On the Strawberry Moon - 16. Chapter 16

It was so bright when Kalum woke up.

It was loud too. Harsh bleeping beep. Machines pumping next to him. The noise of people flooded over him.

‘He’s waking up.’

‘Look, his eyes.’

‘Okay, everyone let’s give him some room, come on, now.’

A man Kalum had never before, came into focus. It was all so bright and loud still.

‘Look you’re making him panic.’

Even in this state, Kalum could notice his brother’s voice.

Who else was here, where was he?

The smells of strong bleach and disinfect reminded him of the doctor’s reception.

‘Kalum,’ the man was more in focus. He had blue shirt and gown. A nurse? A doctor? ‘Hi, I’m Alex, I’m a nurse here, you had a nasty bump to your head, do you remember what happened?’

‘The rock fell,’ Kalum burbled out his words, his throat hoarse.

‘I told you this already,’ Jasper was exasperated. ‘We explored the cave, got separated, I tried to get to him but the rocks fells down.’

‘That area you told me is quite dangerous,’ Alex said over his shoulder, still looking at Kalum. He got a little torch out, ‘You’re at the hospital now, Kalum, I just need you to tell me how you’re feeling.’

Kalum followed the torch with his eyes, ‘I’m fine. I want to go home.’

He hated how whiny he sounded but he had never prepared to be in hospital like this.

Alex didn’t seem satisfied and looked over at the other people in the room. Now all of Kalum’s focus was back and he could see the other people in the room were Jasper, Billy, Tom and Robert.

‘Would you guys mind giving us some privacy, for five minutes?’ Alex politely asked.

Kalum had noticed a change in Alex’s eyes and wasn’t sure why.

The guys all left the room and shut the door behind them.

Kalum sat up a little bit on the bed. Alex had a stethoscope around his neck and he sat down in the chair next to Kalum.

‘So, Kalum your friends called an ambulance.’

‘They didn’t have to.’

‘You weren’t breathing, they did the right thing. So normally, the paramedics so a full check over of anyone they go to help.’

Kalum didn’t understand where this was going. ‘Okay.’

‘They found a lot of bruising on you, especially round your collar bone,’ Alex reached over and pulled Kalum’s shirt collar gentle, revealing the purple markings Kalum had hidden for so long. ‘Bruises on your arms, finger bruises and a few burns.’

The old burns. It annoyed Kalum they were still noticeable.

‘Is there anything going on at home?’

‘I don’t have a home,’ Kalum immediately answered. ‘I’m in a care home.’

‘Yes, your brother said,’ Alex said, softly. ‘I’ll rephrase, is anything going on at school or where you live?’

It felt like Alex was trying to pull off Kalum’s clothes, pull his skin off, leave him bare.

Kalum had always thought he was prepared with answers for situation like this. But it was very bright and very loud and smelt funny here.

‘Everything is fine,’ was all he could muster up.

‘Those bruises are quite nasty, have you ever told anyone?’

Kalum felt mortified. He wanted to run out the bed and go home.

‘You don’t have to put up with that, Kalum.’

Before Alex could say anymore, Kalum blurted, ‘Look. I get in to fights, I give as good as I get. That’s all. That’s the life in care home, not a big deal. Just typical fighting, that’s what happens with guys.’

Again, Alex didn’t seem satisfied with the answer and just frowned a little.

‘When can I go home, please?’ Kalum started to panic, not knowing if he needed to be in longer due to his history with his head injuries. ‘You said I had a bruise on my head, a concussion; how long does it normally take for everything to get better after that?’

Alex gave a sad smile, ‘Not long now. You friends really care about you, they asked the same.’

Kalum gave a small quick smile back.

Quickly, Alex scribbled something on a piece of paper and passed over to Kalum, ‘We’re just going to do a couple more checks on you, we’ve contacted your care home and there’s a carer coming in.’

Kalum looked at the piece of paper Alex had handed him.

It said ‘Samaritans, twenty-four seven’ and there was a contact number next to it.