Andrew Price
It was all a blur.
Nurses passing by, officers asking me a million questions a minute, and the faint smell of rubbing alcohol.
I sat in one of the chairs by Lia's room.
When the ambulance took her to the hospital, they brought me too. They wanted to access my injuries, though they weren't as great as Lia's. I watched as the paramedics put an oxygen mask over her head, and put her on a stretcher.
The drive to the hospital was terrifying. The paramedics would constantly check Lia's vitals to make sure they were healthy, like they expected her to crash at any given point. I leaned my head against the wall, watching her. Her eyes had dried blood on them from the big gash on her forehead, and her nose was bleeding severely. That's when I looked down at myself, and noticed all the blood stains on my shirt and pants from her.
It didn't matter. Nothing mattered until her beautiful blue eyes were open and she was smiling.
I would give anything, even my own life, if it meant she was safe and happy.
I put my elbows against my knees and put my hands to my face. Rubbing my sore eyes, I sigh a heavy breath. Everything just seemed so uncertain, and all these questions just keep popping in my head.
I'm worried Lia might not make it. The car hit her hard, extremely hard. Enough to knock her out completely.
I tug at the curls matted on the top of my head, as I heard a thunderstorm of footsteps approach the loner chair I was sitting in across from Lia's room. The got louder, and louder, until they eventually all just stopped.
When they did, I looked up and saw a sea of people. Mason, Lina, their mother. My mom, Dad, Nick, and Celina. They all looked at me with the same expression.
Concern. Worry. Fear.
My Mom approached me, and pulled me into a crushing hug. I gave in, and wrapped my long arms around her small torso. When she pulled away, she examined me like the doctor did. She scanned my head, arms, until her eyes stopped at my stomach, which was wrapped in my t-shirt. It was stained dark red from the blood.
"It's not mine." I told her, meaning the blood. She seemed to understand, judging how she nodded her head slowly. Almost like she didn't want it to be true.
I know I didn't.
We stood there in silence for a few moments, unsure of what to do. We were stuck in time, waiting and waiting and waiting for answers. The line between nightmare and reality blurred as I thought of the repercussions of this accident.
No. No.
It wasn't a fucking accident. It was someone targeting my girlfriend to get back at me.
Mercy? Fuck it. I want answers and I want them now. I don't care if I have to kill somebody for it.
"I'll go grab some coffees for everyone while we wait." My Mom offered, pulling my Dad with her.
"I should probably go call Ben. He should know about his daughter." Lina and Mason's mother spoke, before leaving the hallway.
Now it was just Lina, Mason, and I. The air seemed to thicken as we were left alone.
"I hope we get answers soon." I said first, about to sit before I was pushed against the hospital wall.
Mason grabbed my jacket with his hands, making sure I couldn't escape his grasp. Fuck, he must've gotten stronger from the last time I saw him.
A few months ago I could've easily kicked his scrawny little ass, but now? I'd say there maybe could be an even fight.
"Dude, what the hell is wrong with you?" I asked him, wide-eyed.
"No! What the hell is wrong with you? How could you let Lia go through with that? She's been through enough."
"Mason, get off of him." Lina tried pulling him back but it was no use.
"Someone was following us and I tried losing them but...then we hit a dead end, and she pushed me out of the way before I could take the hit!" I explained so fast I could hardly remember what I said.
"Mason, let go!" Lina pulled him off of me, grabbing him into a hug.
I heard soft sobs coming from him, as he leaned onto his twin sister for support. I straightened my jacket and shirt, trying hard not to cry.
"Look, I think the person who hit Lia was the same person at the game." I told the both of them.
"What?" They said in unison.
Freaky.
"They could've easily followed us to LA, if they were tracking us thoroughly." I shoved my hands into my pants pockets.
"What happened to protecting her, man? What happened to never letting her out of our sight?" Mason looked defeated.
"I wasn't in the right state of mind. Some things happened on that trip that I don't really feel like talking about because it's still new to me, but that was all I could think about."
