A Dream, A Destiny 2

Cursory

Serena POV

Luckily, it was only Delia who walked in and I breath out a silent sigh of relief. I wasn't looking forward to dealing with Mr. Ketchum when he walked in. He didn't like me or approve of me being Ash's girlfriend. He was probably going to kick me out of the hospital if he felt like it.

Delia's hands were shaking as she sat on the corner of the bed, tears standing out in her dark hazel eyes. "My poor baby," she whispered, hugging her knees. Hope squeezed her hand. "I'm okay; it was just the shock of seeing Ash like that." She swallowed hard, shaking her head. "I haven't seen him for years and for this to be the first time... No parent should ever have to go through this. He was so pale, so still..."

I could tell that Delia was noticeably trying to pull herself together and be strong and I applauded her internally.

"Hope, could I please borrow your phone?" I asked a couple of minutes later. The Tylenol had started to kick in and the aches were fading slowly, much to my satisfaction.

Nodding with approval, Hope pulled out her shiny cell phone and handed it to me. "Sure. Do you want to call the Stone's to come pick you up?"

"No, I just want to tell my mom that I'm okay." I paused, looking at my hands which were placed in my lap. "I want to stay until Ash wakes up, if you'll let me."

I didn't want to impose on the family, but I really wanted to be there when Ash wakes up. Part of me was sure that Hope and Delia would shoo me out of the hospital after a while, telling me to go handle my business, but part of me was hoping that they would let me stay.

As soon as I uttered those words, Delia hugged my shoulders gently. "Of course you can stay, Serena." Her voice turned playful and I was once again forcibly reminded of Ash. "In fact, Hope and I would be offended if you didn't stay. Right, Hope?"

Hope nodded, smiling at me. "We'd love to have you stay," she added, warming my soul with the sincerity in her voice.

It's always nice to feel wanted.

I slipped into the (thankfully) empty hallway and sat down, sucking in a sharp breath as I gently leaned my back against the wall which instantly made me feel a sharp pain corsing through me. Sucking it up, I dialed my mom's number which I knew it off by heart and waited with bated breath for her to pick up.

"Hello?"

Her familiar voice washing over me, I spoke up "Hi, mom. It's me, Serena," in a small voice. Suddenly, I didn't know what to say to her.

A loud gasp. "Serena! Are you okay? Where are you?"

"I'm at the hospital," I told her, wincing as I tried to find a comfortable position to sit in. "Ash's aneurysm ruptured."

"You've got to come home, Serena," Mom said, talking over me as I tried to explain what was going on. "Steven told me that Alain- that Alain attacked you." Her voice came out in an incredulous whisper and I trembled in fear.

Hugging my knees, I said. "Yeah." Whilst nodding.

"What happened?"

I decided to answer her question with a question of my own. "What did- Alain tell you?"

Just saying his name left a bad taste in my mouth and I felt a flood of anger towards him. There wasn't a single excuse that would fly when I went back to school. Everyone would take one look at me and come to the same conclusion- someone beat the crap out of her.

"He won't talk to me; he's sitting with his head in his hands." Mom snorted derisively as I slowly looked up, my head pounding.

I whispered "He's still there?" in disbelief.