Discharge papers in one hand, and my ribs in the other, I hobble from the wheelchair the nurse used to cart me outside and into the Uber she graciously ordered for me. Raina’s fans are all over the world, and I was lucky enough to land one as my nurse.
A week ago I woke up freezing cold to a farmer poking me in the cheek. We were in the middle of nowhere Illinois in a cornfield of all things. Not something I expected, but then again, I didn’t anticipate being dumped and left for dead either…
The bruises, cuts, black eye and concussion seemed like child’s play compared to the constant agony of breathing with fractured ribs. I’m lucky they didn’t puncture my lung, even though that’s exactly what it feels like.
“I know you want to track Raina down, but you really need to take it easy. You aren’t done healing,” my nurse says through the open door, her tone just shy of scolding.
“Thank you, I know. You and the doctor made that clear, but a man’s gotta do what he has to do to fight for his woman.” Sheclutches her chest and gets a soft dreaminess reflected in her eyes. “I’ll make sure I send what I owe you. Thanks again.”
I lift my hand but forgo waving to save my ribs, then reach for the door and shut it, wanting to leave this fucking place as quickly as possible. I’ve spent more than my fair share in a hospital before I even showed up here. Add on the extended psych hold because they thought I was delulu for claiming I was best friends with one of the world’s biggest pop stars… Let’s say it was a lesson well learned.
The driver takes off, and I lean my head back on the seat. “Man, you don’t look too good. You sure you should be leaving the hospital?”
Peeking an eye open, I find him staring at me in the rearview mirror. I know what he’s looking at, and I can’t blame him for the horror reflected back at me. He’s not even seeing the worst of it. My bruises are now a week healed, more of a sickly yellow color decorating my face. My black eye still has some of the deep purple remaining, but at least it isn’t swollen closed anymore.
“I’ve looked worse,” I mutter, closing my eye again and shifting gingerly in my seat. What I don’t say is that it happened on the inside. I turned into a fucking monster, someone I can’t even recognize.
A sharper sensation shoots through me, every jolt in the road serves as a painful reminder that my ribs are far from being fully healed. The fractured bones stab with every breath, and the dull throb in my head from the concussion just adds insult to injury.
If I knew what was best for me, I’d heed everyone’s advice and get the rest I need. But I can’t do that. Everything in me is screaming to find Raina and beg for forgiveness. To protect her from the goddamn evil bastards surrounding her. I have to make it up to her, my slip from grace tears through my conscience and haunts me every second that goes by.
The driver doesn’t say anything for a while, probably debating whether to press further. When he remains quiet, I exhale, wincing at the pain it costs me to do even that.
The silence doesn’t last long, though.
“You gotta be careful with those ribs, man. One wrong move and you could end up back in the ER,” he finally says, as if I don’t know that already.
“I’ll be fine.” It’s a lie, but one I need to tell myself to keep going. Giving up isn’t an option, not one I can live with, anyway.
Exhaustion takes over. I should probably be concerned that I spent whatever energy I had simply getting into a vehicle, but I need to keep my focus on taking one step at a time, doing whatever I can to get back to Raina.
“Hey!” The sharp bark of his voice wakes me, my heart beating fast, and I take a deep breath of air. Agony rips through my chest, my hand instantly going to my ribs in a useless attempt to ease the pain. “Wake up, man. We’re here.”
It was a few hours’ drive to get back to Chicago, the last place I saw the woman I love, even though I know she’s in New York now.
“Thanks,” I grunt, getting out of the car.
The driver stares at me out the window for a moment before he rolls it down. “Don’t die out there. I don’t want to be the last person who saw you alive.”
A wry laugh bursts out of me, ending in a hiss. “You don’t have to worry about that, I’m too stubborn to die until I find my girl.”He nods his head as if he understands and drives on down the road.
I pat myself down, that feeling of forgetting something overwhelming me before I remember I don’t have a single item that’s my own. I was dumped without a phone or my wallet, and my clothes were even cut off when I arrived at the emergency room. They were drenched in blood from the carving on my chest, the wounds having slowly bled for lord only knows how long before they started to clot, and with me passed out, they didn’t know what my injuries were.
Getting in a fight you can’t win receives zero stars, do not recommend. I won’t be doing it again.
Probably.
Hopefully not.
Not unless they threaten my woman…
I quickly scan the sidewalk, looking left and right, until I spot the distinct Apple logo at the store down the block. Shit. I was hoping he’d drop me off right in front, but with how crowded the parking is on the street I can see why he didn’t.
Normally, I don’t care if sidewalks are busy with rushing pedestrians, but Inormallydon’t have two broken ribs that leave me breathless and exhausted.
Okay, I can do this. One step at a time. Do it for Raina.
I know I shouldn’t be out here, broken and barely standing. My ribs remind me with every breath, every step, but the pain only fuels me. It’s nothing compared to the agony inside. I should’ve been there. I should’ve seen the signs, the way she suddenly stopped talking to me, how the media started to show images of her drugged out partying, then all the rumors around Napalm Delights. And now, with me knowing what they did to her and how they left me for dead, I can’t help but worry she’s in danger.
