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"...damaged kidney...other lacerations are superficial..."

A man's voice echoes in my ears, but it sounds so far away. I strain to listen to the words, but then I'm sucked back into utter blackness.

✖️✖️✖️

"Hey babe, it's Hazel. Come back to us."

I want to tell her that I'm trying, but the words don't come.

✖️✖️✖️

"They said that you might be able to hear me."

Alex?

"I'm so sorry Mabes. This is all my fault."

Why can't I open my eyes? I need to tell him that he's wrong.

"I love you so much..."

His voice sounds muffled, like I'm listening to him speak from underwater, and then it's suddenly gone.

✖️✖️✖️

"Hi Mabel it's Nurse Sarah... Look at you, your vitals look wonderful today, honey."

I struggle to open my eyes, but a deep sleep pulls me back, tugging at the edges of my consciousness.

✖️✖️✖️

Someone touches my hand, and I crack my eyes open, my vision blurring as I squint against the bright lights. Aunt Jo peers back at me, relief washing over her.

"Wha..." I croak.

She brushes a finger over my lips, tears spilling down her cheeks. "No baby, shh, don't try and talk yet. It's okay."

Jo reaches above my head and I hear the soft click of the call light being pulled. She brushes my cheek gently as she pulls her hand back, a sad smile splayed across her lips.

"I'm so sorry," she whispers. "This is all my fault."

I open my mouth to speak, but the words stick in my throat, burning. I do, however, manage to shake my head at her. People need to stop blaming themselves. No one is at fault besides my attacker and Dwaine.

Two women rush into the room, one in a white doctor's coat and the other in light blue scrubs. Jo places a tender kiss to my forehead before stepping back, and it's then that I see him.

Alex sits in the far corner of the room, slouched in his seat with his long legs spread wide in front of himself. The sight of him, even while asleep, makes my heart lurch into my throat. His thick brows are furrowed, his chin nearly touching his chest as he sleeps.

"He hasn't left your side since they took you out of surgery," Jo whispers. "That's quite a dedicated boy you have here."

"Mabel?" The doctor steps forward with a tentative smile, coming to stand at my side. "I'm Dr. Ludwig. It's good to see you awake finally. Are you in any pain?"

I give her a questioning look, and raise a hand to touch my throat.

"Ah, yes. You were having some trouble breathing on your own at first so we had to place a tube down your throat. It might feel a bit scratchy for awhile. Any other pain?"

I shake my head, despite a dull throbbing I feel in my side. I'm worried that if they give me any more pain medication I'll fall back asleep, and I don't want that.

"We're going to have to call the police now that you're conscious," Dr. Ludwig explains. "They're going to want to talk to you about what happened."

Aunt Jo makes a disgruntled sound in the back of her throat. "She can't even talk yet, do you really think that's a good idea? This girl has been through—"

Dr. Ludwig raises a hand, cutting her off. "I'm sorry ma'am, I know that Mabel here has been through a lot, but they need to do their job just as I need to do mine."

"It's...okay," I say hoarsely, wincing slightly.

"Do you remember what happened to you, Mabel?" Dr. Ludwig asks softly.

I close my eyes as the memories flood back, and nod my head. "Y-yes."

"Okay, that's good. I'm going to go call down to the station. They should be here in about fifteen minutes." Dr. Ludwig turns on her heel and the nurse follows her out the door.

I open my eyes again slowly, letting out a shaky breath. "Auntie..."

"Yes, honey?" She hurries to my side, gently brushing her fingers against my own.

"Will you...do me a...favor?"

"Of course, sweetie. Anything."

"Will you call Hazel? Let her know I'm okay?" I pause to take a breath. "Maybe get me some...water too?"

"Not a problem. I'll be back as soon as I can."

I glance over at Alex's sleeping frame and shake my head at her. "It's okay, take your time."

She nods once in understanding, placing a quick kiss to my forehead before exiting the room.

After she leaves, I take a moment to compose myself and gather my thoughts. Part of me wants to steal a peek under my gown, to get a good look at the damage that has been done, but I know there's not much to see yet. By the constant tugging of tape against my skin with every breath, it's obvious that I'm bandaged up pretty well.

Alex snores softly from the chair he's seated in. It's not the peaceful slumber that I'm used to seeing him in. No, his expression—even while unconscious—is one filled with pain. His eyebrows are knit together in discomfort, and his lips are spread into a thin line as they're mashed together.

"Alex..." I call out, my voice cracking.

He doesn't answer.

