"y-y...ye-" Lauren started, but found the words wouldn't come out. Shit.
Every time she tried to speak, her throat felt dry and scratchy, to the point where it physically hurt for her to try.
She brought the heel of her hand to her head in frustration, bashing it against it before Alejandro caught her wrists, stopping her from doing any damage.
"Stop." He said firmly but softly at the same time
"You can't expect everything to be fine straight away Lauren. You haven't used your voice in 2 years, it's okay for you to be a little rusty. You just have to trust that it'll come back. A little faith never hurt anyone you know"
Lauren nodded weakly before grabbing Alejandro's arm, signaling that she was ready to stand up.
She took one last breath before standing up, surprising herself with how normal it felt. Sure, she was a bit wobbly and she was sure she would trip if she tried to walk by herself, but this was progress right?
Lauren smiled properly for the first time since she had woken up. Maybe things would be okay after all.
//
After another 20 minutes or so of pacing the large hospital room back and forth, Lauren finally had the whole walking thing down. She was still weak so could only walk for short periods at a time but she no longer needed someone to help her around all the time.
Lauren had needed to use the bathroom for what felt like forever, but was too scared of what she'd see when she walked past the mirror. If the accident really was as bad as Alejandro had said, she was expecting some pretty big scars.
She contemplated just closing her eyes or going with the light off, but decided against it. She would have to face it sooner or later.
So after a further ten minutes of talking herself into it and then back out, Lauren finally plucked up the courage to walk into the bathroom.
She paused in front of the light switch trying to mentally prepare herself for what she was about to see. Taking one last deep breath, she flicked the light switch on, and looked into the mirror.
However much Lauren tried to hold them back, she couldn't stop the tears from falling.
The right side of her head was still shaven slightly, and a thick scar ran across the entire side of her head. At least her hair would cover that one eventually.
The rest wouldn't be so easy to cover up. She pulled off her hospital gown, taking in her appearance in full. Another scar about fifteen centimeters long ran down the middle of her ribcage, and another down the side of her left leg towards her calf. Those were just the big ones, the rest of her body was littered with small scars.
She looked closer, noticing a small block of writing on the inside of her right arm, just above the elbow. On closer inspection she noticed it read the numbers 1432. What the hell did that mean.
Running her fingers over the smooth skin, she noticed that it was raised a little.
Great, not only was her body covered in scars, but now she had a constant reminder of this fucked up situation.
She wasn't sure how long she had sat there on the cool tiles of the bathroom floor but it felt like an eternity before her tears finally subsided.
She felt herself drifting off to sleep, but was awoken when she heard someone entering the room. Lauren quickly pushed herself up from the floor; feeling a bout of head rush from the sudden movement but choosing to ignore it as she wiped at her eyes and tried to make herself look presentable.
When she exited the room, she saw Alejandro sitting beside her bed. There was someone else with him. A girl who she guessed was around her age. Lauren couldn't help but notice how beautiful she was. From her perfectly formed cheekbones to the jawline that looked like it was crafted by god himself to them high waisted jeans that were hugging her in all the right places....
Lauren realized she was staring when the girl cleared her throat and she started blushing furiously.
They made eye contact for a few more seconds before the girl turned and walked out of the room.
"Sorry" Alejandro chuckled
"Excuse my daughter, she can be a little....hostile sometimes. But she means well."
Lauren smiled softly, remembering the image of the girl. She was sure she wouldn't be forgetting about her any time soon.
"I've actually come here to talk to you about something Lauren, and it might be a lot to take in, but I need you to just listen for a bit okay?"
Lauren just stared back at him, suddenly becoming nervous. She rubbed her palms against her gown, waiting for him to continue.
"These are for you" Alejandro started, gesturing to the oversized hoodie and sweatpants he was holding.
"I asked my daughter to bring them because well....I want to take you home with me"
"w-wh-w....why? Lauren managed to get out, pleased with herself at the sudden progress
Alejandro smiled widely; apparently pleased with the girl. "They want to put you into care. They feel your progress has come along far enough for you to leave as long as you continue having regular appointments with a doctor. You will most likely be placed into a group home."
Alejandro paused, letting the information sink in before continuing. "I don't want that for you Lauren. I feel like if we put you in that situation it will set you back so much. I want you to be in a position where I can continue to help you and monitor your development."
"s-ssso...w-w-what?" Lauren finally managed to get out, becoming frustrated at the way the words were getting caught in her throat.
"so I want you to come home...with me. Stay with me and my family, at least until you get better. Then we'll figure out where to go from there."
Lauren paused to contemplate what Alejandro had just said. Was she really considering moving in with a stranger? He was the only person who had showed any form of kindness to her, the only one who seemed to care what happened to her.
But that didn't change the fact that he was a stranger. And what about his family? What if they didn't like her.
Then he remembered what he had said. That girl, that was his daughter. She couldn't help but feel a pull towards the girl.
Her mind was made up.
Alejandro got up to move towards the door. "I'll give you some time to think" He said, but Lauren stopped him by grabbing onto his arm before he could leave.
"o-okay" she said
"okay?" Alejandro repeated, seemingly wondering if he had heard the girl correctly.
"yeah" Lauren replied, flashing a small smile at her doctor.
Alejandro's grin only grew, as he clapped his hands together, seemingly pleased with the turn in events.
"Okay then Lauren, let's go home." He added, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.
A/N
little bit of a longer chapter to make up for the lack of update in like a month....sorry about that haha.
I didn't have time to proof read so you'll just have to bear with me if there are any mistakes.
things should get interesting from here ;)
as always I love you and have a good day/night. be safe !!!
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