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31 / Surprised Awakening
This feeling.
It was hard to explain actually.
The last thing I saw in my mind were a bunch of daisies. They were circling around me, just swaying from side to side, with actual smiling faces in the center. Honestly, it was creeping me out a bit. That was until one daisy started speaking — yes, with moving lips and everything — telling me that it was time to wake up.
I wouldn't have it any other way.
My eyes fluttered open slightly, being greeted by a bright light. The light wasn't coming from the ceiling. The source was coming from the right side of me. It was sunshine, seeping through the window.
I was alive.
Blinking several times, I stared at the ceiling for a moment until someone hovered over me. Wincing slightly from surprise, I had to make sure that I wasn't seeing things.
Carly?
Except Carly looked older and much taller. I was sure that the little girl hasn't grown that tall. It has only been a month or so. Hasn't it?
Squinting my eyes, the Carly I was looking at gasped happily, knowing that I was awake. She grinned ear to ear, almost waiting for me to say something.
"Carly, is that you?" I answered weakly, my focus was gradually getting better.
Older Carly gave me a chirpy reply, "You're finally awake! You've been sleeping forever!"
Gulping down, I asked through a shiver, "How long?"
"For ten years! Can't you see? I'm a lot older now," Carly announced, nodding her head as her locks of brown hair followed her movements.
Wait a second.
Ten years!
Losing my cool, I tried to get up from my sleeping position.
I shouted from panic, "Oh my god, it's been ten years? Have I aged? I'm thirty years old right now!"
Frantically looking around the perimeter, I was on a hospital bed in a private room. The older Carly was the only one here. My eyes shook from bewilderment when I found a cast on my left leg.
The accident.
Everything replayed right back to that moment. Bryce, his mother, Logan, the car — everything. My mind was starting to get all dizzy. This couldn't be happening. Another dream, that must be it. As I took deep breaths, I gazed back at Carly who was standing there joyfully with her hands behind her back.
I pointed at her, still shaking.
"This is a dream, right?"
Carly shook her head.
Here I was, so close to jumping out of the bed and run off to see what has become of the world until a little voice popped out.
"Okay, I think we should stop now before Lockhart here loses her mind, Candace."
At that instance, a little girl rose from the left side of my bed, making me scream. The little girl was Carly — still a nine year old, still adorable as ever. Clamping my mouth shut, my widened eyes then looked back Older Carly.
It was Candace Reynolds this whole time?
Shaking my head once more, I started to laugh a little hysterically.
"Wow, I completely lost it."
The real Carly reassured me, "We shouldn't have tricked you, Maisie. But you're still sane. I hope. I'm still Carly and that's Candace. She dyed her hair back to brown when we got back home. We heard about what happened to you, and I had to fly back to see if you're okay! You've been sleeping for three days. Welcome back!"
Okay, now that made more sense.
Still woozy from this surprised awakening, I tried to relax my racing heart that was beating out of control for no reason.
The now brown-haired Candace then giggled out, "Don't worry, you're still looking good. I'm going to tell everyone you're finally awake!"
The elder sister rushed out of the door, slamming it shut leaving Carly and me alone.
There was a part of me that wanted to start crying from being tricked by the Reynolds' sisters like that. I really believed that I had been sleeping for ten years. I didn't want to be thirty just yet! When I sat there as I recollected everything that happened, Carly soon jumped up to pull me into a hug. Breaking into a smile, I returned the embrace.
Carly rejoiced, "I was so worried about you! How are you feeling? Do you remember anything?"
The good thing was, I actually did remember.
When I nodded my head, I sighed.
"I can't believe you guys tricked me like that. And I feel okay, just a little shaken up."
Carly gave me a satisfying smile before hugging me tightly once more. I missed this little girl more than ever.
Questions started to pop out in the back of my mind. Where was my family? What happened after the accident? Was anyone else hurt? What happened to the Valentino's? And, where in the world was Bryce?
My questions were soon answered when the door swung back open.
In came all these familiar faces — my parents, Mason, Vanessa, David, Logan, Candace, the doctor, and lastly, Bryce.
All of them expressed happy — okay, happy was an understatement — complete brightened up faces once they saw me completely conscious. I was smiling as well, but at the same time, was holding a confused expression still. The first ones to approach my side was my parents.
My parents both had tears welling up in their eyes. Mom and Pops hugged me gently, and I felt Mom stroking my hair as she whispered happy blessings. I heard Pops sniffling which caused me to bite my lower lip. I never wanted to see my parents worry or cry for me like this.
After our hug, Mom and Pops both told me how much they missed me and how happy they were to see me awake. I couldn't have asked for better parents. Holding onto their hands momentarily, I was soon greeted by Mason, Vanessa and David.
Mason cried out, "Maisie! I swear, you were superman in your past life or something! I miss you!"