I reach behind myself, hissing through my teeth as a sharp pain laces up my side, and snatch one of the pillows from behind my head. "Alex..." I say his name more forcefully, and muster up all the strength I have in order to launch the pillow across the room.

It's a pretty pathetic throw, but it still manages to land near his feet with just enough force to startle him awake. Alex lifts his head, blinking the sleep from his eyes rapidly, and then bends forward to scrub a hand over his face.

I feel a tug on my heartstrings when I find the deep shadows beneath his eyes. They're so dark that I almost wonder if he was hit in the face. He's quite obviously lost a lot of sleep, and I know that I'm most likely the one at fault for that.

Slowly, he lifts his head, and his brown eyes widen. "Mabes?" Alex shoots to his feet, stumbling over the unnoticed pillow, and then drops to his knees beside me. "Jesus Christ, you're awake." His dark eyes fill with tears, but he rubs them away with his hand before they have a chance to fall. "Shit, sorry...fuck...I was just so worried about you."

"I'm sorry," I whisper, reaching out to brush his bangs from his face.

He immediately leans into my touch, his eyes fluttering closed. "It's not your fault, babe. I'm glad you're okay now. I couldn't leave before, not with you in the state you were...but if you want me to go I will." He opens his eyes again, watching my face carefully to gauge my reaction.

"Please don't go." Shoot, now I'm going to cry. "I shouldn't have left your house that day...not without at least giving you the chance to tell me yourself what was going on."

Alex shakes his head fiercely, his lips slanted in a grim line. "No, you were right to leave. It was just too much drama."

My heart plummets, dropping into the pit of my empty stomach. I hadn't expected him to justify my leaving. His agreement leaves me feeling as though he thinks that breaking up was the right thing, that he doesn't want me anymore. Am I reading this situation all wrong? Did he not come here because he loves me?

I withdraw my hand, placing it back on my chest. "So, um...what happened to your face?" I ask in hopes of changing the subject.

Alex runs the pad of his thumb over his bruised lip and chuckles darkly. The sound is hollow, much like the feeling in my chest.

"The fucker who attacked you landed a hit or two," he answers vaguely.

My brows pull together in confusion. "You came after me?"

He shoots me a look that makes it clear that my question has wounded him. "Of course I did, Mabes."

"W-why?"

"Because I love—"

His words are cut off by the sharp sound of knuckles rapping against the door. The person on the other side doesn't wait for a response, and a second later a police officer strolls inside. He's dressed in uniform with a yellow pad of paper tucked under his arm.
I shift my eyes from him back to Alex who's gnawing lightly on his injured lip.

"I should go," Alex says, getting to his feet.

I open my mouth to speak, wanting to ask him what he was going to say before we were interrupted, but then close my mouth again with a sigh. Now isn't the time.

The officer nods his head at Alex as they pass each other, and then pulls up a chair to sit next to me.

"Good afternoon, Miss Carter," he says gruffly. He can't be more than thirty. His dirty blond hair is cropped short, and his jawline is sharp with high cheek bones. "Is it alright if I ask you some questions?"

I nod once. "Sure, but please call me Mabel." I fiddle with my hands in my lap and when I sneak a peek at him, a small smile tugs at the corners of his lips.

"Not a problem. You can call me Mark."

"Okay."

He pulls a pen out from behind his ear. "Can you tell me what happened four nights ago on February 26th?"

Four nights ago? I feel my eyes widen as my mind races to backtrack over the events.

"You've been asleep for awhile," Mark says gently. "I'm sorry if the news of that startled you."

"It's fine," I reply quickly. "Um, I was heading back to the dorms from work..."

I replay the events of that night for him, pausing every once in a while to let Mark catch up as he scribbles over the pad of paper. I don't even realize that I've started crying until he hands me a few tissues from a nearby table.

"I'm very sorry that this has happened to you, Mabel, but I promise that I'll do everything I can to bring your attacker and your father to justice." He wears a solemn, yet determined expression. "Your story matches the suspect's and witnesses, so it's a strong case."

"M-my father?" I swallow the lump that's grown in my throat.

He cocks his head to the side. "He's already in transport to Denver PD. Did you not know that he was behind this attack...?"

"No, I knew," I murmur, wiping my eyes with the tissue. "But he always told me that he could never be charged with anything because he's an officer..."

"That's not true at all," Mark deadpans. "It might be harder to prove that an officer has broken the law in some cases, I'll definitely agree to that, but we already have enough proof to lock your father away for a long time, Mabel."