"What? What's more important than Lia's safety?"
"Nothing is more important than that to me. I-I just..." I sighed. "I'm not in the mood to explain."
"Whatever." Mason spat, looking at me with daggers. "If she doesn't wake up, this is all your fault."
The air seemed to get hotter, and it felt as though I couldn't breathe.
If she doesn't wake up.
She has to, right? She can't die. She can't.
I won't let her.
I've already lost her so many times. I can't lose her again.
I slump into the hospital chair, waiting and wondering for a miracle. Anything to make this heartbreak and pain disappear.
All I could think of is:
What are we going to do?
We can't keep living like this. With pain and danger. We need to fix this problem and find out who's behind this all.
Before Lia ends up six feet underground.
I shiver at that thought.
Soon enough, I felt a presence beside me and I turned my head to find the nurse staring back at me. Like she was ready to speak of an update on Lia.
"Are you Lia James' brother?" She asked politely.
I laughed quietly. "Boyfriend."
"Do you know if Lia's parents are here?"
"I-I'm Lia's guardian. Well, her father lives in another state and I'm watching over her." Alex walked toward the nurse.
"Lia's awake. She's a bit groggy from all the medicine we gave her to ease the pain, but she suffered multiple fractures of the leg, a sprained wrist, and a mild concussion. But she's okay, that's the most important part."
"Are we allowed to visit her?" Alex asked eagerly.
The nurse nodded and brought Mason and Lina with her. They closed the door, and Alex gave me a nod. They must've wanted to have some alone time with her just the three of them before I came in.
I couldn't wait to see her.
Would she be mad at me? That I got her into this? I don't know what to expect or how to feel. Everything just feels so uncertain, and it's quite unsettling.
My mother and father both came back, my mother holding multiple Styrofoam cups. She handed me one and I drank it, resting my back against the back of the chair.
"How's Lia?" My father asked.
"She's awake. She's not in the best condition, but she's awake." I informed him, and he released an exhale. Like some weight has been lifted off his chest.
"I'm so happy to hear that. I'm glad she's okay." My mother put her arm around me in comfort.
Me too, Mom. Me too.
***
Lia James
I felt so out of it. I could barely feel the lower half of my body, but when I tried to move I was left with excruciating pain. My head and my wrist were bandaged up too.
Gosh, how bad was it?
When my eyes fully adjusted to the light above me, I noticed three people sitting in the chairs in front of my bed.
It was Aunt Alex, Mason, and Lina. They all had sympathetic smiles on their faces.
"Hey." I croaked.
"I'm so glad you're finally awake. I was so worried about you." Aunt Alex found her way to the bed, and she sat on it rubbing my shoulder.
"What happened?" I asked, even though I had a clue.
"You were in a hit and run in Andrew's car. You're very lucky, Lia." Mason smiled.
Hit and run.
Or someone following us and intentionally hitting our car?
"You have no idea how worried I was about you." Lina told me. "When Andrew's parents came over and told us the news, I felt like I was loosing my best friend. And I don't ever want to lose you."
She started to cry, and Mason pulled her into a hug.
A few minutes later, the doctor had opened the door with a clipboard in his hand. He smiled at Aunt Alex and the twins before going over to the bed.
There must be an update.
"Lia, you're leg was hurt pretty bad in the crash. That was the nearest point of impact, judging by the fractures compared to the rest of the body."
"What are you saying, Doctor?" Aunt Alex got off the bed to sit in the chair beside me.
"She'll need surgery. Preferably as soon as possible. We have an opening tomorrow night, and we're going to squeeze you in. It should take about two or three hours."
"Wow. That long?" That seemed like a very very long time to be in surgery.
"Yes." He stated. "Your leg was severely injured, and quite literally shattered in the accident. We need to repair it as quickly and efficiently as possible."
"I better call your Dad." Aunt Alex reached for her phone. "He's getting on a plane right now, but he should know about this."
Aunt Alex left the room, closing the door behind her.
