-Willow-
The sound of a distant beeping woke me up. I blinked several times, letting my eyes adjust to the light. The room was dimly lit, only illuminated by the muted TV. I tried lifting my arm, but they felt like they weighed a ton. I was hooked up to different machines.
I looked around my room, my eyes landing on a sleeping figure at the end of my bed. Ash was sitting in a chair, leaning over my bed with his arms folded under his head. I didn’t know how long I had been sleeping or how long Ash had been here. I attempted to sit up, but a pain in my side caused me to let out a loud groan.
Ash’s head shot up and then he was on his feet. “Are you okay?”
I nodded the best I could, lightly putting a hand to my side. “Yeah, I’m fine.” I gestured towards the cup of water sitting on the bedside table.
Ash quickly handed it to me and I gulped it down. That made me feel a bit better. “Do you need me to get the nurse?”
I nodded again and Ash left.
When he came back, a nurse came rushing in before him. “How are you feeling, Sweetie?” She asked, coming to my side.
“In a bit of pain.” My voice almost didn’t even sound like mine.
She held a small cup in her hand and she handed it to me. “Just give it a few minutes to kick in. I’ll be back in a few to check on you.” She smiled a little before she left.
Ash poured me more water and I took the pill. I leaned my head back, closing my eyes for a moment. Noah came to mind and I wondered if he was okay. I vaguely remember what happened after I was shot. I opened my eyes again to find Ash’s. “Where’s Mom and Dad?” I asked instead.
“Cafeteria. They needed caffeine.” He laughed lightly.
“And Noah?”
Ash smiled weakly. “He’s been calling me every five minutes. He’ll be thrilled to know he can finally come see you.” Ash rolled his eyes teasingly. “And Ashley is also here. She’s been waiting for you to wake up.”
He stood up and left the room again. The pain in my side started to subside, but I was still afraid to move at all. Tears stung my eyes without warning. I placed my hands over my eyes, wielding the tears to stop before Ashley came in.
The door opened and Ashley came running in. Her normal straightened hair was in a mess of waves and she wore sweatpants and a t-shirt. Something rare of Ashley. She sat down where Ash was sitting originally and leaned towards me. “God, I’ve missed you.” Her eyes watered.
“You too.” I placed a hand on her arm. “Can’t get rid of me that easy.”
She smiled and swiped a tear away. “I’m locking you up until you turn eighty.”
“Fine by me.”
After Ashley and Ash left, my parent’s left shortly after. Ash called Noah before he left, letting him know it was okay to come see me. The thought made my stomach turn. I know I won’t be able to keep myself composed. The events prior to this came flooding back. They were a bit of a blur, but some were vivid. Everything about it made me ache.
I let my eyes close for a minute, sleep was trying to take over. This medication was kicking my ass. But the door opened slowly and the person I wanted to see the most stepped in. “Hey.” He said.
“Hey.” I smiled weakly.
He stood there for a moment and then took the seat beside my bed. He timidly took my hand between his own, leaning down to leave the smallest kiss. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if I lost you.” He whispered.
And there goes my composure. Tears slipped down my cheeks before I could stop them. “I’m so sorry.” I choked out.
Noah lifted his head to look at me. He scooted close enough to take my face between his hands. His thumbs worked against my cheeks, swiping away the tears. “You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for, Willow. Please…”
“I shouldn’t have went.”
Noah shook his head. “What you did back there was definitely crazy, but you saved Scott’s life. Don’t apologize for something you couldn’t control.”
“He’s okay?”
“He’s fine. And you’re okay, too.” He continued stroking his thumbs across the tops of my cheeks. “I should’ve been the one protecting you. If anything, it should be me here, not you. I will never, ever, let anything bad happen to you again.” He paused. “I love you…Always have, always will.”
His words brought a smile to my lips. “I love you too.”
Noah finally smiled and leaned in closer. “How much?”
My smile grew to my ears. “To the moon and back.”
He left a small, attentive kiss on my lips before slowly pulling back.
The question lingered on my lips, one I’ve been dying to ask since he walked through the door. But I was afraid of the answer I would get. But I had to ask.
Noah sat back in the chair with one of his hands caressing my own. He looked so tired.
“What happened to Leo?” I asked slowly.
Noah’s small smile fell into a frown. “He, uh…He was arrested. No bail. But don’t worry about him, okay? He’ll never bother us again. He can go to—”
“He’s your dad, Noah—”
“He tried to kill us.” He said quickly. “I really don’t care what happens to him. You’re safe, Scott’s safe, my mom and Alex are safe…”
“You’re safe.”
He smiled again, even though it was small. “I’m safe.”
Noah stayed for a while, until the nurse decided it was time for me to get some rest. I didn’t want him to leave, but he wasn’t family and couldn’t stay much longer after that. I tried to tell the nurse, maybe begged a little to see if he could stay a bit longer. But of course, it didn’t work. But it’s okay. “I have to talk to Larson tomorrow morning with Scott and Emma but I’ll be over first thing after.” He kissed my forehead and then my nose. “I’m so—”
“We’ve been over this.” I said softly.
He hovered his face over mine, his blue eyes a bit darker than normal. “And I’ll be apologizing every day for the rest of my life.” He kissed the corner of my mouth and pulled away completely. He told me he would see me tomorrow and he left.
