Valerie Jones || #Wattys2018

Bruised

  I don't know how much time has passed by. I don't know what happened after the fight. I opened my eyes and saw a light. Beautiful and gentle. I sat in a pew. The wood, properly sanded and stained. I look up to see a cross. Did I wander to a church? No. Impossible. No way in hell. Then I hurt sweet singing. It took me a while to process it but I think I figured it out. Heaven. The clouds and singing. The pews and the cross. Everything was peaceful.

  I open my eyes again and I am in an ambulance. What really happened between me and my mom? I turned my head slightly to see Asher. What in hell is he doing here? I can't believe this. This is insane. No way this is real. I'm dreaming. Somebody pinch me. There is no way my mother crossed the line to the point of needing the hospital.

  The doctor's rush to my aid once they seem I am awake. From the corner of my eye I can see Asher talking to someone. It wasn't me.

  My eyes closed again.

  I was rushed into the emergency room. Despite all the craziness, something told me I was going to be fine. I wasn't going to die. I decided to try Asher's method and pray. I prayed for forgiveness. I prayed for love. For safety. My eyes didn't want to open. Though I wanted them too. I could hear the doctor's rush around me. The lights blaring in my face. Most of all I felt the breath of the doctor tending to the wounds on my face. The air was cool.

  The next thing I remember I felt lost. Gone. Like I would never wake up again. I didn't. I was bleeding too much. The line went flat. I died. My heart stopped. No longer pumping blood through my body. I saw the bright light again. Within a few minutes I was breathing again. My heart had stopped! How is this possible?! This isn't possible. I'm alive. I'm breathing. I made it through my accident. I am going to be okay.

Fast forward

  Asher never left the hospital. He stayed with me the whole way through. Praying for me. Praying over me. He even got the Father of his parish to come and bless me. Not too long after my dad and Jeremy walked in. They hugged me tightly and cried. It was the first time I saw emotion like that from my dad. Ever. Next Asher's family came in and greeted me with bouquets of roses. Ally gave me a drawing. I spent a good 2 weeks in the hospital. 1 week in surgery and the other recovering. The only thing I wanted to know was what happened? What got me in this shape? I want to know how Asher found me. But no matter how many times I begged and asked for him to tell me, he wouldn't. He wouldn't even tell me what kind of wounds I had. Everything was a secret. I respected that though. Asher was protecting me. It was also the first time he said he loved me.