33. Chapter Thirty-Three

Chapter Thirty-Three

Mia

What is that beeping noise? It keeps pulling me from my sleep, and I just want it to go away. My head is killing me. The throbbing feels like I was hit with a baseball bat.

What happened to me?

Did I drink too much last night? I don’t remember going out. Alcohol has given me headaches before, but this feels different.

I hear whispering voices around me. I muster the strength to open my eyes, and the light makes my head pound even harder. I look around the room as I spot my brothers and my parents talking in the corner.

Where are we?

I glance down at myself. I’m in a hospital bed with an IV and tubes all around me.

My mother looks my way, and I hear a gasp. “Mia, baby. You’re awake,” she whispers as she comes to my side. “How are you feeling?”

My voice cracks as I try to speak. “My head hurts.”

Her soft, comforting hand strokes my forehead. “That makes sense. You hit your head pretty hard. I’ll call the nurse in and see if we can get you some more medicine to make you comfortable.”

Ma almost runs out of the room to go find a nurse.

Pa comes up and kisses my cheek. “You scared us, sweetheart.”

“What happened?” I ask, looking around at my brothers.

They gather around my bed, hands in their pockets like some kind of synchronized scene.

“You don’t remember?” Gabe asks carefully.

I try to think about the last thing I remember. Getting home from work, showering, then it dawns on me. “Don.”

They nod their head in agreement.

“I fell down the stairs,” I say as I start to recall the evening.

“So, he was telling the truth,” Gabe mutters through a tense jaw.

They all look at each other as if speaking in code. I look between them as I try to figure out what they are trying to say to each other.

“What do you mean?” I ask, voice still hoarse.

“He was the one who got you to the hospital,” Marcus says as he steps closer. “He claimed it was all an accident. Is that true?”

Was it? I remember him breaking in, begging for me to hear him out. Then I remember starting to go down the stairs and losing my balance when he started to come closer to me.

“I guess so. I mean, I was walking down the stairs and lost my balance when he started coming closer to me. I don’t know what he planned on doing, and I just got scared. I lost my footing and…” I say as tears fill my eyes.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Lucas says softly. “We don’t need to rehash all of this right now. All that matters is that he will never be bothering you again.”

“How do you know that?” I ask.

“He told us he never intended to hurt you. It wasn’t until you were hurt that realized how far he had taken this. He promised he would stay away. Either way, we pressed charges, and the police took him away. Not before I threatened the fucker’s life if he so much as thinks about you,” Gabe speaks harshly.

Before I can ask any other questions Ma walks in the room with a male and female following her.

The woman, dressed in a white coat, approaches my bed. “Mia, I’m happy to see you’re awake. You took quite a spill.”

I smile and nod my head in response.

“You suffered a pretty significant head injury. We needed to put thirty stitches in your head to close the wound. How are you feeling?”

My hand rubs my temple. “My head hurts pretty bad.”

“That’s to be expected. You hit your head pretty hard. All scans show that your brain was not affected. Now that you are awake, we can offer something to manage the pain. You also bruised your back but luckily did not break anything. Your body will feel pretty banged up for a couple weeks.”

She turns to the nurse and tells him what to give me for pain management then tells me she’ll check back on me soon.

With that, the nurse orders my meds through a tablet. “We’ll get you more comfortable soon,” he assures me.

“When will I get released?” I ask as he checks the monitors around me.

“The doctors will likely want you here for another day or two to make sure you’re healing properly. They are always more cautious with head injuries. You can never be too careful. I’ll be back with your meds soon.”

I look back at my brothers once he’s gone. “I’m sorry about all of this.”

Marcus rolls his eyes. “I told you guys she was gonna try to make this her fault.”

“I’m not saying it’s my fault,” I sigh then lay my head back.

The first thing that my brain conjures up is an image of Eric. I wish he were here. Even after everything he said and how he made me feel, I’ve never felt more protected than I did in his arms.

I wonder what he would do if he found out about this. Would he even care enough to call me?

“Does anybody have my phone?” I ask.

Gabe pulls it out of his pocket. “Layla called a couple of times today. Alex answered and told her what happened. I hope that’s okay.”

I nod my head as I grab my phone. “That’s fine. What did she say?”

“She freaked out. Insisted on coming up here immediately. Alex convinced her to stay put and let you rest. There’s enough of us here to make sure you’re okay.”

“Thanks,” I reply.

I want to ask if there were any missed calls or texts from anybody else, but I’m too afraid to hear the answer.

The nurse finally comes back with some medicine to ease my pain. As soon as he puts it into my IV, I can feel it take effect. With the pain beginning to subside, my fatigue starts to set in. My eyelids start to feel like they are being pulled down by weights.

“Alright, let’s let Mia get some rest,” Ma interrupts the men as they all continue to talk around me. She kisses me gently on my forehead. “I’ll be here when you wake up.”

I want to tell her to go home and get some rest of her own, but everything starts to fade as sleep takes over.