Stay High

Chapter 7

8:00pm

Nate: Hey

8:10pm

Nate: Where you at?

8:30pm

Nate: Kathy answer me are you okay?

Kathy's POV

I heard my phone buzzing across the room but couldn't move off of the floor to answer it. My father came home in a drunken rage and beat me worse than he ever has before. Everything hurts. I can't even breathe. I feel blood dripping down my forehead and some broken ribs.

Jared's at his friends house thankfully because I honestly believe my father may have hurt him too. I can't move. I am supposed to be meeting Nate tonight but everything hurts.

*Buzz buzz*

This time it's an incoming call. I try to lift myself up on my arms but my elbows give out and I collapse again.

"Fuck" I whispered to myself in pain I don't know if he's still in the house and I don't want to find out. I gained all the possible strength I could find to slide myself across the wooden floors of my bedroom over to my nightside table. I need him. I can't stay here like this.

Scraping my wounded body across the floor I finally made it over to my bed.

I reached up to grab my phone and saw I had multiple texts from Nate. I immediately dialed his number as tears formed in my eyes from the pain of the beating.

"Kathy?!" He answered on the first ring.

"Hi Nate" I said weakly in the phone.

"What happened are you okay?"

"No"

"Where are you I'm coming there."

"No you can't. He'll hurt you too" I whimpered out

"Kathy tell me where the fuck you are right now" He said harshly in the phone.

I gave in and gave him my address secretly worrying about what my father would do to him if he came here but also knowing I needed him right now.

I started getting very tired. Must have been from all the blood loss. I couldn't keep my eyes open so I drifted to sleep.

The next thing I know I was being lifted up off the floor. I thrashed my arms and kicked my legs knowing my father was about to hurt me again.

"Get off of meeee!!!" I screamed

"Kathy it's me! It's meeee! shhhhh!" Nate calmed me down and set me on my bed.

I opened my eyes to see him towering over me. Tears formed in my eyes. This time tears of happiness.

"Oh my god!" I grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him into a hug. I didn't care how forward I was being right now. I needed him.

"Shhh it's okay I'm here baby girl" He whispered.

"Is he here?!" I asked worry filling my eyes.

"No the door was open and the house seems empty. We need to get you to the hospital come on" He said lifting me up.

"I can't go to the hospital Nate I'm fine"

"No you are not fine Kathy." Was all he said in response as he walked along the cold streets leading to the hospital.

The hospital was about three blocks away and it was freezing. I shivered in his arms and he held me closer being careful not to hurt me.

We finally arrived and he set me in a wheelchair and yelled for someone to help me. As soon as a nurse saw my condition she ran over to me asking for backup and started wheeling me away leaving Nate standing there.

"NO!" I yelled and she stopped abruptly.

"I need him to come with us!" I said pointing at Nate would was being shooed away by some other nurses.

"Is he direct family?"

"No but-"

"I'm sorry then I can't let him come with you" she said wheeling me away

"STOP! He's my boyfriend he's the only one I have please!" I yelled in despair.

She looked at me with pity and finally nodded her head to the other nurses holding him back and he came running to my said intertwining our fingers as I was wheeled into my own room.

"So what happened to you miss?" A doctor with a long white coat said holding a clipboard.

"Her fath-" Nate started

"I fell down the stairs!" I cut him off quickly making the doctor give us a weird look.

"Are you sure?" He said looking at Nate more than me. I turned to look at Nate making sure he kept his mouth shut and he did.

He just nodded his head reluctantly at the doctor who then wrote a bunch of stuff down on his clipboard.

After a bunch of tests were ran and X-rays were taken we were left alone to wait for the results in my hospital room.

"Thank you" I whimpered out weakly.

"For what?" He asked sitting right next to my bed tracing circles on my arms.

"For saving me and bringing me here" I said not making eye contact with him just grabbing his hand and playing with his fingers.

"You don't have to thank me Kathy. I just don't know why you don't tell someone about this. It's getting worse" He said furrowing his eyebrows.

I shook my head with tears in my eyes.

"Can you just cuddle with me?" I asked finally looking at his face. He stood up and climbed into the hospital bed being careful of all of the wires and tubes attached to me. He wrapped his arm around me lightly and I groaned in pain as I adjusted to lay my head on his chest.

"You okay?" He asked

"Yeah" I finally relaxed in his arms.

"I don't tell people because I tried once..." I said playing with his shirt.

"What happened?"

"My parents put on an act like I was a mental patient and wasn't taking my meds. The cops believed them and I got beaten even worse for a week after that." I said softly. "My mom threatened to end my life if I ever tried to tell again"

"Kathy, I'm sorry this is happening to you"

"I'm used to it. It's okay" I said

"Nah it's not though."

"Can we not talk about it right now?" I whimpered

He didn't say anything for a while just allowing me to listen to his heartbeat.

"So I'm your boyfriend now?" I could hear the smirk in his words.

"I didn't mean it like that. I-I just meant- I just wanted you to come-"I stuttered out kind of embarrassed that he brought it up.

"Shhh. It's okay. I'm just teasing you."

I playfully hit his chest and snuggling my head into him a little more.

"I don't mind the sound of that though" He kissed the top of my head and I smiled to myself slowly drifting to sleep.

"I'm tired" I hummed

"Get some sleep, it may be a while for the results to come back" He said playing with my hair as I drifted even further to sleep.