Never the Same

Chapter 14

"Miss. Fletcher, you-"

"Please take me home," I whisper.

"Do you feel like you can handle that? I don't want to be halfway home and have to turn back because something's wrong."

The worry that's in his voice is clear to hear for everyone to hear if they listened to him speak. He's worried but I know it's because Luca wouldn't be happy with him if something was wrong with me and he took me out of the hospital. They each mean well but I've seen enough of hospitals over the past couple of months to last me another couple of years before I step foot back in one again.

"Jones, please." I beg. I open my eyes enough to look up at him. "I want to go home. Let me go home."

"Okay," he agrees quickly. "Are you alright to walk or do you want me to get a nurse to get you a wheelchair?"

"I'll be fine if you just help me out to the car."

With his help, I get up off the bed and we walk out of the hospital. I'm half expecting to walk a long way until we reach his car but we don't. It's parked up directly across from the entrance on double yellow lines and in between two police cars. The police officers look at us as we walk to the car but say nothing to us.

I settle into the back of the car with a small whimper escaping my lips. The amount of pain that shoots through me when I move a certain way isn't yet covered by the pain killers that are in my system. I can barely sit with my seatbelt on because it's restricting my breathing across my chest.

I know I'm going to start seeing the bruising come out at various parts of my body but I don't know where they'll make an appearance. For all I know, I could wake up in the morning with a big purple bruise on my forehead because my head is thumping and I can't remember if I hit my head or not. I can only remember trying to reverse out of the way of the second car and then being sick. Other than that, I remember waking up in the hospital.

Nothing else.

"We'll be home soon, Miss. Fletcher." Jones tells me, pulling out of the space he's parked up at.

I don't remember when we came home or when I fell asleep, but all I know is that I'm now being woken up with fingers brushing my hair out of my face. My eyes flutter open to see who it is that's moving my hair and I smile contently before closing my eyes back over.

"What are you doing here?" I sleepily ask Luca. "You're not supposed to be here. You're supposed to be in New York."

"I know," he agrees in a hushed tone, "but I got special permission to come here and be with you."

"Mmhmm," I hum. I snuggle in closer to him and he holds me as close to him as he can physically get me without hurting me. "Why are you back?"

"Shh," he hushes. He places a kiss on my forehead. "I'll explain everything in the morning. Just go back to sleep."

I don't respond and fall back to sleep easily in his arms.

Before I know it, it's morning and I'm waking up in bed alone. No Luca lying in bed next to me. His side of the bed neatly made like he was never here and my seeing him was all a dream.

I sit up gingerly and rub my eyes as best I can before the feeling of pain begins.

"Luca," I call out but there's no response.

I get out of bed with a small struggle, feeling the pain in my lower back, knees, and ribs begin to surface. I inhale deeply and reach for the striped dressing gown that's draped over the bottom of the bed, pulling it on with difficulty due to the pain that's now going across my chest.