Hey Stranger

In a busy hospital.

Latton woke up from her coma. An IV and a buzzing machine were hooked up to her. She’s confused, asking herself how she got there. 

Her mind was a blur, and her body felt heavy. Everything hurts. 

"What happened? Did I get into another car crash?" She asks herself as she glances around the room searching for her father or any family member.

Soon a nurse entered the room. She appeared surprised and immediately pushed the red button on her bed signaling the doctor on shift. While waiting, she asked Latton a series of questions. She tried to answer everything to the best of her ability, but her mind was still blurry and disoriented.

"How do you feel?" The nurse asks. 

Latton wants to say, "I feel like shit that was run over by a truck." But she kept it to herself and said, "Everything hurts, and I can't move my legs."

The nurse nodded, "Do you know what day it is?" 

Latton frowns, unsure how to answer, "Is it Friday... March 31….? 2024??” Her reply is more of an inquiry than an answer. 

The nurse smiled faintly, "What's the last thing you remember?" She asks as she adjusts the IV.

Latton’s brows furrowed as she searched from the depths of her mind for the last thing she did before waking up in the hospital. "I was at a party dancing and drinking!? I think," she said in uncertainty. 

There was a significant change in the nurse’s face, but before she could say what it was, the doctor came.

Unlike the nurse, the doctor was so straightforward that Latton almost choked on her spit. He nonchalantly told Latton that she had been shot in the head, and the date today was June 19, 2026.

Latton’s face paled, "Two years, I lost two years," she yelled internally. She wanted to ask them, but her head started to hurt, and then she began to remember what and why it happened. She knew she deserved what happened to her and had no regrets about it.

Two and a half years ago...

"I AM NOT A CHILD. You can't tell me what to do." Latton yells at the top of her lungs. Her eyes reddened in anger, disappointment, and frustration. She turned to leave the room, but before she could, her father grabbed her wrist, then yelled, "Don't you dare turn your back on me, I'm still talking to you."

His grasp tightened as he screamed, "You’re nothing without me! You're just a little girl who knows nothing about this world." The veins in his forehead pulsating in rage.

She sneered, "You know what Dad, every day I'm starting to regret choosing you over Mom—"

SLAP! Her father's hand landed on her face. Her eyes widened in horror and her cheek throbbed in pain.

Her father then held both her shoulders tightly. "You spiteful little brat."

She could feel his nails digging into her skin. "You will listen to me and listen to me intently. I’m your father and I’m telling you. You are going to marry Thomas or you could kiss your inheritance goodbye."

The scene of her argument with her father earlier kept on replaying in her head.

The slap no longer hurt, but his words cut her deeply.

"I could be anything I want to be." She yells internally. She drank a good amount of liquor and then headed to the dance floor.