"So, Lia. Have you ever had surgery before?" The doctor asked me.
"No, I haven't."
I was quite nervous when he said the surgery would last two or three hours. That's a long time to be under anesthesia.
"Don't worry. I'll have our anesthesiologist go over the standard procedure with you tomorrow before the surgery so you know what to expect."
"Okay. Thank you," I said, and he nodded before exiting the room.
"Surgery, huh?" Mason shook his head. "Damn."
"How bad does your leg hurt?"
"Well, the medicine is numbing it for me, but if I try to move it, it feels like hell."
They both chuckled.
"So, Andrew told us what happened for real. It wasn't a hit and run, was it?"
I gulped. "No."
Mason sighed, frustratingly. "And you think this is the same person who tried to shoot you at the game?"
I nodded slowly.
Lina ran her fingers through her hair nervously. "Gosh, what's next?"
"I don't know. I hope nothing." I replied hesitantly, but quite frankly I was scared as hell.
We all know something worse could come after this if we didn't figure out who's doing it.
"This isn't going to stop, Lia." Mason said, raising his voice slightly. "And it's not going to unless we figure out the culprit."
"How are we going to do that, Mason?" Lina asked, annoyed.
"I don't know. It's going to be difficult and might take us a while, but we'll figure it out. We always do."
"Let me recover from surgery first, and then we'll figure things out. For now, let's all take a breather because obviously this thing is stressing us out." I spoke to the both of them and they nodded. "The important thing is that I'm okay. We will find out who's terrorizing us. I promise. We just need to take it one step at a time."
"You're right." Mason agreed.
"All of this is making me hungry." Lina said. "Mason, lets go to the cafeteria."
They both left the room, and yet another person came in. I rolled my eyes, wanting some alone time to myself, but when I saw the face I instantly didn't want to be alone anymore.
Andrew gave me a small smile before sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Hey, baby. How are you feeling?" He looked at the bandages and bruises all over my body.
"I'm hanging in there. How about you?"
"Well, you pushed me so damn hard." He joked. "You shouldn't have done that."
"Yes, I should've." I grabbed his hand with my good hand. "I would do it all over again, if it meant you were safe."
"That's not fair." He shook his head. "I was so worried about you because I knew you weren't okay. I looked at your bloody and bruised body, as you pushed me to the ground and embraced the impact. I should've protected you."
"You did the best you could, Andrew. My seatbelt was stuck." I tried reasoning with him.
"I know, but I should've brought my pocket knife with me. I always bring it with me, but I thought for this trip we would be safe. I was clearly wrong."
"Hey." I shushed him. "You can't feel regret about your decisions. Things happened so fast and you did the best you could. I'll say it once and I'll say it again...I would do it all over again if it meant you were safe."
He smiled at me so wide. It was so full of joy and passion. That's what made me love him so much.
The way he expresses himself around me, like we were the only two people walking on this Earth.
"So," Andrew breaks the silence. "What happens next?"
"Next, I have a surgery to repair my leg. Apparently it shattered during the crash."
His eyes widened. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry. What about college? What about your softball team? What about prom?"
"Don't worry. Prom is almost a month away, I'm sure I'll be in a boot by then. Besides, I'll be fully recovered by the time I go to softball camp at the end of June. Everything will work out the way it's supposed to. I really believe that."
"How are you so optimistic right now?" He shook his head.
"Because that's the only thing left I have to hold onto. If I wasn't optimistic, I wouldn't be able to breathe right now."
He gave me a side smile before leaning in to kiss me passionately. I brought up my decent hand to his face, moving it to the side to grab his hair. I took my time, kissing both his top and bottom lips, before he pulled away and linked his hand with mine.
Optimism.
That's the only thing getting me by.
~*~
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This. Chapter. It was so scary yet so emotional.
Who do you think is behind this? Will Andrew and Mason ever find out before it's too late? Will Lia be able to go to prom without crutches?
Read on to find out!
Love you all.
XOXO