Moments after Noah left, my doctor followed by a nurse came in. He checked what he had to, asked me how I was feeling, and then the nurse gave me more medicine for the pain. If anything, my body felt stiff from staying in the same position. I would do anything for a walk or even a shower at this point. I felt gross.
I couldn’t fall asleep. I was tired, but every time I closed my eyes I heard the sound of the gun. I winced, opening my eyes fully to adjust to the darkness of the room. My heart was racing, my breathing became rapid. I pressed the nurse button on my remote, maybe she could give me something to knock me out for a few hours.
I woke up the next morning to the sound of my mom’s voice. I opened my eyes to see her at the end of my bed intently talking to the doctor. They were whispering so I couldn’t really make out anything they were saying. The doctor sent a nod in my mom’s direction before leaving. She turned to me, a smile surfacing on her face when she noticed I was awake. “Good morning, Sunshine.”
“Your Sunshine is a little cloudy today.” I croaked.
She laughed lightly and took the seat beside me. “It’s okay to be a little cloudy.”
I agreed. I don’t know when this cloudiness was ever going away either. “Can you get me some water?” I asked, gesturing towards my cup.
She complied, filling up the cup and handing it to me. I don’t know why I felt so dehydrated. “Have they told you when I can come home?”
“It just depends on how your healing is going. They’re hoping within the week. But by the sounds of it, you’re healing better than expected.”
I felt a wave of relief. “That’s good. I don’t know how much longer I can stay like this.” I waved my arms, gesturing towards the room.
“Well, Carrie offered to let you stay with her while you heal. More like she insisted. But you know there’s a place for you with us always. It’s up to you where you want to go.”
I looked at her with worried eyes. “I would like to come home, if that’s okay…”
She smiled, her eyes filling with tears again. “Of course that’s okay. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
My mom stayed to have breakfast with me, even though food didn’t sound good at all. But I had to eat something. So I ate slowly while we talked. We talked about anything but the recent events. And when my mom left, the fun part began. A sponge bath was on the agenda and to say it was awkward was and understatement. But I did feel better.
The nurse cleaned my wound and put on new bandages. She said it seemed to be healing nicely, so maybe I can get out of here sooner. She said I would have one hell of a scar though. I wasn’t looking forward to that. It’s bad enough I have one that’s visible on my neck.
It was mid-afternoon and nothing looked good on TV. Ash and Ashley came to visit and brought lunch. It sucked not having contact with anyone. I didn’t know when Noah would be here, he just said sometime today. I was probably gonna die of boredom.
The door to my room opened and expecting to see Noah, instead Scott stepped into the room. He closed the door quietly and I couldn’t help but to feel a little happy about it. “I was wondering if you were ever going to come.” I said teasingly.
“I was going to come yesterday, but I thought it was just be best for you and Noah to be alone.” He smiled sadly. “And I guess I was afraid you wouldn’t even want to see me.”
I shook my head, “I’m glad you’re here.”
The small smile returned to his lips and he sat down. “I can’t stay long, I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”
“Just sore, but I’m okay.” I reached over, placing a hand over his. “Thank you for coming.”
He stared down at my hand on his before looking back up at me. “There’s a few other things that I wanted to talk to you about…” He trailed off.
“I have nothing but time.” I laughed.
He moved his hand from under from mine and placed it over. His thumb rubbing soothing circles on top of my hand. “I’m going to be leaving soon.” He said slowly. “Emma wants me to go with her and I have to figure some things out. I need to heal also.”
“That’s good.” But part of my heart was breaking. “I’m glad you’re taking time for yourself and Emma. I’m glad you have her.”
“Yeah, we definitely have some things to work out.” He laughed a little. “I’m here to tie up loose ends. To make things right, even though I can never ask—”
“I forgive you, Scott.” I interrupted. “I need to make things right, too.”
He let go of the breath he had been holding. “It means so much to me.”
I smiled at him in return.
He clasped my hand a bit tighter in his. “And I want you to know that I meant what I said.”
At first I was confused, but then that bit came back to me. When Scott told me he loved me, he was basically saying goodbye.
I didn’t know if I loved Scott. Sometimes I think I did, but then I remember what’s happened and it makes me feel dumb for ever thinking I loved him. But a small part of me, no matter what happened. I just remember everything before this. Before Noah and how Scott treated me. I thought of him as one of my friends, never anything more. And then Noah came along and kind of stirred things around. “I don’t expect you to come back to me or anything, that’s not why I told you.” He clarified firmly. “I just needed to tell you. I couldn’t leave without letting you know.”
“You’ll come see me before you leave?” Real smooth. I just didn’t know what to say.
But he smiled for real this time. “I wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye.” And then he stood up, dropping my hand in the process. “I’ll go get Noah.”
And then he was gone.
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Living for Sappy Willow and Noah moments though hahaha. Did y'all think she would really pick Scott over Noah? You're silly lol. I can't leave Scott and Willow on bad terms though.
The next chapter will be the last :( I know people asked for just a long chapter, but it was getting too long and I had to split it lol. But it's ready to post in a few days so no worries. I can't believe it's ending oh my gosh, I feel like a huge part of me is with this series hahaha. But I'll have a new book up after I post the last chapter! It's not another part of this series though, so it's time to start fresh. :)
Leave your thoughts and I'll give you a million hugs and cupcakes.
Song: Never Too Late by Three Days Grace (Too many memories, still so good though)