Letting out a soft chuckle from his actions, I couldn't even reply back because Mason decided to hug the life out of me. Suddenly, I felt him retrieving back from Vanessa's tug.
Vanessa warned playfully, "Mason, let your sister breath! She just woke up."
Mason pouted, but no one really fell for his little puppy face. I held in a giggle as he muttered some nonsense under his breath. Vanessa and David both huddled around me, smiling brightly at the sight of me.
David claimed through his grinning, "You gave us quite a scare, Maisie."
Vanessa's green eyes were widening as she exclaimed out all her worry, "Not even! I seriously had a heart attack, Maisie! Don't scare me like that, okay?"
As I nodded my head, Vanessa wiped the tears from her eyes and hugged me lightly.
She whimpered, "I don't know what I'll do if I don't have Maisie Lockhart in my life."
Did I ever mention how much I love my best friend?
As the three stepped back, Logan soon approached my side.
His dark midnight blue eyes glowed from the sunlight as he beamed, "Welcome back, Maisie. You feeling okay?"
Giving him a smile back, I nodded my head once more. He reached out his hand, causing me to flinch back slightly until I realized that he was touching something wrapped around my head.
Why didn't I notice this before?
Logan stated, "Your head doing fine?"
Reaching up, a bandage had been wrapped a few times around my head, leaving me a little confused. That was until I remembered hitting my head against the ground before passing out. I thought a broken leg was already bad. As I replied with a reassuring smile, Logan gave me a slight nod before making a pathway for someone.
That someone, my friends, was my delivery boy.
My heart was beating quicker, seeing the sight of Bryce.
He was covered up by everyone that I was worried he was gone. Bryce took several steps closer to me, and for a moment, it felt like it was only the two of us. Bryce reached for my hand as a sweet smile grew on his face. Bryce's soothing voice calmed me down as his captivating sky blue eyes laid upon me.
"I'm so happy to see you awake. I've miss you so much."
I cried.
Should I be ashamed?
Right now, I didn't care.
Happy tears fell from my eyes, and I nodded my head in agreement.
"I've missed you too, Bryce. I've missed all of you — I'm so happy that you're all here with me."
"I'm sorry to barge in, but may I have a moment with Ms. Lockhart?" The doctor claimed through the happy atmosphere.
He gave Bryce and I an apologetic smile before taking a step closer.
Bryce and I locked gazes once more before he eventually let go of my hand to give complete way for my doctor. However, I didn't want him to let go. Come to think of it, I never properly gave Bryce a welcome back since he returned from his business trip.
The doctor gave me a wide grin.
"Hello Ms. Lockhart, I'm Doctor York. It's definitely good to see that you're awake. How are you feeling right now?"
"Is it okay to be feeling no pain at all? I feel great actually," I replied honestly.
Dr. York laughed in amusement and pointed out, "It's the medication that's preventing you to feel complete pain or maybe seeing a special someone?"
A few chuckles scattered throughout the room causing me to flush out red from the doctor's tease.
Dr. York then questioned, "Do you remember what happened to you, Ms. Lockhart?"
Pondering briefly, the same flashbacks appeared again. It caused me to cringe slightly as I remembered Bryce's mother and the car that hit me.
Wait, was Bryce's mother okay. What about the driver?
Nodding my head, I answered, "I do. The accident — I pushed Mrs. Valentino away from the out of control car. Doctor, is Mrs. Valentino all right? How about the driver?"
Dr. York explained, "Good, looks like your memory is still in tact. Mrs. Valentino is perfectly fine because of you actually. She had a very light injury since her knees scraped against the concrete. The driver is okay as well. The airbag deployed in time, only giving him a mild injury as well. I'm sure you're wondering what happened to you, correct?"
I nodded.
"I hate to say, but you do have a broken leg, Ms. Lockhart. Your cast will have to stay on for at least 5-6 months depending on the progress of your fractured bone. For now, you'll be using a wheelchair or crutches, but don't worry. In due time, you'll be able to walk on two feet."
"You have several bruising on your arms, but that will also heal in due time as well. The bandage on your head was caused by your head hitting against the concrete. The injury on your forehead is not that severe. You did lose blood but not to a point where it was a massive amount," Dr. York stated while he was going through the check up, even showing me an x-ray of my leg.
After scribbling a few notes on his clip board, Dr. York nodded with a satisfying smile.
He encouraged, "Other than that, you seem to be responding well. Your vital signs are good, and your road to recovery is starting off well. You do need to stay in the hospital for a few more days so we know for sure that you'll be okay to release."
After thanking Dr. York for everything, he nodded, "I'll be making my rounds then. Ms. Lockhart, welcome back. I wish you the very best. If you need anything, feel free to contact the nurse. I will be coming back for another check up."
Everyone in the room gave their thanks to the doctor before he waved a small goodbye and exited out the door.
Soon, everyone gathered around my bedside.
