Across The Street // Luke Hemmings

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Five

I felt my eyes flutter, but I couldn't see anything at first. I squinted my eyes, attempting to get them adjusted to the light. Once they were opened and I could see, I saw Katie next to me.

She looked like she had been crying. Her mouth was moving but I couldn't focus on what she was saying.

Within seconds, I realized I was lying on a bed in a hospital room and I started to panic. Katie must have seen the panic on my face, because she immediately placed her hand on my arm.

"Chelsea, Chelsea look at me," she said, and I turned my head to look at her. "Did you hear what I said?" She was searching my face, waiting for a response.

"Katie, why am I in a hospital room?" I could feel a lump in my throat.

"That bitch completely knocked you out, and you hit the back of your head on the bathroom wall. You've been drifting in and out of consciousness. The doctor said it's just a mild concussion, but you have to stay here for a bit. She said they like to keep patients over night if they've suffered head injuries." Katie was talking, but it was taking me a few seconds to comprehend exactly what she was saying.

"My head hurts," was all I managed to get out. It was true. My head was throbbing, and I felt like I could throw up at any moment.

Katie scrunched her face up. "Those fucking girls fled the bathroom as soon as you were on the floor, and I didn't even get a chance to stop them. And of course they don't keep security cameras in the bathroom, so they're basically getting away with this whole thing. This fucking sucks."

She pulled her phone out of her bag and started texting. "Jill and Peyton are on their way over. The concert's still not over, so the guys don't know yet," Katie said.

"No no no, we're not telling the guys about this," I said, tears filling my eyes.

"Chelsea, don't be ridiculous," she said to me.

"No, this was their night. I don't want to take any attention away from them. Especially because this is an embarrassing kind of attention," I said anxiously.

Katie looked at me like I was crazy, then said "I think they're gonna be curious as to why we all left their concert to go to the hospital, which you're going to be staying at over night! And Luke will probably be curious as to why your parents had to take an unexpected flight across the country to see you!"

Now the tears were coming down my face. "My parents are coming?!" I was doing my best not to completely break down into hysterics.

Katie adjusted the pillow behind my head. "Chelsea, you're in the hospital. Of course your parents are coming. Who do you think is going to pay for the medical bill? Plus, I don't know, they're a little worried about their daughter!" She was staring at me, waiting for me to say something.

Why is this happening to me? I looked around the private, tiny hospital room that Katie and I were in. I looked down at the bed that I was on. This wasn't what was supposed to happen. We were supposed to have a nice, relaxing time here in California. We've barely made a dent in the summer, and I've already landed myself in the emergency room.

"Oh my God, you poor thing!" I heard Peyton's voice. She and Jill made their way into the room, looking like they had sprinted over here.

"We came as fast as we could," Jill said, sitting in a chair next to the bed that I was on.

She moved a piece of hair out of my face. "She really got you there," Jill said as she examined my face.

Great. I hadn't even thought about what my face looked like. Katie grabbed a compact mirror out of her purse and handed it to me so I could see myself.

"The doctor said the swelling will go down within a couple of days. And we can always just cover up the bruise with some make up." Katie was talking in a very re-assuring voice, but I still shuddered when I saw my face in the mirror.

Tears continued streaming down my face, and all three girls instinctively got closer to me to hug me and hold my hands and wipe my tears.

"It's okay, you're gonna be okay," Katie said as she ran her fingers through my hair.

"I don't even know why I'm upset," I said in between sobs.

"Chelsea, you have every right to be upset! You were assaulted by some random jealous bitch, and she got away with it! If I were you, not only would I be crying, but I'd be fuming," Katie said, getting all worked up.

"Wait, what do you mean 'jealous bitch'? Who was jealous of you? And what exactly was she jealous of?" Jill asked. I looked at Katie, hoping she could explain what happened.

Katie explained the whole thing to Peyton and Jill, and they were furious. "She must have seen you and Luke kissing," Peyton said as she shook her head.

"Yeah, it's my own fault. I saw how many fans they had, and how much they all love the boys. I should have known better."

I was mentally beating myself up. I couldn't believe I let this happen.

"Hey, are you crazy?! This was not your fault at all! Normal jealous people don't get violent, they just talk shit about you behind your back. She should've just done that!" Katie said, and I let out a small laugh.

"Ow," I winced as pain flooded my head. "Don't make me laugh," I said with a playful slap to her arm.

I could hear someone's phone buzzing. "Ah, fuck, Calum's calling me," Jill said as she looked at her phone.

"I won't go into details," she said quickly to reassure me before answering the call.

"Hey, Cal. Yeah, you guys were so great. We actually had to scoot out of there right away, because, uh, because something came up. No, no, we loved the concert. I, um, I can't come over tonight. Can I call you back later?" She hung up the phone before he even had the chance to answer.

"Woops. I suck at lying. I thought it was best to keep it short and sweet," Jill said as she gave a little shrug. "Thank you," I said softly.

All of our phones were ringing like crazy, with text messages and calls coming in from the guys.

"Great, I probably should've told Calum that none of us could talk right now. Damn it," Jill said as she turned her phone on silent.

Katie dug my phone out of my bag on the floor and handed it to me. "Just in case you want to send Luke a quick text," she said.

I shook my head. "I think it's probably best if I take a little break from Luke. I know how important the band's fans are. Clearly, I'm in the way. I just, I don't want to--" I couldn't even finish what I was saying, because the lump in my throat was in the way.

"Chelsea, Luke is crazy about you," Peyton said softly as she hugged me. Katie and Jill nodded in agreement, then joined in on the hug.

I was crazy about Luke. But I can't handle any more bruises.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: thanks for reading! please don't forget to comment and vote for this chapter.. thank you :)