I'm zoning in and out of the conversation Jones is having with the doctor that has been assigned to me in the A&E department at The Royal London Hospital. I can't concentrate long enough to understand anything that's being said but I get the gist of it all.
"There's nothing serious to worry about, Kaylee." Dr. Little explains. "You'll be sore for the next few days. The biggest majority of the pains you were feeling when you came in here were from panicking. You'll have bruises on your chest from the seatbelt locking but it's not serious."
"And her scans all came back clear?" Jones asks.
"They did considering the car was hit by vehicles front and back and none of the airbags deployed."
"Which is something that will be looked into," Jones assures me with a tight nod.
"Her friend is still very shaken about the accident but her parents have been informed and they've been in and taken her home to rest. Kaylee's parents have also been notified and upon her request, her fiancé has been notified of her injuries and the results of the tests we have performed."
"Yes, I've been keeping him updated."
"Sir, given the state of the car from the pictures I've seen, both she and her friend are very lucky to be alive just as much as being able to walk out of the car. If the cars had hit them at a higher speed, we could have been looking at broken bones and lengthy surgeries to repair any issues that would have come up."
"My boss may have already asked this but I would like the answer so I can tell him if he hasn't asked this, but why was she sick? Surely there's a reason for that."
"More than likely it's from the stress of it all. From what you saw, she didn't have a panic attack at the scene, no?"
"No, but her friend did but obviously she did have one here."
"Well, we've taken some blood samples from her to be on the safe side. Those results should be through soon but she can always contact her own doctor for those when it suits. We've given her some pain relief and I have written a prescription for other pain medication she can use at home which I shall give to you for her."
"She's due to fly to America on Sunday, though."
"Well, I have no doubt that she will be flying first class but I will suggest that she take it easy over the coming days. Most of her bruising won't come out for another few days and she will find herself stiffening up, which will lead to finding things hard to do."
"Alright, I'll say to her fiancé and he can arrange everything for her so she's comfortable for her trip."
"She will be fine. It'll just take time. However, if anything becomes an issue down the line, I can give you some information to give to her with contact numbers for therapists. More often than not, people who have been in accidents like this develop PTSD which can be triggered when they're faced with having to get behind a wheel of a car again or-"
"I somehow think she'll be fine with that one. Her future mother-in-law is a well-known therapist so she'll help her when and if it's needed."
"I see. Well, if that's all, she is free to go."
"Even though she's going in and out of consciousness?"
"She is on a high dosage of pain relief medication. Plus, it's late at night and she's no doubt had a long day. She's more than fine to go home."
"Alright. Thank you."
"Good. She can leave as soon as she feels ready to go."
I push against the hospital bed, my eyes still closed, and sit up straight. "Jones."
"Miss. Fletcher, you-"
"Please take me home," I whisper.
"Do you feel like you can handle that? I don't want to be halfway home and have to turn back because something's wrong."
The worry that's in his voice is clear to hear for everyone to hear if they listened to him speak. He's worried but I know it's because Luca wouldn't be happy with him if something was wrong with me and he took me out of the hospital. They each mean well but I've seen enough of hospitals over the past couple of months to last me another couple of years before I step foot back in one again.
"Jones, please." I beg. I open my eyes enough to look up at him. "I want to go home. Let me go home."
"Okay," he agrees quickly. "Are you alright to walk or do you want me to get a nurse to get you a wheelchair?"
"I'll be fine if you just help me out to the car."
With his help, I get up off the bed and we walk out of the hospital. I'm half expecting to walk a long way until we reach his car but we don't. It's parked up directly across from the entrance on double yellow lines and in between two police cars. The police officers look at us as we walk to the car but say nothing to us.
I settle into the back of the car with a small whimper escaping my lips. The amount of pain that shoots through me when I move a certain way isn't yet covered by the pain killers that are in my system. I can barely sit with my seatbelt on because it's restricting my breathing across my chest.
I know I'm going to start seeing the bruising come out at various parts of my body but I don't know where they'll make an appearance. For all I know, I could wake up in the morning with a big purple bruise on my forehead because my head is thumping and I can't remember if I hit my head or not. I can only remember trying to reverse out of the way of the second car and then being sick. Other than that, I remember waking up in the hospital.
Nothing else.
"We'll be home soon, Miss. Fletcher." Jones tells me, pulling out of the space he's parked up at.
I don't remember when we came home or when I fell asleep, but all I know is that I'm now being woken up with fingers brushing my hair out of my face. My eyes flutter open to see who it is that's moving my hair and I smile contently before closing my eyes back over.
"What are you doing here?" I sleepily ask Luca. "You're not supposed to be here. You're supposed to be in New York."
"I know," he agrees in a hushed tone, "but I got special permission to come here and be with you."
"Mmhmm," I hum. I snuggle in closer to him and he holds me as close to him as he can physically get me without hurting me. "Why are you back?"
"Shh," he hushes. He places a kiss on my forehead. "I'll explain everything in the morning. Just go back to sleep."
I don't respond and fall back to sleep easily in his arms.
Before I know it, it's morning and I'm waking up in bed alone. No Luca lying in bed next to me. His side of the bed neatly made like he was never here and my seeing him was all a dream.
