by LP Lovell
“When can I see her?” Harry asks in a barely audible voice.
The doctor smiles sympathetically. “You can see her now, but not for long. I’ll show you the way.” We follow behind him. I don’t know what to expect, so when he leads us to Lilly’s room, my knee’s almost give out.
Harry turns around and walks back out. “I need a minute.” He gasps. George goes with him. I don’t blame them. Lilly is hooked up to so many tubes. She has IV’s in both arms, her head is bandaged, and her leg and arm are both in a cast. She looks like a broken doll.
I take a seat in the chair next to the bed. My chest hurts. I touch her fingers, avoiding the IV in her hand. I can’t help the tears that run freely down my face. This should never have happened to her.
“I’m sorry, Lilly.” I whisper to her still form. My only response is the steady beeping and whirring of the machinery which is breathing for her. “Hang in there for me, sugar.” I squeeze her fingers. I guess some small part of me thinks it will be like a film, you know where the person miraculously wakes up against all odds. This is reality though, and she doesn’t.
Harry comes back in, his eyes bloodshot from crying. George lingers in the doorway.
“I’ll go.” I say. He needs time with her. There’s nothing I can do right now.
“What happened?” He asks as I pass him on my way to the door. I turn to face him. His eyes are fixed on Lilly.
“I…I took my eye off Cassie for one second, and she got in the car. It was one second. ” George puts his hand on my shoulder.
“It’s okay Theo. It wasn’t your fault. I distracted you.” He sniffs.
I shake my head. “No, it’s my fault. She would never have been around that crazy bitch if it wasn’t for me.”
“No, she wouldn’t.” Harry croaks.
“Harry.” George hisses. “That is not fair. No-one can make that girl do anything she doesn’t want to do. She wanted to be in that car. She was trying to stop Cassie from doing something stupid. That’s Lilly, she does crazy shit. You of all people know that.” Harry says nothing.
“It’s fine George. I’ll go and come back tomorrow.” I tell him. I don’t go though. I stay in the waiting room until Harry and George leave. Then I sneak back in and take up residence in the chair next to her bed. If they want me to leave, they will have to drag me out of here by force.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
LILLY
My head hurts, a lot. All I can hear is a steady rhythmical beep. I try to open my eyes, but my head feels so heavy. I can feel myself being pulled back under into sleep.
There are voices. Molly and George I think. They’re talking quietly, and I’m straining to hear them.
“If she doesn’t wake up soon, he’s going to snap.” George says.
“I know.” Molly agrees. “Hugo said he’s never seen him like this.” Theo, they must be talking about Theo. As my senses sharpen slightly, so does the pain, my head is killing me, and my chest hurts. Oh fuck.
I hear someone enter the room. “Her heart rate is spiking. I’m going to give her more pain meds.”
“I thought you were lowering the dosage on her meds.” George says.
“Yes, but her vitals are spiking.” Within a few minutes the pain disappears and my mind once again becomes thick and foggy. I succumb to the blackness. This is the pattern of my life for the next few days. There are spots of consciousness, voices, and hands touching mine, then nothing again, only darkness.
I open my eyes. The room is dimly lit by a lamp in the corner. My head is pounding, and I’m struggling to focus, or recall anything. This looks like a hospital room. There’s something on my face and IV’s in my arms. I try to move, but my chest and sides hurt like a bitch. I glance down at myself trying to work out what the hell happened to me, as I do, I catch sight of someone sleeping in the chair next to me. Theo. He looks rumpled and unkempt. His stubble is verging on being a full beard, and his hair looks like he’s been dragging his hands through it continuously. He stirs and his eyes flick open. He freezes when he sees me watching him.
“Lilly.” He breathes.
He stands abruptly and takes my hand. His other hand brushes my cheek. “You’re awake.” He presses his lips to my forehead. “You scared the shit out of me.” His eyes well with tears. What the hell? How long have I been here?
