The next morning, Dylan finally agreed to be checked by the doctor. He was mildly dehydrated and got some bruises on his back, left arm and legs. After his treatment, he requested to stay in one room with Rose, so he would know once she woke up.
"Dylan, the cops returned your phone. They found it in the warehouse, but it's badly wrecked." Mrs. Walton told him.
"Don't throw it away. I have important files in there." he replied.
"Okay, I'll just leave it in your room then." she said.
"Um... mom?" he called.
"Yes?" she answered
"Rose saved me. If not for what she did, I'm probably dead right now. You know that, right?" he asked.
"Yes, and I'm very thankful to her." she answered.
"Can we give her something? I know she won't ask for anything in exchange for saving me, but I want her to hear something good when she wakes up." he requested.
"Sure, what do you want to give her?" she asked willingly.
"She wants to study this year. Can we help her?" he asked.
"That won't be a problem." she agreed.
He smiled. "But don't tell her I asked for it."
"Okay, I will arrange a scholarship for her." she told him.
"Thanks, mom" he replied with a smile.
She smiled too.
☆••••○○●○○••••☆
In the afternoon, Dylan woke up after taking a short nap. He rose from bed and stretched his arms. "This bed is terrible." he complained, scratching his back.
"Yeah, I agree." Rose said.
He was surprised when he heard her voice. "Rose?" he called, making sure his ears were not fooling him.
"Did you write this note?" she asked, holding a piece of paper with 'Call me when you wake up' written on it.
Without answering, he hopped down his bed and approached her. "Hey, you okay?" he asked anxiously.
She could see the worried look on his face. "My back hurts." she complained.
"Wait here, I'll call a nurse." he said.
"No need. I think this is normal. My stitches are still raw." she told him.
"Are you sure?" he asked worriedly.
"Yeah" she answered.
"Do you need anything?" he asked in a concerned tone.
"I'm good. I got all I need on my table. How about you? Are you okay?" she asked.
He pulled a long face. "I'm sorry this happened to you." he told her in a sad voice.
"Forget it. The important thing now is we're both still alive." she replied.
"Mom told me the cops found us because of the code you gave them. Why you didn't tell me about it?" he asked, wondering.
"I wasn't sure if it would work. I didn't want to give you a false expectation." she answered, rubbing the bruise on her cheek.
"I still don't like what you did to me." he told her, pouting.
"Sorry. That was my only option. Are you hurt?" she asked.
"No, not that. I'm a bit upset because you left me and gave yourself to the bad guy. You promised me you wouldn't leave my side." he replied, sulking.
"If I didn't do that, both of us could have died in there." she reasoned.
"Are you telling me it's okay with you to sacrifice yourself for me?" he asked in a resentful tone.
"Look... Between us, obviously I'm the one who has a higher chance to survive being held hostage, so I did a little sacrifice... I actually feel super cool right now." she replied, chuckling.
"You just don't know how I felt when I found out you were shot... Waiting for you outside the operating room was the worst hours of my life. I didn't know if you would live or die." he said, controlling his emotions.
She could still see traces of agony on his face. "How about I give you a good long sex once I got better to make it up to you?" she teased, trying to change his mood.
He was taken aback. "Don't joke. I'm serious."
"Oh, you don't want it? ...Okay" She shrugged.
"No, I do. I mean, I do, but this is not the right time to talk about it." he explained.
She held back her laughter. Then, she carefully rose from bed and dropped her legs down.
"What are you doing?" he asked when he heard creaking noises from her bed.
Without answering, she grabbed his shirt, pulled him close, and kissed him.
He was surprised, but when he felt her lips, he kissed her back. He put his arms around her waist and stretched his neck higher to reach her.
Rose gave him a long, eager kiss hoping it would take away his bad feelings and resentments.
As they were releasing all their bad experiences through their kiss, someone slowly opened the door.
Max came to visit Rose, but when he witnessed their intimate relationship, he no longer proceeded. He closed back the door and left quietly.
When Rose released Dylan's lips, she looked back at his face. "You okay now?"
He let out deep breath before he answered. "Yeah" he answered timidly.
She chuckled.
"Hey, why are you laughing?" he asked, feeling a bit embarrassed.
"Aww... Okay, I need to go back to bed now." she said after a sharp stabbing pain poked her fresh incision.
"Careful, don't force your body." he told her.
"By the way, what happened to the bad guys?" she asked as she slowly lay back down to her bed.
"The police got them. They will serve a long jail time... and because of them, we became famous." he answered.
"Famous?" she asked in a confused tone.
"Our faces were all over the news during the kidnapping." he told her.
"Really?" she reacted.
"Yeah, but most of them were about you." he said.
"I just hope they used a nice photo of my face." she replied in a worried voice.
He chuckled. "Oh! And there's this school offering you a full college scholarship." he told her.
She was surprised. "What? A full scholarship?" she repeated.
"Yeah, and I heard they have a course in photography." he answered.
"Oh my god. Does that mean I won't have to worry about my tuition fees until I graduate? ...Okay, now, I'm happy I was shot." she replied gladly.
He chuckled again. He was happy his little lie lightened her up.
☆••••○○●○○••••☆
Before evening, Max came to the hospital with Steve. He brought flowers for Rose.
"Thanks, Max" she said, smiling, when he gave it to her.
"How are you?" he asked.
"I'm okay. Just can't move too much." she answered.
"I gotta say this. You're a badass, Rose. I heard everything on the news. People were calling you the Little Blue Heroine." Steve told her.
She giggled. "Really?"
"Yeah, but that must be hella scary, huh? You were locked up in a cold, dark room not knowing if you could still get out of that place alive." Steve imagined. "And what if Rose was not there with you, Dylan? Things would turn out differently for sure." he added.
"Yeah, you're right. You're probably mourning my dead body right now if not for what she did." Dylan replied frankly.
After Max heard that, a bad thought suddenly came across his mind. For a second, he wished his friend really died instead. When he realized how terrible it was, he quickly erased it in his head. "Admit it, Dylan. You've been giving Rose a lot of hard times since she met you." he told him.
Dylan couldn't help but show a guilty face. "Yes. I will not deny it, but that's only because I can't see. Once my sight is back, things will definitely change." he assured.
"Yeah, things will change, and I hope she won't regret all the things she had done for you when that day comes." Max responded.
"She won't. Rose is mine, and I will never give her to you or to any guy out there." Dylan claimed.
"Whoa, whoa! Wait a sec. Time out. Are you? ...Oh my god, are you two seriously in love with Rose?" Steve asked. He was completely shocked.
Rose felt very embarrassed.
"My answer is yes, and I'm sure of it." Max answered firmly.
"Are you trying to say I'm not because I haven't seen her yet? ...Well, you're wrong, Max. After all we've been through together, I have no doubt I'm in love with her no matter what she looks like." Dylan argued.
"Okay, that's enough." Rose told them.
They both cooled down.
Steve laughed looking at their tamed faces. "I didn't see this coming." he said under his laughter. "Can I join you?" he joked.
"No!" Max and Dylan answered at once.
*
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To be continued....
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