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“You okay there, big man?” she teases, and I’m pretty sure my chest is going to explode with happiness.
“I am now.” I run my thumb down the side of her face and just look at her. “I’ve missed you so much.”
Her eyebrows furrow at my words. “What happened? Why am I in the hospital?”
“You don’t remember anything?” As helpful as it would be to get her side of the story, it’s probably best if she doesn’t remember.
She shakes her head and then winces.
“Careful. You’ve been through a lot this last week.”
“I’ve been here a week?” she asks, her eyes wide in surprise.
“What’s the last thing you remember?”
“Um… I guess my mom coming over to help me pack. I don’t remember her leaving or anything after.”
A nurse walks into the room as I’m about to answer. “Sorry to interrupt, but this was left for you at the desk. I didn’t see who left it, though.” She hands me a plain envelope with my name written in all caps on the outside.
The hairs on the back of my neck stand up as I open the familiar envelope.
You should’ve listened. Now your girl is damaged and broken because of you.
The blood drains from my face, and the realization hits me like a brick wall. Natalie got hurt because of me. Because I didn’t take the threat seriously.
“What is it?” Natalie asks, probably seeing the distress on my face.
Before I can say anything, Kathrine comes walking into the room. “You’re awake!”
She rushes over to the bed and gently runs her hands over Natalie’s head.
“Hi, Mom,” Natalie says.
“It’s so good to see you. God, you had us so worried there for a while.”
“I’m still not sure what happened.”
“We can talk about it later. All of your friends are in the waiting room dying to see you. Think you’re up for it?” Kathrine asks.
“Sure. I may not stay awake the whole time but I’d love to see them.” Natalie eyes me from the bed, trying to figure out what’s going on, but I can’t form any words through the guilt and regret clogging my throat.
Over the course of the next hour, all of our friends come in and check on Natalie. I can tell she’s trying hard to stay awake as Sara and Levi talk to her. Luckily, they notice her struggling and say goodbye to let her sleep.
I run my hand over Natalie’s hair as she falls asleep, repeating I’m so sorry in my head over and over.
“Why don’t you go home and take a real shower, get some food and then come back?” Kathrine suggests. She’s sitting on the other side of Nat’s bed, looking at me like any mother would her child. Her constant love and support through all of this has been both crushing and amazing.
It’s made me realize how much I missed out on not having a mom who cared, and I’m glad Katherine has taken me under her wing.
“She’s not going to wake up for a while since her friends have tired her out,” she points out, and I know she’s right. I could also use a moment alone to process what that note means and what I should do about it.
I run my hands through my hair, and the feel of the dirty strands against my fingers decides for me. “Okay, I’ll be back in an hour. Call me if she wakes up or something changes.”
Kathrine nods at me, and I grab my stuff to head home. It’s weird leaving the hospital after having been there for so long.
I’ve been checking in with Tim and Jessica on how Noah is doing. I haven’t been able to see him, which has been killing me, but I wasn’t going to leave Nat. I also didn’t want him to worry about her.
They’ve kept him busy and let me talk on the phone with him a few times, which has helped a little.
