The Silent Fighter

Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

"Sara Lloyd, as in Johnny Lloyd's daughter. It has to be," I hear a voice as I come to. I open my eyes only to shut them because of the blinding light of a hospital. There was a nurse at the end of my bed, talking with another nurse.

"Johnny Lloyd hasn't been heard from for years! I heard he ran away with his wife- ditched the children to live on their own. A one-year-old and a fourteen-year-old girl," the other nurse said sadly. "Do you think this is really her, Cheryl?"

"I'm almost 100% sure, Kathy," the nurse known as Cheryl replied.

"Where am I?" I ask. Truth is, I don't know why the hell I was here. Maybe I got knocked out in the ring. Really badly.

"Oh!" Cheryl gasps. "You're awake dear. Good. I'm your nurse, Cheryl. Is there anything I can get you?"

"Can you tell me why I'm here?" I ask for the second time.

"Oh dear," Kathy mutters before excusing herself and walking out the door, leaving me and the nurse alone.

"Um, Sara, right?" She asked.

"Yes. You know exactly who I am, now please tell me why I'm here," I said please so it wouldn't come out as a complete demand. I tried to sit up from the bed I was in and I felt like I had been stabbed in my stomach. I yelped in pain and the nurse rushed to my side.

"Please sit still, dear. You're in no condition to be moving around," Cheryl's voice was no longer nervous, but stern. "Now lay down so I can get you pain killers and I'll tell you what's the matter after a dose."

I laid back down and watched as she walked out the door. Once the door closed, I threw off the covers and lifted up my hospital gown, revealing long cuts on my stomach which had been stitched and had thin layers of gauze around them. I covered my mouth as I looked down at the horrific scars. A sob left my lips as I put my gown back down and rested my head against the pillow.

It had all came back. The men before the fight, the hospital ride. There was one thing that still racked my nerves and it was the man watching me in the shadows.

"Oh my," I heard the nervous voice of Cheryl the door close behind her. "Oh dear, you remember don't you?"

I just look at her teary eyed and nod. She sighs and looks at me sympathetically before handing me crackers, two pills, and a cup of water. "Take these and eat the crackers since you haven't eaten. It should help the pain a lot dear."

I take the pills and eat the crackers before chugging the tiny cup of water. The nurse covers me up before patting my hand, and petting my hair. "You're going to be okay, Sara. I know it."

I look down and notice that I have multiple IVs in my arm and a weird finger clip thing on my index finger.

"Do you have anyone I can call right now?" Cheryl asks.

I nod. "You can call my godfather, Joshua," I say.

"Do you know his number?"

"Yes," I say and nod. I tell her J's number, watching her write it down before heading out of the room to make the call.

I lay there thinking of ways to explain my absence from school. Since the injuries are on my stomach and not really visible to other people I guess I could say I got really sick. Of course that'd be hard to believe because I literally never get sick.

"Sara, Joshua is on his way right this second," Nurse Cheryl popped her head into the door. "I'm going to go get the doctor."

I just sat there, staring at the white wall in front of me. The man in the shadows. He didn't want to be known and he didn't want to get involved, but I wanted to know who he was. I doubt those guys got caught by the police so there was no alibi to that man. I felt stumped and clueless to be honest, and it was because I wanted to know a suspect.

After about two minutes, a doctor walked into the door.

"Hello, Sara," the doctor smiled at me. "How are you feeling? And please be honest."

"Well," I sighed. "When I try to sit up it feels like I've been stabbed in the stomach. Other than that I'm good," I say the last part with a bit of sarcasm. I mean, come on. I'm in a mother loving hospital with stitches and a bandages. I feel just flipping peachy. "What is today?"

"It's Monday," the doctor says. "You came in on Saturday night, two days ago."

"Well isn't that just amazing," I let out a big puff of air.

The doctor chuckled, shaking his head. "Well, someone is here to see you, so I'll give you some alone time."

As soon as he walked out, Joshua came rushing in, his face red and his breath coming out in pants.

"Oh my god, Sara," Joshua took one long stride to me before engulfing me in his arms. "What the hell happened to you, kid? What did they do to you?"

I waited until he had pulled away from our awkward hug before I pulled my gown up above my stomach. Once he realized that I had lifted up my hospital top, he looked down and I saw emotions flash through his eyes- anger, sadness, guilt.

Tears filled his eyes and his fingers skimmed the gauze on my cuts. "Sara, I'm so sorry. I should have protected you."

I grabbed his shoulders and hugged him. "Don't, J. There wasn't anything you could've done, so don't you dare blame yourself," I say as he hugs me back and cries into my shoulder. "You're all I've got left and you protect me beyond what you should. You couldn't know those men would attack me, and you couldn't stop it even if you wanted to."

Joshua just shook as he cried. He was so weak, so vulnerable. I hadn't seen him like this. Ever.
"Come on, J," I say, pulling him away from me to look at him. "Don't go soft on me," I joke with a sad smile.

"Me?" Joshua raises and eyebrow, wiping the wetness from his eyes and cheeks. "I'm not soft."

"There's the Uncle Joshua I know," I laugh.

That was the first time I laughed while I was in the hospital, and it was probably the power of those pain killers.
****

"No!"

"But, J!" I whined in reply.

"Nope, you're staying here until you're allowed to get out of bed," Joshua said sternly. "And that's damn final." I huffed and crossed my arms.

The hospital had let me out a day ago and they said I couldn't go to school until my guardian thought worthy, which, knowing its Joshua, will probably be never.

"Can I at least have my phone then?" I ask in the same whiny tone I had been using lately. This man was so damn stubborn.

"Fine," he says. "I checked it for bugs and chips. There weren't any, thank goodness, but you need to be careful of who you trust and I'm taking you to and from school from now on. Understood?"

"Yes," I say, dropping the tone. J reached into his pocket and pulled out a box with a little bow on top. "What's that?"

"This is your new phone," Joshua says nonchalantly as he gives me the box. My eyes widen when I see that it's the newest iPhone.

"Are you being serious?" I look up at him with a smile.

"I am."

I leaned up and hugged him, making him chuckle, patting my back.

"Thank you so much!" I squeak before opening the box.

"I may or may not have put a brand new credit card on there. Let's just say that my wife was feeling very generous."

My mouth was agape at him. I should get hurt more often, shit. Well, never mind.

"I'm forever indebted to you," I say dramatically. J just rolls his eyes before walking out to leave me alone with my brand new phone.