Waking up that afternoon felt like swimming against crashing waves.  My mind kept trying to pull me under back to sleep but I heard this annoying noise calling out to me.  I wanted more than anything to make it stop, even more than I wanted to go back to sleep.  I finally forced my eyes open to see Will standing over me, his face very close to my own.  I could actually see the flecks of color dotting his brown eyes.

It took me a moment before I realized what he was saying.  "Annie, are you awake now?  You can stop staring at me any time."  A smirk was forming on his face.

I blushed in realization as he teased me, before shifting my gaze around the white hospital room, suddenly filled with people I didn't recognize.  Before I had a chance to panic at the presence of so many strangers, I felt Will's hand on my chin, guiding my line of sight back to him.  His teasing expression had dropped, leaving him looking serious.

"Hey, it's ok.  The people in the room aren't going to hurt you.  These detectives need your statement, and the doctor is here to inform them and you of the injuries.  You're going to be fine, alright?"

His voice was quiet as the buzz of conversation was still filling the room around us.  I felt extremely grateful that he seemed to know I didn't want the fact I was afraid to be broadcast to everyone.  I nodded gently and he gave me a small smile in return.  His hand fell to my own, gripping it tightly as he turned to the people in the room.

"Alright detectives, she's ready to talk to you now."

Two men stepped up to the left side of my hospital bed while Will was standing to my right, still holding my hand.  One was much heftier and older than the other, though they both had tired expressions on their faces.  The bigger man with gray hair spoke first, surprising me with his extremely calming, gentle voice.

"Miss Bloom, I'm Detective Hansen and this is Detective Barnes.  We're sorry to hear what happened to you.  In order to catch the people responsible, we need to know what happened from your perspective.  Do you feel up to talking about it?"

His kind eyes expressed sympathy and I felt at ease with this man.  I somehow knew he'd take everything I said seriously, and before I knew what was happening I was in tears.  It was like the show of kindness finally unlocked the terror and pain of what happened.

Will's grip on my hand tightened slightly as he leaned over and hugged me to him gently, trying not to hurt me.  I couldn't stop the sobbing for several minutes as I cried into Will's shirt with him stroking my tied-up hair with his free hand.  The memories came rushing back at me and I couldn't stop them from flooding my mind as I felt each hit over and over again.

"Maybe you should come back later."  I heard Will's muffled voice from my position against his chest.

I pulled away from him slightly and shook my head, taking deep breaths and trying to get control over myself.  I didn't want to put this off any longer.  The sooner I talked about it, the sooner I could start forgetting it.

"No.  I--I need to talk about it now,"  I paused, little hiccuping sobs still stealing my breath.  In a moment when I could breathe a little steadier, I continued, "I was walking away from the campus, toward the alleys behind it.  I'd just been in to talk to the dean because I found out this morning that two of my classmates had been expelled and one of them...died. I was really upset and took a walk.  I got lost in the streets and saw someone wearing a hoodie standing against a building, so I went to ask for directions.  They...hit me in the face, threw me against the wall, and hit me again. I noticed a second person in a hoodie and mask just standing by and watching. I managed to get one hit out before I fell to the ground.  They started kicking me and finally they got out a knife...and they stabbed me.  I just remember everything going black after that."  I struggled to get the words out, feeling like I was reliving every moment as I spoke.  The only thing that kept me grounded as I talked was Will's hand holding my own.

I finally looked back up at the detectives.  The older man, Detective Hansen I think, seemed sad and extremely thoughtful.  The younger one with the crooked nose and icy stare seemed almost indifferent to me.  I glanced at Will and saw a mixture of emotions hidden in his eyes as he kept up a calm front for me. 

"Did you see what the perp's face looked like?"  Detective Barnes asked in a gravelly voice.

"No, they had a blank white mask on.  It covered everything but their eyes, and I didn't really get a good look at those.  I can tell you they were wearing a black hoodie though."

Detective Barnes sighed heavily. "Oh, wonderful.  So we're looking for one person with a black hoodie. That ought to help."  His sarcasm hit me hard.

"Excuse me, but I did everything I could.  I didn't have time to see who they were, I was getting attacked."  I snapped back.  Everyone in the room froze at my snarky comment.  Detective Barnes' eyes narrowed and he looked like he was about to say something back before the other detective stopped him.

"I'm sorry.  I'm sure Barnes didn't mean that against you.  Thank you for talking with us.  This matches up with our other witness statement as well.  We will let you rest now." Detective Hansen gave me an apologetic smile before walking out, younger detective in tow. 

Will hand lightly squeezed mine, drawing my attention back to him.  "Are you alright?"

I took a deep breath, still feeling aggravated.  "Yeah, I'll be fine.  That guy was just a jerk."

"Yeah he was," Will smiled at me, "But you were so brave.  Not that this means anything to you, but I'm really proud of you for talking about what happened and for standing up for yourself."

His words filled me with warmth and I smiled back, terribly conscious of how smiling hurt my swollen face.  Just then, the doctor stepped forward.  She was middle-aged, with a white lab coat on covering green scrubs.

"I'm sorry to interrupt.  I think we need to speak about your injuries now that you're conscious."  She suggested.