Mason was the first to speak as he beamed, "Maisie, did you see all the flowers in your room? Look, you're famous!"
A little surprised, my eyes fully glanced around the room, and he was right. My room was showered with varieties of flowers that occupied pretty vases. I spotted several cards that said get well soon, but my eyes were immediately stuck on the vase of daisies.
My heartstrings were tugged, knowing who those were from.
Carly then remarked through a tiny frown, "What kind of question is that?"
Everyone, including my parents, all laughed at Carly's stale remark. Mason folded his arms as he grunted.
Once I caught up with everyone, Vanessa coughed out a hint, "I think it's time for some lunch, don't you think?"
Mason's brown eyes widened, in the middle of telling me how the market was doing, and whined, "What? I'm not hungry, I want to talk to Maisie!"
As a reply, little Carly kicked Mason's shin and pulled Mason down so she can whisper something in his ear. Mason's widened eyes grew even larger until he nodded. Candace, who I still couldn't believe tricked me into thinking she was the older version of Carly, giggled.
"Mason, you are too adorable!"
Mason stopped his whining and cleared his throat. His eyes shifted slightly towards me, and I remembered how Mason never really liked Candace because of everything she did to me. I gave him a slight shrug, and a tint of red soon revealed upon Mason's cheeks.
Before I knew it, everyone was walking out of the doors, waving goodbye.
I gasped, "Hold on, where are you all going?"
"You don't want me here?" A voice answered.
It was Bryce.
Settling my attention on him, I smiled bashfully as he chuckled to his entertainment. Bryce pulled up a chair towards my side and held onto my hand. For a moment, the two of us just stared at each other.
The kind of staring that didn't bother me at all.
He finally broke the silence, "I'm sorry for everything, Daisie. I'm sorry I couldn't save you from getting hurt."
"You shouldn't be sorry, Bryce. I shouldn't have walked away from everything. I was just so upset," I confessed.
Bryce shook his head and insisted, "You have every right to be upset though. My mother — I don't understand what she was thinking! You don't have to worry anymore, she won't bother you and your family anymore. I hate how this had to happen to you, Daisie. I swear, I will never forgive my mother for what she did to you and your family."
As he was talking, Bryce's icy blue eyes were growing colder by the second.
I replied to ease up his tension, "No, Bryce. I don't want you to do that to your mother. It's okay, trust me."
His eyes widened in disbelief.
"After everything? She never really was that much of a mother to begin with, but that doesn't matter right now. You don't know how much you worried me."
Lightening up the mood, I gave him a smirk.
"Oh, I worried you, huh?"
A small laugh escaped from his lips momentarily until we both laughed together.
Bryce stated more clearly, "I'm serious. Don't ever do something like that again, Daisie."
"Trust me, I don't want to."
I gave him a heartfelt smile. In the back of my mind, I wanted Bryce to be okay with his mother. Even though he was by my side right now, I didn't want him to leave his mother alone.
Bryce then questioned out of the blue, "You mind if I write on your cast?"
A little surprised, I raised an eyebrow as I inquired, "You don't think that's too elementary school?"
"Not when Bryce Valentino does it."
He winked through a confident statement.
And like always, only the delivery boy could pull that off.
Letting out a laugh, I nodded my head as I told him to go for it. Soon, Bryce pulled out a black sharpie from his pocket — did he keep that on him all the time? — and wrote whatever message he was writing.
Seeing a satisfied grin stretch upon his lips, Bryce took a step back once he finished to admire his work.
Bryce smirked.
"I think this one is my favorite."
I rolled my eyes playfully and stifled a laugh.
"Because it's the only one, right?"
Without a reply, Bryce soon assisted me up so I would be able to see what he wrote.
My eyes widened reading what his neat handwriting scribbled:
Delivery Boy loves Daisie
Gradually looking back at him, Bryce clarified with that charming grin on his face, "It's my favorite because it's the complete truth. I love you, Maisie."
Completely stunned for a moment, I had to make sure I heard right. It was like my emotions got the best of me once again. Why did I have to wake up being so emotional? Holding back the tears in my eyes, I smiled brightly as I nodded my head happily.
"I love you too, Bryce."
Bryce then motioned closer as he hugged me sweetly.
Hugging him back, I whispered, "I never got to say this, but welcome back."
"For the both of us," Bryce added.
Our eyes gradually met with one another, and I knew. Bryce's lips eventually met mine, causing my heartstrings to be tugged madly.
How my heart fluttered in every possible direction.
A real kiss from Bryce Valentino. The kiss felt too perfect, and I was literally melting as our lips touched. Happiness was all that was flashing my way at this very moment.
There was something wrong in Bryce's words that night during our stay on Valentino Island.
I was always happy since then because being with my delivery boy was all that I needed to completely feel this way.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Dedicating this chapter to Eejay_Black who was one of the many who accompanied me throughout the journey of MDB. Thanks for all your support!