Saving Scout O'Brian

12- Can I do This?

I know I must look terrible. Makeup everywhere, hair all knotted, bloody and bruised hand. I was a wreck.

"Oh sweetheart."

Her arms immediately wrap me in a cocoon of warmth and safety. I let it be for a moment before the pain in my hand is too much and I pull back. She eyes me questioningly for a moment before her eyes catch sight of my hand.

She gasps and immediately latches onto it, making me bite back a yell of pain. The eyes that meet mine are no longer soft, they're the sharpest I'd ever seen them. "What happened?" Her eyes may be hard and unyielding, but her voice was like silk as it intwined itself in the ruins of my mind.

"I should've left sooner." I rasp out.

Her face twists into confusion but she doesn't say anything, sensing my need to talk. "I knew it was bad. I knew he was bad, but I didn't leave. I stayed. Even when he continued to break me I still stayed. Why? Because I though I had nothing else. But now I have Charlotte and she's all I have left. I can't lose her."

I'm sobbing again and she just pulls me too her. My face finds its home at the crook of her neck and shoulder and I just cry. Her hand runs through my hair a few times in a comforting motion. "You have me, and I promise you'll never be alone again."

My heart blooms with warmth at her soft spoken words. I've never been one for the mushy stuff but she chases away the darkness in me and if that means being mushy then I'm all for it.

The cool air is almost torturous against my blistering hot skin and my tears have stuck to my face very un-attractively. After a minute of just soaking up her strawberry and mint scent I force myself to pull away and wipe my face.

I can't look at her. My face burns as I advert my gaze. I'm not used to this feeling of comfort, of safety. I'm used to harsh words and hard fists and broken bones that heal wrong just so they have a reason to break me again. She makes me feel safe, and that's such a strange feeling I don't know if I can handle it.

"Hey." Her demanding tone of voice has a tremor flashing through me. Her soft fingers grip my chin lightly and turn it towards her. "Don't do that. Don't shut me out. I'm here for you, let me be here for you." My eyes water slightly as her demand takes on a pleading tone. I can't tell from her expression what she sees when I finally return my gaze to hers, but the gentle look in her eyes nearly had me breaking down again.

"This isn't......this isn't right." I force myself to be strong even though the words taste like acid. The softness in her eyes immediately dissolves. "You're my principle....I was, I was wrong to think this cou-" I jerk in surprise when she abruptly leans forward and stops my sentence with a kiss.

Her lips are rough and searching against mine and my vision flashes when she pulls away. Her fingers brush a stray hair behind my ear.

"Did that feel wrong?" She growls, her chest heaving slightly from loss of breath. My eyes are wide as they stare back at her slightly flushed and gorgeous face.

"B-but I'm your-" she places a finger on my mouth and shakes her head at me."I know what you are. But I don't care. I know who you are, and that's all that matters to me right now."

I search her face for a moment before nodding. She sighs and stands up, offering me her hand. "Let's go check on Charlotte."

<><><>

"Ms. O'Brian, is it?" The brunette beauty in front of me asks. I nod, my gaze still riveted on the form in the bed. My eyes follow her breathing for a second before I manage to tear my eyes away.

The woman in front of me is extremely beautiful. Sharp jaw and cheekbones, green eyes and wavy brown hair that cascades down her back. She holds a hand out to me in greeting. "My name is Carrie Daniels. I'm the head of neurosurgery in Seattle but they called me down to look at your case. I operated on your daughter this afternoon." My gaze snapped to hers and a knowing look crosses her face.

"I was able to subdue the bleeding in her brain but it is still quite swollen. I am hoping that will go down in a few days as she recovers from the trauma of surgery and of the fall. I will be keeping a very close eye on her, you have my word." The determination in this woman's voice has me relaxing slightly and I let out a low breath and nod.

"She is remarkable, with the force she hit and at her age she shouldn't have survived, but she did. You are very lucky."

"Can I stay with her?"

The woman's demeanor softens immediately. "Of course. I'll have a cot brought in for you. Meanwhile, we need to have that hand checked out. Come."

I start to follow behind her but glance back at the room as a flash of panic streaks through me. Evelyn appears by the door and sends me a small smile. "I'll stay with her."

I smile gratefully at her before I turn and let the doctor lead me away.

|Gotta have those freak-out moments! Haha. Well, I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter! I know things seem to be going really slow with this group but trust me they'll speed up soon enough. Oh, and did you recognize anyone? ;) let me know and please vote/comment! ❤️😊|