•Chapter Twenty-Nine•
•Lane•
After me and Rafe ate, we walked around a bit to just let me savor the few hours I had left before I had to go back to the hospital. We were now headed to the beach, Topper and Sarah were bringing the alcohol and coming together.
Me and Rafe soon arrived and it was about four in the afternoon, still light out but the water was calm and the sun wasn't as bright as it would be on the daily.
We walked, hand in hand, down the shoreline in silence, just enjoying the smell of the beach and the sand beneath our feet.
"I love the beach but I'd never have a wedding here" I stated, looking out into the water. "Why?" I heard him ask.
"Because the sand would get everywhere, seagulls would crowd around and try and steal things as well as their poop smells like total shit, there's trash scattered in some places and the sun would burn me in my dress" I said and he chuckled.
"I agree, I'd like to have one in a barn or a proper venue" He smiled as he stared straight ahead. "I love barn weddings, they're really pretty if you have the right colors in your theme" I agreed and he hummed.
"When we plan our wedding, what colors would you want?" He asked and I smiled, our wedding.
"Either Browns, Champagnes, Beiges, and like a light burnt Orange or Emeralds, Blacks, Beiges and dark Browns. I like boho theme too though" I smiled as I thought about the color themes. "You?" I asked.
"Whatever you like, I like" He said and smiled down at me. I winked at him and kept walking, leaning my head against his bicep and sighing in content.
"The party has arrived" Sarah's voice called out as we heard a car door shut. We both looked up to the parking lot and we saw Topper and Sarah both grinning as they walked down to us. Sarah held a huge bottle of what I could only imagine to be vodka.
I adverted my eyes to Topper who was already staring at me and I smiled, hoping that he was doing better, which he looked like it but I couldn't be too sure. He smiled back and started running over to us, more to me and when he reached me, he embraced me into a hug.
"How are you? Are you okay? Do you feel alright?" He asked all in a rush as his cheek rested against mine, his arms around my waist. I giggled and hugged him back, staying like that until he backed away.
"Yeah, I feel a lot better. I think I should be asking you that, though. How are you doing and don't lie to me" I said through a stern gaze.
"I'm alright, we'll talk about it later, let's just have fun" He smiled and I sighed but agreed.
"LANEY" Sarah shouted, engulfing me into a hug, being mindful of my ribs and arms though. "SARAH" I shouted back with a huge smile on my face.
"I miss you so much, I know I haven't been talking to you like a best friend should and I'm sorry" She sighed into the hug. "It's okay, I know you've been busy" I smiled reassuringly and kissed her on her cheek before backing away from the hug.
"Yeah but you've been hurt and I should be there for you" She frowned. "It's okay, stop worrying and let's go have fun" I smiled and looked to the three.
We all walked over to a nice spot on the sand and sat in a small circle and just looked out into the water while we talked about random topics and took turns drinking straight out of the vodka bottle.
I grabbed Toppers hand and nodded my head behind me and he understood, standing up with me and walking away from Rafe and Sarah.
"Tell me how you're doing, honestly" I said, looking over at him and dropping his hand from mine.
He let out a long sigh and hung his head, watching as his feet hit the sand and making a grainy noise. "Honestly, I'm doing better, I swear. I'm eating mostly every meal again and I talk like I normally would. I've been spending the night at Sarah's to keep my mind busy and distracted from the... images and sounds. I still see it like it's fresh in my mind and I'll occasionally zone out but it's getting better by the day" He said with a small smile on his lips whenever he looked up at me.
"That's good, I'm proud of you. I wish there was a way I could help but I don't know how, I only know to be your best friend and help you through it the best way I can" I gave him a smile in return and looked ahead.
"Rafe asked me if I thought that we'd all be okay once I was out of the hospital and completely healed. I told him that I didn't know, I'm too worried about you and what you're going through. I also told him that we'd try our best to help you through everything and hopefully everything will lighten up" I sighed.
"I believe that we'll all be okay again, at some point but it'll just take time. I appreciate you, like so much. You're my best friend and I don't know what I would do without you" He nudged me with his elbow and I smiled.
"To lighten up the mood, I've planned something for Rafe's birthday that he doesn't know about. I was wondering if you wanted to go with us" I grinned.
"What is it?" He asked. "I'm taking him to a concert, The Weeknd is on tour and he's going to Los Angeles, California. I bought the plane, hotel and concert tickets already. Just waiting to ask you and Sarah" I smirked and he gasped as his jaw fell open.
"He loves The Weeknd, of course I wanna go, are you crazy?" He asked, embracing me into another hug. I giggled and rocked him back and forth, careful not to hurt my ribs any further.
"A little but we all know that" I said and he laughed. "This is so exciting, when is it?" He asked, backing away.
"We're leaving the afternoon of his birthday and we'll get on a plane, arriving in California sometime at night. We're staying for a week" I said.
"I'm excited, I can't wait to see his reaction" He grinned as we started walking back. "Me too" I said.
We reached Rafe and Sarah and by now it was nearing 5:30, we decided we needed to leave since I needed to be back by 6.
"I had a really great time you guys, I'll be out soon though" I sighed as I hugged Sarah and then Topper. "I can't wait, we all miss you" Sarah smiled at me and grabbed Topper's hand in hers.
"Bye guys" I smiled and allowed Rafe to walk with me up to his truck. "What did you and Topper talk about? If you don't mind me asking, that is" He asked and I chuckled.
"I asked how he was feeling, like honestly. He said he's doing better, eating mostly every meal and talking normally. I believe it, he wouldn't lie to me anyway" I smiled and he shook his head as he laughed.
