Lydia | ✔️

(24)

Carter sighed and swept his hand through his hair in an exasperated manner. "When the car hit you," he explained, keeping his gaze on Lydia. "You went straight up in the air. I remember the noise. I heard your leg crack and it all happened so fast. I couldn't catch you but I managed to dive and cushion your head before it hit the ground."

Lydia heard the speed in her heart rate on the monitor as she stared at the devastation in his gaze. As if he still felt that he hadn't done enough and yet he'd essentially saved her life. She then noticed his knuckles and the top of his hand, the grazes and cuts that must have resulted from his hand shielding her head.

Spencer nodded with appreciation and a glisten in her gaze. "Thank you."

"Um, can we please have a second?" Lydia asked her parents with a pleading glance.

With reluctance the three of them agreed and left the room, assuring Lydia that they would be right outside. As soon as they were gone, Carter strode forward and threw his arms around her, smoothing her hair as he sighed with relief.

"Fuck I've never been so scared in my entire life," he told her. "I'm so sorry."

"Would you stop apologising," Lydia leaned back so that she could meet his gaze and gave him a stern look. "You're the reason that I'm not worse off. You have nothing to be sorry for."

"Riley and Allison were here," he informed her with a bitter tone, his hands resting on the mattress on either side of her head. "I told them to piss off."

"I appreciate that," Lydia reached out and cupped his tired face. "I can't blame them though. I shouldn't have flipped out so bad."

"You had every right to."

Lydia's free hand outstretched to wrap around his back, but Carter winced with pain and jolted out of her reach. She stared at him with question for a moment until he lifted his shirt and revealed bruising and grazes that travelled from his armpit down to his hip.

"From diving to the ground like a mad man," he chuckled. "Worth it to save that pretty little head though."

Becoming so overwhelmed with more emotion than she could process, she wrapped a hand around the back of his neck and forced their mouths together. There was no hesitation on Carter's part. His plump full lips moved against hers as his hand cradled the side of her head.

She was so lost to the kiss that she hadn't noticed the door opening. But she did hear the sound of a throat being cleared and when she snapped her head towards the intrusion, dropping the kiss with regret, she was hit with a new set of emotions at the familiar face standing at the end of the bed with a bouquet in his hand.

"Johnny?"