Ruin Me

55. Need me

 "Cara!" Sawyer came bursting out the door behind us, by how loudly he was panting he'd clearly been running around for a while trying to find us, his cheeks were tinted a dark red and he had to clutch the doorframe while he caught his breath, "your dad woke up, he's been asking for you."

 "He's awake?" I was immediatly on my feet my voice blossoming with hope, Sawyer could only nod in response while he tried to get his breath back to a steady pace. That was all the confirmation I needed to begin racing away from him and Nico in a frantic panic to get to my dad, to see with my own eyes that he was okay. I had no idea where I was going, I wished I'd paid more attention when following Nico on the way here. But my feet didn't seem to need guiding and led the way almost instinctively as if I had an internal compass inside me that would always point towards my dad. Then as easily as if I'd been there every day of my life, though I'd never been in this hospital before, I found myself outside my dads room. 

 Then the fear hit me, what if he regretted saving me now it had hurt him? What if he was angry at me for putting him in this position?

 "I want to see my daughter, Cara. Is she okay?" I heard my dad insist from inside in his instructing teachers voice that made you need to obey and automatically do whatever he told you to. 

 "Dad, I'm right here," I stepped out into the doorway so he could see me from his position in bed, "I'm fine." 

 "Cara," his eyes grew wide with relief when he saw me and I could see that he was struggling to try and push himself up from his bed while the nurse next to him looked panicked,

 "Lie back down dad," I was at his side quickly, helping him lie back onto the pillows set out to prop him up, the nurse beside me audibly sighed in relief now my dad was settled back down. "I'm here now, I'm not hurt."

 "Thank god," dad huffed, his hand found mine and squeezed it tightly as if to reassure himself that it was really me in the flesh.

 "It's you who you should be worried about dad, you got shot," my voice trembled as I told him that, my finger pointed towards the point on his chest where the boys had told me he'd been hit. 

 "Better me than you," he replied gruffly with a blankfaced acceptance of this as a fact. 

 "Don't say that. I'm so sorry dad, I never meant to put you in danger," I stumbled in my need for him to hear those words.

 "Why would you say that Cara? It wasn't your fault, that guy was crazy, the sooner they catch him the better. I only did what any dad would've done," dad tried to shrug but his face contorted in pain when he moved his shoulders even the slightest bit.

 "Don't try to move," I was instantly in caring mode; fluffing up the pillows behind him to make him more comfortable. 

 "I'm fine Cara, honestly, it's just a little bullet, I'll be up and out of here by the end of the day," dad swatted my concern away. I could tell I'd inherited my stubborness and independence from him, he hated accepting help just as much as I did. I liked finding those things we had in common, it reassured me that we shared something more than blood. 

 "No you won't," I told him in my best no nonsense voice that was nearly as inarguable as his, "you're staying in here until you recover properly and the doctors say you're okay to go." dad opened his mouth to object but I gave him such a forceful look that he promptly closed it again thinking better of arguing, maybe I'd make a good teacher too. 

 "How's Grey?" he asked suddenly looking annoyed at himself that he'd only just thought of this.

 "He's awake and fine, the doctors said he only had a minor concussion and a little cut. He's already kicking up a riot, classic Grey," I smirked slightly at the thought of him bossing the poor nurses about.