He helped me into his truck and went to his side before backing out of the beach and heading to the hospital.
——
We got back into my room and I sighed as I sat back down in the uncomfortable bed I've had to sleep in for almost two months.
Once we got situated and semi-comfortable, the doctor came in with his clipboard in hand.
"Welcome back, how was your first day out?" He asked while checking my arm. "It was great, can't wait to get out of here for good" I said and he chuckled.
"It'll be soon, can you take a deep breath in for me?" He asked and I nodded. He put his hand on my abdomen and I took a deep breath, feeling him press down gently.
"And out" He instructed and I followed. "How bad did that hurt?" He asked. "Not too bad, it only feels like they're bruised" I shrugged and he nodded.
"I'm going to take your cast off and I want you to wash your arm and sleep with it off tonight to see how it feels, okay?" He asked and I smiled. He gently unwrapped the cast and I sighed in relief now that I didn't have any pressure on my arm.
"Okay, well I'll be back in here in the morning to check over everything and we might have an earlier date for you to be released" He smiled.
"Thank you" I said and he walked out. I turned to Rafe who had a huge grin on his face, "This is great, you might be out of here sooner than expected" He said and I couldn't help but smile at him.
"I hope so" I chuckled. "I'm gonna go take a shower, I'll be back" I said and he nodded, helping me get my clothes out of my bag and setting them on the counter for me.
I looked at my arm, it looked weird. I slowly moved it around, wincing as it still hurt.
Dumbass, it's still gonna hurt because it's broken.
I chuckled at my thoughts and stripped out of my clothes, turning the hot water on and stepping in to allow the water to soak every inch of my body and hair.
The water felt amazing on my broken arm, it hadn't been cleaned since the cast was on it and I was relieved to feel that it didn't hurt when the water hit it.
I washed my hair, body and gently rubbed my arm to get the smell off from the sweat and dirt from it being covered all these weeks.
Once out, I dried myself off and put my clothes on, then brushed my teeth and hair and did my skincare before walking back out and sitting on the bed.
"How does your arm feel?" He asked, now changed into red and black plaid pants and a black muscle-tee.
I gulped at the sight and suppressed my smile, "Good, I guess" I shrugged and he chuckled. "Why are you nervous?" He asked, setting his phone down and putting his hands behind his head.
"I'm not nervous, what makes you think that?" I asked, glancing at him and looking down to my fingers that held my rings. They seemed more interesting now that I'm looking at them.
"Because you're fiddling with your rings and can't look at me" He stated, scooting his chair closer to the bed. I looked up at him, my eyes finding his to show that I'm not nervous.
"I'm looking at you now" I raised an eyebrow at him and he rolled his eyes. "You're still nervous, is it because of me?" He asked and I scoffed.
"Yeah right, why would I be nervous because of you?" I asked and stopped fiddling with my rings. "Because you find me attractive" He said.
"Awfully bold of you to assume something so prosperous" I smirked and he hummed. "So if I take my shirt off... you wouldn't let your eyes travel?" He asked with his eyebrows raised now.
"That doesn't mean I find you attractive,
Mr. Cameron" I stated and his cheeks reddened.
Now I've got him.
"You've seen me in a bra, sports bra if I'm specific, maybe you looked when I needed help with my shower but I may never know since you might keep it a secret. I think it's you who finds me attractive" I smirked.
"I never did such a thing, I value privacy too much" He said and I hummed. "But what if I did find you attractive? What would happen?" He asked with his signature flirty tone.
This was a bunch of harmless flirting.
"Once I'm out and healed, we might can arrange something" I shrugged nonchalantly. "Really?" He asked, intrigued.
"I never lie" I said and he smirked. He got up and walked the short distance to get to me, leaning down to my face and taking my jaw in his hand. "Oh, what I would do to you" He breathed out and it was my turn to blush.
Damnit.
"What would you do to me?" I asked in a seductive tone. "I can't risk telling you in this room, you'll just have to wait" He said, his minty breath fanning my lips as he spoke.
"Oh, what fun we'd have" I said, watching his eyes drop down to my lips before coming back up to my eyes. I smirked and waited for him to press his lips to mine, I wasn't going to do it first.
"You're so stubborn" He said, attaching our lips and letting his hand tangle into my wet, dirty blonde locks. I smiled into the kiss and brought my right hand up to cup his cheek.
Before anything else could happen, not that it would since we're in the hospital, someone knocked on the door and we parted, breathing heavily as the kiss lasted longer than expected.
He sat back down and I straightened my hair out, clearing my throat and telling the person to come in. It was a nurse, she gave me medicine to help me sleep and then she walked out.
I took the pills with some water from my water bottle and looked over to Rafe, we both burst out laughing and I had to hold down on my ribs as they started hurting from the amount of laughter that erupted from my mouth.
"Would you like to lay with me?" I asked once our laughter died down. He nodded and dimmed the lights before scooting in beside me and wrapping his arm around my waist. I laid my head down on his bicep and snuggled up close to him, then closing my eyes and letting sleep take over my body.
A/N
Edit: Updating cause I'm bored and I have writers block. The next chapter will be on Wednesday now and I'm so excited cause that's gonna be my new favorite chapter.
Kinda got hot at the end there for a bit but let's not talk about it, LMAO.
Hope you liked this filler chapter and can't wait for the next one!! Love you all, please keep voting and commenting!🤍
Also go check out rafes_wif3y book called "Strangers".
Word count: 2,456