Not So Bad - A.M.

34. Bad News

"Ava?" I heard a voice say softly as I tried to peel my eyes open.

"Mom?" I mumbled.

"Ava, you're awake, thank God." She reached for my hand and held it lightly.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Sh, honey, you're okay. You're in the hospital. Do you remember anything about what happened to you?"

"No, I-I don't.." I trailed off, closing my eyes again.

"It's okay, you don't have to talk about it right now. I'm going to go get the doctor, okay? He wanted to talk to you when you woke up." She gave a small, sad smile then walked out the door.

I heard a noise from somewhere in the room and it made me jump. I looked to the side and let out a breath of relief when I realized it was my dad.

He must've noticed because he said, "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

"It's okay, Dad."

He got out of the chair and walked over to me. I reached my hand out and he took it in his. I gave him a small smile. "Have you been crying?" I asked, noticing that his eyes were red.

"I was scared," was all he said, and I understood because what parent wouldn't be?

"Well, i'm alright, Dad, no need to be scared." I gave his hand a reassuring squeeze and he smiled back at me.

The door opened and the doctor came walking in, followed by my mother. "Hello, Ava." He smiled. "I'm Dr. Cameron."

"Hi." I smiled back at him.

"I've already talked to your parents about your injuries, and everything is fine with you so far, but that doesn't mean you're in the clear." He said, and I nodded in response. "How are you feeling right now?"

"Well, my arm and my head hurt, but everything else is tolerable." I said.

"Well, you had a pretty deep cut on your arm; got stitches. And there was a small cut on your throat, but it wasn't too major so no stitches there. Um," he started, looking through the sheet of paper on his clipboard, "you've got a concussion, and some scratches and bruises. We noticed that your shoulder is bruised pretty badly, but nothing's broken so that's good. Also, you had some minor blood loss, but that's all under control now. The only thing we were very concerned about was the concussion."

I nodded. "Okay."

"We're going to keep you here for a few days to keep watch over the concussion, but as long as everything goes well and you start healing properly, you'll be free to go." He smiled again, looking between me and my parents.

"Okay, thank you." I smiled back at him.

"Of course. Oh, and the police will be by shortly. They'd like to speak with you about what's happened."

"Thank you so much, Dr. Cameron." Dad said.

"No problem. Let me know if you need me for anything." Dr. Cameron said before leaving my room.

My mom began to cry, and my dad held her in his arms, trying to hold back his own tears.

"Please don't be sad, guys." I told them.

"I'm sorry, Ava. I just can't believe someone would do this to my baby." My mom sobbed.

"I'm okay, Mom. I'll be okay."

There was a knock at the door, and my sister's voice came immediately after. "Can we see her now?"

"Yeah, honey, come in." My mom said. Taylor, Ian, and Blake all walked in and my mom and dad started walking out.