On the Run [a.i. au]

19. Home

Thalia's POV

Back home, my least favorite activity every day was waking up.

Not because I was depressed, or anything of that sort. Not because I was afraid. My dad was usually passed out on the couch snoring like a freight train, while the rest of us quietly would go on with our mornings before school or work.

I just hated waking up in pain. The pain that life wasn't the way it was before; the way I never had the chance to appreciate. Or, the physical pain that came after a night of my dad's drunken rage.

What I'm experiencing now is similar, but there's one difference.

This time, I'm waking up in physical pain. Agonizing pain, at that.

The bright white lights hit my eyelids, making me groan weakly.

Where am I? I ask myself as my eyes open to slits, barely able to see the whiteness all around me. Shapes walk past, leaving dark shadows in my vision.

Suddenly, it's like my sense of hearing hits me out of nowhere. It feels like I can hear everything around me. I can hear the sound of my heartbeat, the sound of a heart monitor beeping steadily, and the commotion of people.

I open my eyes completely to see a large window, two people standing outside.

The heart monitor picks up speed as I notice Ashton as one of the people outside.

Ashton. There are so many things I want to say to him now that I'm awake. I want to thank him for saving my life twice now, and I also want to kick his ass for pissing off Hammond enough to shoot me and probably nearly kill me.

I watch closely as a doctor motions to something behind him with a somber face. Instantly, Ashton breaks down.

What the hell happened?

As he rushes out of my sight, I can hear his faint sobs from my cold hospital bed. It makes my heart hurt. Right this moment, I want nothing more than to have him waltz in here and let me hold him.

The door to my room opens, letting a handsome doctor with a warm smile enter.

Normally, I would be elated for this, but I heard something that made my blood run colder than ice.

"Hello, Thalia," the doctor greets warmly, but I barely hear it.

Blood pounding in my ears, heart leaping into my throat, I ask the only thing I can comprehend.

"Who died?"

"I'm sorry?" asks the doctor, his face twisting in slight confusion.

"I heard a flatline," I explain quickly as a shiver rushed up my body. "Who died?"

The doctor sighs loudly, running a hand through his long dark hair.

"His name was Michael Clifford," he tells me with a sad look. "He was shot, like you; only his bullet went straight to the heart."

My hand covers my mouth as I hear the faint sounds of Ashton's cries.

How could someone do that to him?

Tears flood my eyes as the doctor and I gaze at each other in agony.

He approaches my bed as the hiccup-like breathing begins, resting a hand on my knee.

"I'm so sorry, Thalia," he says genuinely. "I know he meant a lot to you."

Nodding, I let the tears fall down my cheeks as the pain of his words stabs me like a million knives into my skin.