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I nodded my head before he completed the sentence. He escorted me to her room, opening the door for me. I swiftly walked inside and saw her. Her face bruised and red, tears started streaming down my face. I rushed over to her, put my hand in hers, and moved the hair out of her face to plant a kiss on her forehead. I wanted her to know I was here.
A couple of hours later, I felt movement. Stupid me fell asleep, and drool was running down my chin. “Hudson?” I looked up to see her awake. My heart couldn’t have fluttered more.
I smiled and kissed her. “Yes, I’m right here, baby. You need to rest. Go back to sleep.” She tried to sit up but winced. “You have broken ribs, don’t try to sit up.”
“Where’s Lacey? Is she okay?” she asked nervously.
I looked at her intently and replied, “She is out of surgery. The doctors are just waiting for her to wake up.”
I could see the relief on her face. It was sweet to know the first thing she thought about was her sister. Before her move to Dallas, they had never been that close. Laurel had explained to me how over the years, their relationship had gone downhill. She had hoped to repair their relationship while being out here. I believed she had succeeded.
“Could you get some things for me? I need a hairbrush, Chapstick, underwear, and socks. Heck, if you feel up to it, I’d love to have pajama pants and a t-shirt too. This gown is hideous,” she said, looking at herself.
I laughed because who thought about fashion at a time like this? Laurel. Of course, I would do anything she asked right now.
Chapter 29
Laurel
Lying awake in this hospital bed, I’d never been in so much pain. It doesn’t even come close to the last time. Lorelai was here to keep me company and helped me direct my mind off it. They had provided me a morphine drip, but I didn’t want to overuse it.
My injuries were minute compared to my sister’s. We both had cheekbone fractures and broken ribs, but she had been stabbed multiple times, thankfully missing any vital organs. Right now, she had not woken up since being brought in and going through surgery. We were right back where we started. Same hospital and all.
Lacey always marched to the beat of her own drum. She had always been so passionate about certain things like helping others and recycling. To some degree, I envied her. When we were younger, she always had good grades and was class president and valedictorian of her graduating class. I wished I had been half as smart as her. Don’t get me wrong, I got good grades, but I had to study hard whereas Lacey never really had to. Academically, she excelled, but unlike me, she had trouble fitting in. Because of our age difference, no one placed her as my sister. I tried helping her, but she refused. Before I entered high school, we were inseparable.
“Baby? You’re awake still?” Hudson walked in with a huge smile. I hugged him tight and saw the bag in his arms. He smiled and said, “I brought you the things you requested, my queen.”
He was such a dork, but I loved him. I didn’t know where I would be if I didn’t find him. I never really thought I’d meet a man like him. A man that treated me like a queen. Every day, he treated me like I was the most gorgeous girl in the world.
Hudson helped me take a shower and get cleaned up. I felt disgusting. I wanted to know what happened with Shawn, but at the same time, I was petrified to ask. What if he got away? What if he was still out there? I pulled on my sweats and t-shirt and got back in bed. It hurt so much to move.
A doctor in scrubs came in to let us know Lacey could have visitors. If I had the energy to run, I would have. I wanted to see my sister. Hudson threw me over his shoulder when he noticed how much of a hard time it was for me to walk. I guess he didn’t take into consideration my broken ribs. I screamed, echoing down the hallway, and begged him to put me down. Everyone in the surrounding area looked in our direction. They likely thought he was trying to kidnap me or something. The look on his face was like a dog that had chewed up their master’s shoe. He felt horrible, but he just wanted to help. I couldn’t be mad at him.
When we finally made it to her room, my tears started. Seeing her that way for the second time was as emotional as the first. I would never want to be used to seeing someone like that, let alone my sister. She looked peaceful at least. Hudson pulled up a chair for me to sit next to her bed as I put my hand in hers. “Sis, I’m here. You are going to be okay. Just fight. Heal. Whatever you need to. But until then, I’m here,” I said to her. There was nothing else to say besides that. She would wake up, young and full of sass; no way was she going out like that. At least, that was what my sister would say if she were awake right now.
I felt a tight squeeze on my hand. Her eyes weren’t wide-open, but she was trying to let me know she could at least hear me. That was all I needed. Confirmation that she knew I was here with her. Hudson left the room to update the mob in the waiting room. I was sure they were all wondering what was going on by now. I had to be the first to see her.
I made it to the door and noticed Hudson was standing outside. “Honey, I need to call my parents. Can you sit with her?”
“I’ll have Leo come in. He asked to see her anyway,” he said with a smile.
I walked a little bit down the hallway and found a chair to sit in. I didn’t want to call our parents, but they deserved to know. I hadn’t talked to them in a couple of months. It seemed like every time one of us was free, the other was not. I took a deep breath and pressed call
“Honey, finally, how are you?” my mom said. I shed a tear because I knew she was going to take this hard. Right now, she was completely in the dark.
Lacey made me promise when she got out of the hospital the first time to never mention it to our parents. I did as she wished then, but this time I had to tell them. My parents would never forgive me if she didn’t pull through, and they didn’t get to see her or say goodbye. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.
“I’m fine, Mom. Listen, Lacey’s in the hospital. She is out of surgery, and they believe she will wake up.” I tried to make it somewhat positive, but my mom started crying hysterically. I could hear my dad in the background asking her what was wrong, but she didn’t reply. Instead, he took the phone from her. “What is going on?”
“Dad, take a deep breath. Now, Lacey is in the hospital. She was attacked and had to have surgery. She is out now but not awake yet,” I replied. I didn’t know what else to tell them at that point. They didn’t need to know everything yet. It was too much for them to handle right now. Once we knew if Lacey would be okay or not, then she could tell them, or I would but until then, it was not happening. The last thing we needed was for one of them to have a heart attack.
Neither one of them could speak to me. I stayed on the phone, knowing that once my parents calmed down, the questions would arise. It pained me to hear them. As parents, I’m sure they never expected things like that to happen to their children. I couldn’t imagine that happening to my children one day. I’d freak. “Dad, listen. Can you make it out here? I think I need to see you. It’s been months, and Lacey will want you here when she wakes up,” I explained to him, even though they were planning to come out anyway.
“We will be out there tomorrow. I need to get off here and schedule flights. Please call if anything changes.”
I stayed sitting down while I observed person after person going in to visit Lacey. I yearned for time to cool down from speaking with my parents anyway. I had never wanted to have to be the bearer of bad news, especially when it came to something like this. I would have to explain our history and why we didn’t tell them about it. I needed rest to prepare myself for what tomorrow had in store. It would be emotional and exhausting to explain how I kept the first alteration from my parents. I didn’t want to burden them into thinking they had a reason to worry. They didn’t. Hudson could keep me safe, but I ran from him. If I would have stayed with him that day, not ran away from him like a child, then maybe none of this would have happened. Although, deep down, I still think he would have shown up for Lacey, and if I wasn’t there, then her condition could be a lot worse than it was right now. I had to hold on to that.
When the visitors stopped, I decided to lay next to my sister. I didn’t want to leave her, but rest was what we needed. I positioned myself next to her without messing with any of the cords and fell sound asleep.
