amelia-hurricane-shepherd:

They say your life flashes before your eyes
before you die, but all Amelia saw behind
heavy lids was darkness and regret. All of
the good was washed away beneath her
mistakes – buried somewhere below the
anger and sorrow. Everyone she had loved
and everyone she had lost; everyone she
pushed away and all the relationships she
had burned to the ground. And then black.

               B e e p.  B e e p.  B e e p. The sound rang
               steadily in her ear though doused in a fog
               of confusion. Eyes flickered open, squint-
               ing into the bright fluorescent lights. For a
               few moments still, speech eluded her, but
               she wouldn’t have known what to say, any-
               way. A few more blinks before she realized
               she wasn’t alone, and again some more as
               it dawned on her that she was sober for the
               first time in a very long time. A lump formed
               in her throat, emotions resettling in her chest.

Just as she’d sworn to herself she’d be, Teddy
was there to witness the return of the light that
had vacated those blue eyes for what seemed
like  an  eternity. A wan smile gracing her lips,
she  said  softly: “Amelia Shepherd, don’t you
ever  scare  us  like  that  again.  I  don’t know
about you, but that was way too  close  for my
liking.”

              Pouring  some  stagnant  water into a plastic
              cup, Teddy guided the straw to Amelia’s lips.
              “Here — you must be thirsty.  That  IV  does
              nothing for a dry mouth; I know.” Though her
              voice was  nonchalant,  the look in her eyes
              was  nothing  less   than  relieved  — Teddy
              couldn’t begin to think how much she would
              have hated herself if Amelia hadn’t made it.