I nodded my agreement, ready to hear what damage had been done to me.  "Well, first of all, you're very lucky.  You have a lot of injuries but they are mostly minor.  The one to be most concerned about is the stab wound to your abdomen.  It perforated your small intestine and required immediate surgery when you were brought in.  The surgery was successful and, as long as you follow recovery guidelines, you should be fine.  It's going to cause you a lot of pain to sit up and stand until the stitches heal, so I suggest you stay lying down as much as possible. 

"You also have a punctured lung which appears to have been caused by a broken rib.  It's fairly minor and will heal in time, so long as you take care of yourself.  Your left humerus has a stable spiral fracture, probably caused from someone twisting your arm harshly behind your back.  Right now your arm is in a splint until the swelling goes down a bit more, then we will end up putting a cast on it for at least four weeks.  Additionally, you have a blowout fracture to your left orbital ridge. 

"I know it all sounds horrible, but all in all you should have a full recovery.  You're going to be in the hospital for about a week, because we have to keep you monitored after the surgery to fix your small intestine.  After that you're free to go home but you will still need to be careful.  We will give you some recovery information and guidelines when that time comes.  But that should be all.  Do you have any questions for me?"  She was very clinical, very quick.  I knew she probably needed to get to other patients, but it felt so cold, like I was a name on a page.

My head was spinning with all that information.  I was sure I wouldn't be able to remember all of it, but I really didn't want to talk about it again right now.  "No.  Thank you."  I mumbled, suddenly feeling exhausted.  The pain was coming back dully now all over my body.

"All right, well don't hesitate to call the nurse if you need anything.  I'll be checking on you every day while you're here."  She smiled, then left quickly.

I turned back into Will's side, trying to find any comfort I could.  He tightened his arm around me in response.  I took in his woody smell and immediately felt comforted.

"I know you haven't known me that long, and I just want to say thank you for this.  It's really nice to have someone to rely on right now."

A few breaths passed before he replied, making me wonder if I'd said something stupid.  Maybe he was just being a nice person, not doing this specifically for me.

"You're right.  We haven't known each other for very long, but I feel a special connection to you Annie.  You're my best friend, and I'd do anything to help you."  I blushed at his unexpected words, glad he felt the same way as me.  If he didn't that would have been an extremely awkward moment.  He lightly squeezed me before gently extracting himself from my side, sitting in the gray armchair and pulling the little wheeled table over.  Looking at his face, I could see some pain showing in his deep brown eyes before he pulled himself together and flashed me a wide smile.  "Alright, enough being mushy.  How about we play a little go fish?"

Maybe I'd just imagined the pain in his expression earlier.  I decided to let it go and grinned, shaking my head slightly at his juvenile game choice.  "Alright.  Get ready to have your butt whooped, Tucker."

"Oh, them's fighting words, Bloom.  Hope you can back 'em up."

We bantered and played different games to pass the time and keep my mind off the pain for the next several days when I wasn't sleeping off pain medicine.  He went home briefly once a day to get a change of clothes and shower, then came back.  During the whole week I felt like I was in this safe bubble with him, like nothing could ever ruin our calm.  The only dark moments came when I was sleeping.  I dreamed about getting stabbed over and over again, almost every time I slept.  I kept trying to stay awake, but I couldn't fight the medicine I was on.  Luckily for me, every time I had one of those nightmares, Will woke me up and sat with me until I calmed down. 

With everything Will was doing to help me, the week passed like a flash.  The last day I was supposed to be in the hospital, the doctor came in and gave me dozens of documents relating to my recovery.  She outlined what I should be eating and when, how frequently I needed to get up and walk around the apartment, how to change my bandages when I shower, etc.  After she was finished, Will and Becca came to help me out to Will's car.  They drove me down in a wheelchair, and as we passed all the doctors and patients in every different waiting room I felt my excitement growing.  I was really happy to be going home.  I wanted nothing more than to lay in my own bed and not be monitored every five minutes for something.

We finally reached the hospital entrance and Will and Becca each took one of my sides, supporting me heavily.  My legs felt like noodles after all the time laying in a bed.  I was sure if I had to do it myself I wouldn't have been able to walk far.  I relied more on Will's muscular build, knowing he was probably stronger than the extremely petite Becca.  Despite the pain and struggle, we finally made it to the car.  Will smiled at me as he was helping me step into the passenger seat and I felt myself involuntarily smile back.  It felt good to get out of that dreary hospital room.

Both Will and Becca climbed in after putting my backpack of clothes and recovery documents in the backseat.  Will grabbed my left hand and lightly held it as we drove, looking at me every once in a while.  As I watched the buildings and cars flash by us, fear and memory flashed before my eyes.  All I could see in the deep snow and concrete flashing by was the alley where I almost died.  I felt tears tickling my cheeks as they trailed down and my body went cold.  That was the moment the realization that I might never feel safe again hit me.  I would always be wondering if it would happen again as I passed every corner.

Will squeezed my hand and his smile fell as his eyes took in my expression before turning back to the road.  "Are you alright?"  He asked.

I took in the warmth of his hand gripping mine and focused on studying the texture of the tan, somewhat weathered skin of his hand.  I felt myself becoming more grounded and the tears finally stopped. 

"Yeah.  I'm going to be fine."  And for the first time since I was attacked, I really believed that.