Devil Says 'H!'

Chapter 30

Skylar groaned. She was admitted to the hospital and the doctor had said that she would not be able to walk for at least a month. Falling more than one time on the same broken ankle again and again had not helped the poor foot. Skylar pressed her fingers to her eyes, and laid back on the pillow. She had just taken a look at her leg, and what she had seen was a large bandage, which had made her skinny leg look like an elephant.

Henry gently patted Skylar's arms. She did not want to look at him and see that she had been the reason to make him worry. Without knowing where his daughter had gone, Henry had spent a terrible evening, nearly calling the police station, but knowing that it would not help Skylar in any way, had been hoping for her.

Skylar shook her head, and turned to the side, when the hospital door creaked open. It was Ed, and he was coming back after having a conversation with the doctor.

"We can discharge her today, uncle." he said, handing over some receipts and prescription to Henry. He nodded and turned to look at Skylar.

"You heard the doctor, darling." Henry said. Skylar looked at him. "No walks for a month." he emphasized and gave Ed a sideways look, as he realized what that meant. If Skylar was not allowed to walk for a month, he would not be able to meet her at all. He would have to visit her home every time, and by instinct, Ed knew that it would not make him fall into Henry's good books.

He sighed, but nodded. "I think uncle's right darl – I mean Sky." he corrected hurriedly. He gave a quick glance in Henry's way, and continued. "Maybe it's time you took some rest." he said, and gently patted Skylar's bandaged leg.

Skylar looked at her father, and turned towards Ed. She was pleading with him silently, asking him to not to agree with her father, because by experience Skylar knew how stubborn Henry can be, when it came to Skylar's health, and if someone else was there to back him up, he would be most victorious.

Ed saw the expression Skylar was giving him, but he shook his head. This time, he was going to take Henry's side, even though it did not play well with him.

"Oh alright." Skylar hissed through gritted teeth, waving her arm and turning to the other side, not looking at either of them. Ed chuckled, and quickly turned it into a cough as he saw Henry look at him. Ed did not understand why, but ever since Henry had come to the hospital after Ed had let him know of the situation, he had been cold towards him. He felt as though Henry was feeling that Ed had been the reason for her to end up in the hospital.

"Dad, let's go home please." Skylar started to whine at once. Both Ed and Henry turned towards her, surprised.

"Definitely darling, definitely." Henry said, gently stroking Skylar's head. "We'll go home in the evening." he said, and Ed nodded agreeing with him. He went to meet a nurse to clarify something regarding Skylar's health, and he came back buying some of her favorite snacks from the cafeteria.

Evening did not come soon, and Skylar was still whimpering with pain on her leg. Even though her father had asked her to have some sleep for more than thirty times, Skylar was not able to do so, because whenever she closed her eyes, she was able to see the smirking form of Gertrude etched inside her eyelids. She knew that it would take a long time for her to remove the image from her mind, but at the moment, she was nowhere near doing it so.

With an audible dramatic sigh, Skylar leaned over Ed, and Henry touched her arm gently, guiding her out of the ward to the taxi. They were going back home, and Skylar was more than happy to do so. She gritted her teeth and shut her eyes tight, as pain shot through her ankle once more. She was not even able to feel her toes anymore because of the heavy bandage, but once in a while, the ankle reminded her where exactly it was.