thank God I must've saved your life with that bandage I brought along on the trip." She pointed at the bandage on my chest.

"Thank you." I say and the doctor nods, "We may have to perform surgery on you to remove the bullet. But thank God it wasn't launched into your heart as well as I'm glad your ribs aren't broken." I nod and Alaina kisses my forehead. "We're going to take you into surgery now. Please say goodbye to your loved ones." The doctor says and I nod.

After I say my goodbyes, they give me medicine to put me to sleep. Before, the doctor told me that my mother should be in the waiting room and will see me after surgery.

     The surgery lasted for three hours, but to me it only felt like a couple of minutes. My doctor gave me some medicine and I took a small nap until my mom came into the room. "My baby! Thank God you're okay! Momma was so worried about you!" She said and kissed me. "I'm okay momma." I tell her and she pulls me closer to her. "Thank God you're alive." She whispers between her sobs. "I love you momma." I tell her and she replies, "I love you too baby. So much."

     She starts singing while still sobbing, "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray. You'll never know, dear, how much I love you. So please, don't take my sunshine away." I smile and the last words make me tear up as she gives me one last kiss and pulls away. A few minutes later, Alaina returns. "Great! You recovered!" Alaina says and I nod. "Yeah, but of course, my chest still hurts." I tell her and she says, "Yeah, of course. But at least you're alright."

     I nod and give her a kiss. They sit on the couch that's right beside my bed as the doctor walks in. "You're going to have to take these pills every night." He tells me and I nod, taking the pills. "Alright, I'll leave you alone." He says and looks over to mom and Alaina, "Make sure he gets enough rest." They nod and he leaves.

     I turn up the television's volume as an episode of The Loud House comes on. Trying to sing along to the theme song brings a smile to my face. I start becoming more happier knowing that I survived the gunshot and that I can still live with the great people whom are in my life. I also saw the appearance of my best friend, Destiny, when I was eating dinner. They stayed the night at the hospital so they can keep an eye on me as I slept.

     The next morning felt long and rough. My chest was filled with so much pain that my doctor gave me many pills for it. It still hurt throughout the day, but least than it did in the morning. Seeing my family made me so happy, though, so I fought through the pain for them.

     Soon enough, it was time to eat. My lunch consisted of pineapples, apple sauce, a chicken sandwich, and some apple juice. I spent most of the evening with my family while watching television. My doctor said I was lucky to be alive and eating well. He also told us that the person who shot me was sent to prison. "Good. They better teach that asshole a lesson." Destiny muttered and Alaina chuckled, "I agree."

     I had a nap that lasted for only an hour and thirty minutes. When Alaina noticed I woke up, she brought me some water and kissed my forehead. "Here. The doctor told me to give you this for the pain." She told me and I nodded. I took a sip of the water and took the pill as she says, "I'm so glad I didn't lose you baby." Destiny nods, "We all are."

     Everybody crowds around me and gives me a hug. "You're so strong." My mom whispered to me and it makes me chuckle. I whisper back, "All thanks to God."

She nods and pulls back from the hug.

     Dinner came in no time. Sadly, Destiny had to leave an hour before. For dinner, they gave me soup along with some bread. It was warm and delicious. Afterwards, Alaina got the television remote and turned it to a movie. The movie was "Mr. Popper's Penguins." It was, pretty much, about a man who had penguins following him around everywhere he went. I enjoyed the movie a lot.

     After the movie was over, Alaina's mother came to pick her up. She kissed me goodbye and a few minutes later, it was time for me to take my medicine. After I took them, I fell right to sleep.