I sit up gingerly and rub my eyes as best I can before the feeling of pain begins.
"Luca," I call out but there's no response.
I get out of bed with a small struggle, feeling the pain in my lower back, knees, and ribs begin to surface. I inhale deeply and reach for the striped dressing gown that's draped over the bottom of the bed, pulling it on with difficulty due to the pain that's now going across my chest.
I look down at my chest and notice a faint sign of a purple bruise starting to show where my seatbelt was. I touch it lightly as I make my way down the stairs, using the banister to steady myself.
I've never been so happy to reach the bottom of the stairs which is when I rest for a moment. I grip the end of the banister tightly which has my knuckles turning white. I wouldn't be pushing myself this much if I didn't know Luca was down here and in his office. It's obvious that that's where he is, most likely with Jones and Carlo with him.
"I don't care. I want this issue dealt with!" Luca's loud voice echoes to me from his office.
I stare at the closed door in shock. I've never heard him be that angry before and I don't really want to walk in on something that will no doubt be about me. But I need to because I need to see him.
I walk to the office and with every step I take, I can hear every word Luca is saying and it's all laced with anger.
"I don't care what has to be done but I want it done. Kaylee could have been killed last night and who knows what impact this will have on her from this moment on. Not just her but her best friend who is like a sister to her. I'm not having my fiancée come back here and have to look over her shoulder every time she goes out. It's not fair on either her or Allison."
I bravely open the office door and look at Jones and Carlo before settling my gaze on Luca. He's standing in front of his desk, arms folded, with Jones and Carlo in front of him sitting in the chairs. They all look at me and I grip the door handle with both hands for balance.
"Sorry," I apologise. "I didn't think you had company. I can wait for you to finish."
"No, it's fine." Carlo says while getting to his feet the same time as Jones. "We've finished anyway."
"We need to get to work," Jones adds.
They give Luca a stiff nod and leave the office. I close the door and walk to Luca, trying my damn hardest to not limp with the pain in my knees since I've been standing for too long now.
"I really didn't mean to interrupt," I repeat.
He raises his brows in a silent acknowledgement to my apology.
"If you need me to-"
I don't finish my sentence before Luca reaches out to me and pulls me hard against his chest. I whimper in pain, his hold loosening at hearing the sound. He holds me in place with one arm around my waist and the other around my shoulders.
"Kaylee." He breathes deeply. "I love you so much. I'm so sorry I wasn't here to protect you. It's all my fault."
"Luca, it's not." I gently push away from him and he helps me sit down on one of the chairs in front of him. "Jones was behind us and even he couldn't have protected us."
"Kaylee, I could have."
I shake my head. "Chances are that even with Jones driving me and Allison last night on that same road, the accident would have still happened."
"No. It doesn't work that way. You and Allison were targets in our books. To us, those people who hit you knew exactly where you'd be and what car you'd be in. They've seen my car going around and knew you were back here. They knew exactly where to be and when to be there."
He walks around his desk and takes a seat. He hits the spacebar on the keyboard of his computer and starts typing away, his eyes focused on the screen and whatever it is he's typing.
"I'm sorry about your car," I mutter.
"Kaylee, I don't care about my car." He briefly looks at me then looks back at the screen. "I only care about you and your safety."
"But I'm fine," I start to brush off.
"You are not fine!" He snaps. He stares at me. "You are clearly in pain and it will a long time before you feel any better regardless of the number of pain killers you take to ease it."
I recoil at his abruptness and rub my forehead. "Please, don't shout."
"How should I be acting?" He pushes himself back from the desk and throws his arms out to the side. "You tell me how I should be acting because I clearly can't act angry at the thought of someone trying to kill you!" He blinks rapidly and drops his arms. His gaze falls to the floor and he rubs his eyes. "I can't do this anymore, Kaylee."
I get to my feet as quick as I can, ignoring the pain because I just want to console my fiancé, and move around the desk to sit on his lap. His arms circle around my waist to hold me in place and I rest my head against his.
"I could have lost you, Kaylee." Luca whispers. "And I'm not talking about a break-up kind of loss. I'm talking about you being completely gone. You being gone off this earth forever and our last conversation being a bad one."
"I know," I agree.
"Of all the things to happen, this happens and at the worst time possible."
I run my fingers up and down the back of his neck as a way of trying to soothe him.
It's just been one thing after another with the two of us recently. Neither of us has had the best of times recently and all kicked off since Nadia turned back up.
Ever since she's returned, nothing has been the same. There have been more arguments than anything else. More insecurity over plans and the future. More intense moments and looking over our shoulders.
Nothing has gone right for anyone.
"But we can get through this together. I know we can," Luca reassures. "I'll step up my security team. I'll get the private investigators to look into the crash and watch over the dash cam footage more closely. I'll get them to do everything to bring the people who did this to you and Allison to justice."
"Leave no stone uncovered," I validate.
"And when we return to New York tomorrow, we'll work together to fight against Nadia."
I pull back and look at him. "I thought you didn't want my help."
"I did until my father told me about the voicemail Nadia left you." He moves one of his hands and runs it up and down my thigh. "She's not getting away with anything. She's had her fun and now it's time to show her who's really in charge from here on out."