“Sorry.” I say, or at least I try to. My voice comes out as a raspy whisper. My throat hurts like a bitch. In fact, everything hurts like a bitch. He passes me a glass of water with a straw. I take a small sip, which soothes my parched throat. “What happened?” I whisper.
“You were in a car crash.” His eyes search my face. He grips my hand and holds on tight. “You’ve been in a coma for over a week.”
“Huh.”
“That’s it. Huh.” He smirks at me, and the worry slowly leaves his eyes.
“You look like shit.” I tell him. “Did you not wash for a week or something? That’s gross.”
He snorts. “Thanks, not even awake five minutes and slinging insults.” He never lets go of my hand.
I wince when I try to sit up. “Oh fuck.” I clasp my side and have to pant. Jesus, that hurts.
His eyes go wide with panic. “I’ll get the nurse.” He hops up and leaves the room.
A few minutes later, a rather large nurse strolls in and starts checking the machines. “I’m Brenda, and I’m your nurse tonight, Miss Parker. How do you feel?” She asks in a no nonsense tone.
“Like I was in a car crash.” I say through gritted teeth.
She gives me a stern look over her glasses. “Between one and ten how would you describe your pain?” What the hell kind of measure is that. With one being like a pin prick, and ten being immersed in lava?
“Nine.” I grunt. Jesus woman, lay some drugs on me already.
She injects something into the IV line. “That should make you feel better.” She pats my hand. “The doctor will be in to see you in the morning.” She glares at Theo and then leaves. The drugs start to kick in pretty quickly.
I grasp my side, trying fruitlessly to ease the pain. “Lilly?” He strokes my forehead gently.
“What did you do to piss her off?” I grunt. Fuck, I must have broken ribs. It hurts to breathe. I squeeze my eyes shut, waiting for the drugs to fully work their magic.
His brows furrow together as he watches me. “Refused to leave. I couldn’t leave you in this god awful place alone. I tried to get you moved to a private hospital, but you’ve been too unstable.”
“It doesn’t seem too bad.” I breathe a slightly deeper breathe as the morphine courses through my veins, numbing my brain. His features smooth as my breaths come more easily.
“No, I was really just hoping for a better coffee machine.” He smiles and my heart skips a little, as do the beeps on the machine. Oh god, really? He sits on the side of my bed and watches me intently.
“Can you stop staring at me?” I whine. “I’m not about to keel over and die.”
He shakes his head. “Never.” He leans forward and kisses my forehead. “I thought I had lost you.” His voice breaks.
I offer him a small smile. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.”
“Hugo said something very similar.” He mumbles.
I take a deep breath and fuck does it hurt, even with the morphine. I grit my teeth and try not to let on just how much pain I’m in. I swear to god, nothing is more bloody painful than broken ribs. I’ve suffered a few in my time. I meet Theo’s concerned eyes. “I remember Cassie getting in the car with me, and then nothing…” I trail off. “What happened?”
Theo clenches his jaw and drags a hand through his hair. “She was high, she got in the car because she was angry at me. You should have gotten out of the car, Lilly.” He says desperately.
“I…I felt sorry for her.” I rasp. His expression tells me there’s a whole lot he’d like to say about that, but he doesn’t. I know I shouldn’t ask, but I do anyway. “What happened to her?”
He stands up and walks away from the bed. He places his palms flat against the far wall and drops his head forward, his large frame hunched over. He says nothing. “Theo?” My voice is shaky. He doesn’t answer. “The baby?” I whisper. He still doesn’t answer me, just shakes his head.
He turns and strides back to the side of the bed. He grasps my face gently in both hands and kisses my lips gently. “You just need to get better. Okay?” His eyes meet mine.
“Okay.” I whisper. I drop it for now.
“You need to sleep sugar.” He whispers to me. His eyes are distant.
“Will you stay?” I ask him quietly.
He smiles. “Of course.” He presses his lips to my forehead before propping himself up on the bed beside me. I rest my head on his bicep and he strokes my hair until my eyelids become heavy.