My heart pounds painfully in my chest. "Are you sure?"

Please don't be saying this just for my sake. I plead silently, hoping he gets the message. I don't think I could handle it if you were wrong.

"Yes." Mark clears his throat, dropping his gaze to the floor. "I don't know if it means much coming from me, but I'm very sorry that a fellow officer abused his power in order to hurt you repeatedly. No, that's not right. Dwaine Carter is not an officer of the law. He's a criminal."

More tears burn my eyes. "Th-thank you, Mark."

He ducks his head into a respectful nod, and then turns to briskly leave the room, leaving me alone. As soon as the door clicks shut, Josephine opens it again and shuffles inside with a styrofoam cup of water.

She hands me the cup and watches as I suck down the icy liquid. It numbs my throat instantly with the cold, and I hum in satisfaction as I drain nearly the entire contents of the cup.

"Your friend Hazel is here to see you if you're feeling up for it," Jo murmurs, taking the cup back to place it on a nearby counter. "She's quite...enthusiastic about seeing you, but I can turn her away if you're too tired."

I grin, shaking my head. "It's okay, she'll only get worse if you tell her no."

She returns the smile fondly. "Do you want me to see if you can have something to eat while I'm out there?"

My stomach rumbles at the mention of food, answering her question.

"I'll take that as a yes. See you in a bit, sweetie."

Not even a minute after Aunt Jo leaves, Hazel throws open the door and launches herself across the room at me. Her blue eyes are puffy and red rimmed from crying, and as soon as she sees me tears flow freely down her cheeks.

"Oh my God, I'm so glad you're okay," she wails, throwing her arms haphazardly around my neck.

Tyler ducks in through the doorway and I offer him a wave. He shoots me a smile and then moves to stand by the window.

Hazel's tears splash against my collarbone and she hugs me tighter, eliciting an uncomfortable groan from me. The IV in my hand shifts painfully beneath my skin, and I reluctantly have to nudge Hazel back to fix it.

"Go easy on her, baby," Tyler instructs from across the room, threading his burly arms over his chest.

Hazel flips him the bird, not taking her eyes off of me. "I was so worried, Mabel."

I nod in understanding and slide over to the far side of my bed to allow her a place to sit. "I'm okay."

"That asshole fucking filleted you," she spits bitterly. "You can't tell me that you're okay. You're a horrible liar."

I wince at her choice of words, the memory of the man cutting me flashing into my mind.

"Seriously, Hazel?" Tyler groans.

"Shit, sorry, poor choice of words," she mumbles, lowering her eyes to the floor as she sits beside me. "I should've pulled an Alex and demanded that they let me stay with you. I really wanted to be here when you woke up."

"You had classes," I tell her dismissively. "Wait...what did Alex do?"

"Only harass the hospital staff and your aunt until they let him stay here. It was ridiculous. Josephine didn't even know who he was...at least I've met her a couple of times before."

I stifle a laugh into my hands, which quickly transforms into tears until I'm a full blown blubbering mess. "Oh Hazel...how did things...get so messed up?"

Gentler this time, she wraps her toned arms around me and pulls my head into her shoulder. "I know, babe." She pats my hair, brushing it out of my face, and lets me cry into her. "Tyler, why don't you go wait outside?"

He mutters something I don't quite catch, and then leaves the room, the door clicking softly behind him.

"Okay, babe you've gotta stop. If you keep going like this then I'm going to cry again, and I don't think either of us want that," she murmurs into the top of my head. "You know how much of an ugly crier I can be."

I can't help but laugh, and I give her one more squeeze before pulling back. She hands me a box of tissues and I proceed to blow my nose in the most unattractive way possible.

We talk for a few more minutes, again Hazel expresses how happy she is that I'm awake and doing okay, and then she leaves once Jo returns to the room. I don't want her to go, but I understand why she does. She wants to let me rest, but what I really want is to hold everyone close and never let them go again. I realize that in order to do that, I need to let one person in particular back in.

Alex.

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I'm the one writing the story and even I'M a bit peeved that Alex still hasn't been able to say those three little words 🙄🙄

So I've been thinking of making a playlist for this story. I have a few suggestions based on my own taste in music, but do you guys have any songs that make you think of this story? Or that you feel would fit well?

Don't say I never gave you guys anything 😉
Next update should be coming THURSDAY, and I promise it'll be a good one 😏😏

Even though I feel like I say this at the end of every chapter, you guys are SO amazing. Thank you so much for the support you've given BT
Hope you enjoyed the chapter,
Kat