Екатерина Юша – THE COMA (страница 4)
Lessie only wanted to get to bed as soon as possible.
Traveling exhausted her since childhood, and five hours sitting on a hard train seat had not improved her mood.
Finally, a message arrived saying the car was waiting in the parking area.
Everyone walked happily toward the taxi stand – and immediately felt disappointed when they saw only one car.
There were seven of them.
Scott repeated twice to the dispatcher that they needed TWO cars for one address.
“So what do we do?” Scott tried to negotiate with the driver. “Our flight is in an hour and a half. We don’t have time to wait for another car. I clearly said I needed TWO cars.”
The driver was a young man with a hipster appearance.
He understood their situation and said that if they could fit inside, he would take them.
Lessie and Agnes were small in stature, so they sat on other people’s laps.
Scott, being the tallest, sat in the front.
He turned toward Lessie and silently expressed sympathy for his sister.
She sat on Elon’s lap, pressing her head against the worn upholstery of the old Fiat.
The driver drove as if he was auditioning for a role in a new
He made no particular effort to avoid potholes.
Perhaps he simply wanted to unload the passengers before being caught by the police.
But despite all his wishes, Scott could not give up his seat, otherwise he would have had nowhere to sit in the back – or might have broken his neck for sure.
Her suffering ended when the navigation system announced their arrival.
With great difficulty, Lessie crawled out of the car in an awkward, half-bent position.
Two boys whose names she barely remembered stayed outside to smoke before boarding, while those who did not smoke went to check in their luggage.
There was not much time left before departure.
After waiting for the others, Lessie passed through registration, and the flight attendant escorted her to her seat, asking her to listen carefully when the pilot spoke.
After hearing the emergency safety instructions and the pilot’s greeting, Lessie fastened her seatbelt, and the plane began gathering speed for takeoff.
She watched through the window as the blue sky – smooth as a stretched sheet – covered the horizon, more soothing than any lullaby.
Who could have imagined that she, Lessie Brick, would be sitting inside an airplane and looking out through the window?
The same Lessie Brick who had never flown for leisure in real life, no matter how much her husband had tried to persuade her.
Once she bought plane tickets, but returned them the day before departure because she could not overcome her fear.
But fear of what?
Flying? The unknown? The possibility of a crash?
She did not know.
Among all forms of travel, she preferred ground transportation and intended to keep it that way for the rest of her life.
Chapter Three
Arriving at Nelly Island, Scott once again took the initiative of calling a taxi, and this time two cars took them to a hotel he had previously booked, which, according to him, was only a few steps away from the sea.
When they were dropped off at the designated place, Lessie felt slightly confused.
It was difficult to call this a hotel – it looked more like a student townhouse – but the view was mesmerizing, and the sea truly lay only three meters from the entrance.
After receiving their keys at the reception, everyone went to their rooms.
Lessie had booked a separate room. The others were staying in a family apartment with six beds and a large living area.
Lessie invited Courtney to stay with her, but Courtney decided she would have more fun with the guys.
That girl was quite… promiscuous.
The friends agreed to rest a little after the journey and gather later in the common apartment.
Entering her room, the first thing that interested Lessie was the bed.
She took off her shoes and fell onto it fully clothed, immediately sinking into sleep.
***
“Where am I?” Lessie asked after opening her eyes.
“Dear, you’re in the hospital,” Chris answered with tears in her eyes.
“And where is Scott?”
“He…”
“He will be here soon,” interrupted a man who had just entered the room. Lessie noticed the beauty of his face.
“Chris, why are you crying?” Lessie asked anxiously, but the girl only began crying harder.
The man standing beside her placed a hand on her shoulder.
Lessie tried to turn her head and look around, but she couldn’t. Something was restricting her movement.
Lifting her eyes upward, she immediately squinted against the bright white light.
“How is she?” Scott asked as he entered the ward.
“She just regained consciousness,” replied the man in a black jacket. “Tell me what happened.”
“I came to pick up Lessie as planned at twelve so we could make it to the restaurant. Everything was normal. Well… Lessie accidentally broke her favourite cup before I arrived. While she was cleaning it up, I took her bag and went down to the car.”
“Did she say anything was bothering her?”
“No, I don’t remember anything like that. I asked if she was ready to go, she confirmed it, and I took the bag and went downstairs. But when she didn’t come out after ten minutes, I went back for her.”
“Then what happened?”
“Entering the apartment, I called my sister. Silence. Looking around, I saw Lessie lying on the floor near the bathroom. I rushed to her immediately. Checked her pulse and called 911. The ambulance arrived seventeen minutes later.”
***
When Lessie woke up, the sun was still shining outside, and it felt as if she had closed her eyes for only a minute.
“Well, that was a strange dream,” she thought, focusing her gaze on the room’s interior.
Besides the double bed, there was a dressing table and a slightly crooked bedside cabinet.
Lessie looked at the clock – it was just past eight thirty.
“Interesting… has the party already started? I don’t hear any shouting. Probably they are still asleep,” she thought, pulling out clean clothes from her suitcase.