When I wake up the next morning Theo is gone. The dim grey light of morning fills the hospital room. A nurse is writing on a clip board at the end of my bed.
“Hi. I’m Sarah. I’m your nurse.” She smiles sweetly. Well, this one seems considerably better than last night’s offering.
“Hey.” I rasp. My voice is still a little out of practice, and my throat hurts.
“How are you feeling this morning?”
“Sore.”
“The doctor will be in to see you shortly.” She tells me.
“Great. Do you know where the guy is who was sleeping here last night?” I ask.
“Theo has probably just gone for coffee.” Oh, first name terms? She smiles and I swear I can see a hint of a blush creep across her cheeks. It takes everything in me not to roll my eyes. Jesus, even when I’m in hospital and he looks like an unwashed homeless person he makes an impression. Speak of the devil…
Theo strolls in with a cup of coffee in his hand. His hair is a mess and he has more facial hair than the average mammal. He still manages to flash that gorgeous smile and make me melt. Apparently I’m not the only one. Seriously? Can he not just turn it down for five minutes?
“Hey, you’re awake.” He beams at me as he moves around to the side of my bed. “I’ve missed seeing your beautiful face in the morning.” I swear I hear the nurse sigh. Again, I have to restrain myself from rolling my eyes.
“Hey.” I mumble.
“I’ll be in to check on you later.” The nurse says before she scurries from the room.
“Is that coffee?” I ask.
“Of sorts. I wasn’t kidding when I said I wanted to move you, so that I could get some better coffee.” He smirks.
I take the coffee from him and take a sip. “Ugh, it tastes like shit, but I’m so caffeine deprived that I’d take anything right now.”
Theo pulls his phone out and presses it to his ear. “Hey, Lilly’s awake.” He grins. “Yeah, it is great. Listen can you stop at Costa and get her a moccachino?” There’s a pause. “Great. Thanks.” He hangs up and turns to face me.
“You’re the best.”
“Don’t forget it, sugar.” He smirks.
There’s a knock on the door and then a tall, older guy in a white coat walks in. “Good morning Miss Parker. I’m Dr. Davies, your attending doctor.” He smiles warmly.
“Hey.” I smile back at him.
“How are you feeling today?”
“My chest and my head hurts, but other than that I’m not too bad.” I tell him. Beside the fact that I have more plaster on me than the average wall.
“Okay. You suffered several broken ribs and a punctured lung, as well as a open fracture to your collar bone. It’s actually not severe, but very painful, due to you breathing.” He explains. “I operated to repair some internal bleeding. You also suffered a head trauma which caused swelling on your brain, and a fractured skull.” He goes through a list of injuries, and I swear my eyebrows must get higher the more he talks. “We induced a coma to give your brain a chance to heal. Your speech seems fine, so that’s good, but we don’t know whether there may be short term effects. Potentially you may have problems co-ordinating, or remembering certain things. We just have to take each day as it comes. At this stage I’m very happy with your progress. Dr Ryker, your orthopaedic surgeon will want to speak with you about your ankle and collar bone. Both will need further surgeries.”
“Okay, thanks.” I say numbly. Fuck! That sounds so much worse than I thought.
“I’ll be back tomorrow.” He smiles quickly and then leaves.
I turn to Theo. “That’s some serious shit.”
He frowns. “You technically died, Lilly, so yes, that’s some serious shit.”
Shit. Like actually died? I try to play it cool. “I told you, it takes more than that to off me.” The frown doesn’t leave his face. I sigh. “Come here.” I pat the spot on the bed next to me. He obediently sits with his body facing me.
I reach out and runs my fingers over his beard. “I’m fine. Don’t dwell on these things. Just be grateful for what is.”
He opens his mouth to respond just as there’s a knock at the door. Jesus, it’s like Piccadilly bloody circus in here. The door opens to reveal Molly’s smiling face.
“Oh my god.” Molly squeals as she rushes to hug me.
“Molly, not so much with the squeezing.” I wince.
