Come, Josephine

Chapter 21

1927

I opened my eyes, just enough to let in the light of the nearby lamp. It took a long while for my eyes to adjust, and in that time I wondered how long I had been unconscious for.
My memory was disconcertingly hazy- I was running, wasn't I? And Nick...
Nick.
I snapped my eyes open and tried to sit up. A wave of dizzy exhaustion wrapped across my forehead, and fell back with weakness. I rocked my head to the side, trying to see the room around me. Where was I?
I realised, with horror, that I couldn't see very clearly. I could make out someone stood in the corner by a window- a woman- and a person beside me. There were other people in the room too- I could hear them shuffling about- but I couldn't tilt my head far enough to see them. Everything was a blur of dazed colour and light.
Panic slipped over me, but exhaustion kept it at bay. I was too tired to concentrate on stress. 
"Hey, kid, don't sit up," I smiled at the warm voice beside me, so familiar and soft.
I felt my nerves steady, "dad? Where am I?"
"I'm here too, Josie. You're at the doctor's-"
"Mamma?" I fought to sit up again, and I felt a warm hand press me back into the bed.
"Josie," Jack warned, "you need to rest. You were seriously hurt."
I dipped my chin, a half nod, and heard mamma's footsteps approach. I recalled how they had once clipped freshly against hardwood floors, but that worn boots replaced them. I struggled to force out another string of words, "Where's Nick? Is he..." I dare not finish.
"Who's Nick?" Jack replied.
I heard the doctor speak, and I had not been aware he had been in the room, "Nicolas Hutson is the young man who brought her in."
"He was shot too!" Fear rose in my throat, strangling me, "is he alright? He didn't-"
"He's in the next room," the doctor interrupted my spiralling, "he had some blood loss as well, less severe than yours, and is recovering well."
I shook my head, "I want to see him."
"Josie-" mamma started but I refused to halt.
"Please!" I finished, my voice raw.
There was a silence, and I heard the doctor leave the room. The silence was only broken by Jack and mamma's talking which I couldn't make out entirely. Pain strung from my temples and my legs ached so awfully I thought, or wished, that they would fall off.
At last, I heard someone with an unsteady gait enter. I did not try to sit up this time, and instead reached out a hand. The person took it.
"Nick," I tried not to scream with the pain of holding my arm out, "you're okay?"
"Perfectly," he offered a smile, or so I could hear in his voice.
I resisted the warmth behind my eyes, "you know, I'm so terribly sorry. That man wanted to kill me, not you..." I could hear Jack stir, and mamma silence him.
I tried to focus my eyes on him, and my vision cleared slightly. His arm was in a sling, and he looked exhausted, "it's okay."
"I'm sorry," I sobbed, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
I could hear everyone around me try and soothe me, but the guilt persisted on eating me alive. It tore through my stomach and formed a pit, ruthless in its journey. If only I could fight the horrid feeling, I wouldn't be so pitiful.
"It's okay, I'm fine," Nick insisted, "first I dragged you from the lake, then I carried you here. This is what I do best."
I tried to laugh at his joke, but it came out as another sob, "it's okay," he said again.
   Jack placed his hand back on my shoulder, rubbing his thumb along it. His voice was a soft, low rumble. "Thank you, son, for saving my daughter."
   Their voices rolled into a warm, curdling rumble as I slipped back into the darkness. It took too much energy to focus on what was being said, or where I was. Everything ached, and my head spun until I lost awareness.