15

449 16 14
                                    




Beep


Beep


Beep


Beep

I groan. Somebody shut that off.

Beep

Beep

Beep


Beep

"Stop" I cry covering my ears.

I feel pain everywhere and I open my eyes. My head feels full of clouds and cotton balls. I'm in a hospital bed. My arm has a purple cast on it and my head hurts so bad. My side aches and I can't remember shit. What happened? Why was I in the hospital? I grabbed the remote that was sitting on the bed and pressed the button to shift myself into a sitting position. From this angle, I could see things better. The whiteboard on the wall says my name, and what I'm assuming is today's date. I shift and groan again.  Suddenly I see Taylor in the window seal bed, well not a bed but she made it look like one.

"Taylor" I groan and she stirs

She's up before I can blink

"Oh my gosh you okay," she says rushing to my side

She quickly grabbed the call button out of my hand and hits the call nurse button.

"What happened," I ask

Taylor eyes me and I see her black eye and busted lip now.

"Taylor," I say setting my hand on the side of her face.

My finger brushes over her swollen lip and memories come flooding back.

"Oh my god" I'm shaking

He did this, Shawn attacked Taylor, he- he pushed me down the stairs

"He did this," I ask shaking

Taylor nods her head when a nurse comes walking in.

"Good morning Camila, I'm glad to see you awake. We wanna run a few tests " the nurse says glancing at the monitors

"How long have I been asleep," I ask

The nurse glances at Taylor and then at me.

"Only about 28 hours," she says

I nod looking back at Taylor, the nurse leaves and I sigh.

"I'm so-"

"Don't you dare apologize for his actions " she says sitting on the edge of my bed.

I can't help but look at her lips, those lips that I was hoping were going to kiss me before Shawn. The dark red cut across it is a reminder of what he did.

"Taylor," I say

Taylor reached over and grabs my hand, she Intertwines our fingers and I glance down at them.

What does this mean?

"Are you gay" I blurt out

My cheeks heat up and my heart monitor spikes momentarily. Taylor chuckles.

"Yes cam," she says

"Oh" I mumble

Knowing she's gay feels intrusive but it explains a few things. Maybe it explains my recent feeling towards her. I suddenly want to kiss her.

"Taylor can we finish what we started on the roof," I ask shyly

Her cheeks flush and she nods. Suddenly I'm all too aware of my body, and how close she is to me. My heart monitor spikes but it doesn't come down this time.

"You better calm that down before they come running in here" Taylor whispers

"Then do it, " I say

Taylor reached forward and caresses my face, her hand soft on my skin. She slides it back to cup the back of my neck and bring me forward. Her lips meet mine and I feel like fireworks go off. Those butterflies return and I don't shove them away this time. My lips move with hers as I wrap my good hand around her wanting her closer. Too soon she pulls away and has the biggest grin on her face.

"I wish I'd done that sooner," she says tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

"Me too" I breathe

Too soon later the nurses come in to take me for some testing to make sure everything is okay. My mind is racing at everything that has happened. I hoped Taylor would still be there when I got back. Would she leave?

Entering back into the room I see Taylor standing by the window.

"She's back I gotta go," she says and hangs up

The nurse sets the bed so it can't move.

"Your doctors will update you," she says and heads out

Taylor walks over to the bed and sits on the edge. I reach forward needing some sort of contact. Out of every interaction I've added up. I think I have major feelings for her.

"Are you ready to leave him" she whispers

I just nod, I left him the moment he put his hands on Taylor.

"He put his hands on you" I whisper

My eyes land on her busted lip. He hurt her.

"Don't worry, I got a few swings on him, you should see him" she snorts

"He's here? " I ask sitting up and glancing at the door.

Taylor pushed my shoulders back into the bed.

"Relax baby C, he's chained to his bed and getting booked as soon as he's out," she said

I relaxed slightly and glance down at our hands.

"What happened after he pushed me," I asked

Taylor's quiet for a moment, almost as if she doesn't want to speak up. She takes a deep breath and I realize she's blinking back tears.

"Taylor" I whisper and squeeze her hand

She nods and exhales.

"When he pushed you I thought you were gone, all I saw was red. I tackled him to the ground again and I kept punching him. I-I couldn't stop Cam, I wasn't in control. "Taylor stutters

I sense she's not done so I wait, Taylor went livid.

"All I saw was red, I just remember security pulling me off of him, there was blood everywhere" She shakes

I glance down at Taylor's knuckles on her other hand and gasp. They were torn up, most likely from punching him.

"Why," I asked, why would she protect me when I've been shitty.

Her eyes flick up to mine.

"Because I care about you," she says

My heart hurts, why

"Tay," I say, the nickname slipping out.

"Camila," she says

"Good news your scans came back and you able to head home tonight," a nurse says busting into the room

Taylor unfolds herself from me and goes to stand by the window. My heart slightly hurts at the distance she puts between us.

"Do you have an at-home care plan " the nurse asks

Suddenly my mouth goes dry, home? Shawn was my home? Our apartment was my home? I don't have a home. Maybe Diniah would let me stay or my mo-

"Yes we do," Taylor says stepping in

Holy shit

Switching sides Where stories live. Discover now