“Shit, sorry. Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” I say through gritted teeth.
“I’m so happy you’re awake.”
“Thanks.” I spot Hugo talking quietly to Theo. He’s holding a cup holder with Costa cups in it. “Is that proper coffee?” I ask, looking past her.
“Oh, yeah. Here.” She moves across the room and takes a cup out of the holder. She passes the cardboard cup to me. I take a sip.
“Oh god, so good.” I sigh. “All I need now is a shower and all will be well.”
“I don’t think you’re allowed to stand up yet.” Molly says.
“Hey, I’ll give you a sponge bath if you want Lilly.” Hugo grins at me. Theo punches him in the arm. “Ow!”
“Arsehole.” Molly grumbles.
“Or better yet, can I just watch whilst that hot nurse gives you a sponge bath.” He wiggles his eyebrows.
I sigh. Theo growls. “He never learns.” Molly says exasperated.
Molly drops into the chair next to my bed and kicks her feet up on the mattress. Her long legs are clad in skin tight jeans.
“Oh, love the shoes.” She’s wearing bright pink heels.
“Thanks. They’re Jimmy’s. I’ll break them in for you and then you can have them.” She winks, knowing full well my weakness for shoes.
“It’ll be a while.” I grumble. “This sucks.” I point at my stupid cast.
“Near death experience, and you’re whining about your inability to wear heels.” She grins.
“Uh, yeah.”
She shakes her head and laughs. Theo meets my gaze from across the room, a wry smile pulling at his lips. He really is working the homeless look right now. How does he manage to look hot with that much facial hair? I’m really not a beard girl. Hell, I think it’s just him.
“Oh god, stop, you slut.” Molly rolls her eyes as she digs into her handbag and pulls out a bag of Haribo. “Don’t say I never give you anything.” She throws the bag at me.
“Have I ever told you how much I love you?” I smile at her.
“Your love is so conditional.” She huffs.
“I’m all for bribery.”
“Take note.” Molly says to Theo.
He cocks an eyebrow and smirks. “I don’t need bribery.” He points to his crotch. “I have this.” Hugo laughs and claps him on the back, because yes, he did just reach legendary levels of dickheadedness, and Hugo appreciates these things. Theo winks at me with a grin on his face.
“Animals.” Molly and I both say at the same time.
“Dude, she’s not denying it.” Hugo grins. “She only wants you for your body. She doesn’t love you like I do.” Oh god, he’s on one today.
Molly snorts. “Hugo, I hate to break it to you, but the pair of you are arsehole
s. Women only ever want you for your bodies.”
“Yeah you do sweetness.” Hugo wiggles his eyebrows. I lift an eyebrow at Molly. Last I heard, these two weren’t talking, and now they’re turning up here together, and they’re all flirty…
Theo meets my eyes and shrugs. He’s just as perplexed with his STD infestation of a friend as I am. He comes to sit on the bed next to me whilst Molly and Hugo bicker. I pop a Haribo in my mouth and watch them go back and forth.
“Is this some kind of hard-to-get chick shit?” Theo whispers in my ear.
“Not sure. It’s some shit though.” I turn my face towards his and press a Haribo against his lips. He opens his mouth and touches my finger with his tongue as he takes the little fried egg. My pulse jumps a little. Someone might need to write a memo to my vagina that she’s the only functioning part of my body right now.
“You trying to make me fat, sugar?” He smirks, knowing damn well what he’s doing.
“No. It’s like Hugo said, I only want you for your body.”
He flashes me that sexy as sin smile. “Mmmhmm.” He leans in and kisses me gently. My breath hitches and pain lances across my chest. My breath hisses between my teeth. I throw my head against the pillow as breathing suddenly feels like some kind of torture.
“Lilly? Shit, are you okay?” I grasp at my sides trying to stop the pain. I hold up my finger signalling him to give me a minute. The pain slowly subsides to an ache rather than a burning fire. “Sorry, sugar.”
