You Again

Chapter 23

Chapter 23

It seemed like every time I woke up now, my head was pounding and felt like it weighed a ton.  My eyes were a little easier to open this time, though. 

When I did, at first all I could see was a bright light over me but then it started to dull and I could see more clearly.  And when I looked over to the side, I saw my dad asleep in a chair beside me. 

“Daddy?” I said.  When I spoke, the muscles in my stomach contracted and pain shot through me. 

His eyes snapped open when I spoke.  “Reece?  Oh, sweetie, are you okay?” he asked, grabbing my hand. 

“Yeah, just sore,” I said. 

He lifted his other hand and gently touched the side of my face where Mitch had punched me twice.

“I’m so sorry this happened to you,” he said, looking regretful.

“It wasn’t your fault,” I said.  “Mitch is just a crazy lunatic who kidnapped me.” 

“But still,” he said, shaking his head.

“Where’s Mom?  Are Greer, Kole, Mia, and Jake here, too?” I asked.

He nodded.  “They’re down in the cafeteria eating dinner,” he said. 

I looked at him in confusion.  “Dinner?” I asked.  “What happened after…?”

“They had to fly both you and Kane in from that house that Mitch had you in.  When you got here, they brought you both into emergency surgery, which yours took about six hours,” he said.  “You’ve been out for almost three days because they kept you sedated.”

“That last sentence,” I said.  My heart started to pound and you could see and hear it on the monitor.  “You kept saying ‘you’.  You didn’t say ‘us’.  What’s happened with Kane?  Is he okay?”

Dad started to smile.  “He’s absolutely fine,” he said.  “The only thing that had to do with him was repair some of the muscle damage in his shoulder where the bullet went through.  He’s already been discharged and is downstairs with your mom and the others.  So are Pax and Jeremy.”

I started shaking my head.  “I can’t believe all of this happened,” I said.  “The three of them lied to me!  Kane’s a FBI agent.  How could he not have told me?”

“He couldn’t,” he said.  “Not until now because the case is closed.  They’re going to explain everything to you.”

“And Pax!” I said.  “How in the world did I not see that?”

Dad laughed again and leaned up to kiss my forehead.  “They’re going to explain everything to you,” he said.  “Let me call your mom and tell her you’re up.”

I watched as he walked out of my hospital room and into the hallway.  After pushing the covers off of me, I lifted the side of my hospital gown to see a huge piece of gauze covering the right side of my stomach.  I lifted it gently from the corner to see a three inch long row of staples.  Just seeing it made my head spin.  Ew.

“You probably shouldn’t be doing that.  You have to keep it covered,” someone said from the doorway.

My eyes immediately filled with tears as I looked up at Kane.  He was dressed in jeans and a white t-shirt with a sling on his left arm.

“Kane,” I said, tears spilling over. 

He walked quickly toward me and I put my hands on his face when he leaned down so I could kiss him.