Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans
Kori was awake, she knew she was awake, but her eyes really didn't feel like opening. She groaned and tried to go back to sleep, but suddenly realized there was something gripping her hand rather tightly. Against her will, she opened her bleary eyes to see Richard.
"Kori? Can you hear me?" he asked softly. His voice was hoarse, his face was paler than she'd ever seen it, and he looked ready to have a panic attack. His grip on her hand loosened, but he didn't let go. "It's me, Dick."
"I know," she responded shakily. He visibly relaxed, slumping and sighing. Kori could finally see where she was.
White. White everywhere. She was lying on a bed. Her hand was connected to an IV, and she heard a heart moniter beeping. Curtains surrounded her, allowing space only for her bed, the chair Richard was sitting on, and a little room for a person, say, a doctor, to pace. She was in a hospital room.
"What...?" Kori started, trying to get up. An excruciating pain jolted her entire body, and her head seemed to slice open with a massive headache. She cried out and Richard pushed her back down, very much tense again. A throb still remained. "Ouch," she said finally.
"Yeah," Richard muttered. "I'd ask how you were feeling, but it's pretty obvious."
Kori laughed a little, but that hurt too. In fact, anything but moving her head around was out of the question. "Richard...what happened? Why am I here?" she croaked.
"You don't remember?" he questioned. Just asking that looked like it caused him as much pain as it would cause her to run the marathon right now. "I went to your house...and..." He broke off, scooting his chair back and looking away. She must have been imagining it...or could there really have been a tear sliding down his cheek?
"Richard?"
"Korina! My bumgorf, you are awake!" Galfore rushed into the room, looking ready to grab her into a bear hug, but wisely decided against it. "We have all been so worried. So worried..." He glanced at Richard solemnly, but the boy was busy memorizing the pattern on the floor tiles. "How are you feeling?"
Kori caught herself right before shrugging. "I don't know. What happened, Galfore?"
Richard jumped up suddenly, and moved back the curtain, ready to leave. "Dick?" Galfore asked.
He didn't even look back. "I don't need to hear this again."
Kory was shocked at his sudden departure, but Galfore just nodded to himself, like he had expected it. "He was very distraught when he called us from the ambulance. He could not speak. He has not spoken since he called 9-9-1." Kori mentally thanked X'hal that it was Richard who'd called the emergency hotline and not Galfore.
"But why would he have to?" Why was she in so much pain? Why was Richard crying? Why was she in a hospital? Why couldn't she remember anything from last night?
"Korina...last night, someone broke into our home. They hurt you horribly. Had Dick not arrived, you would have..." The big man looked like he was trying to talk, but no words came out. Kori took a deep breath.
"Died?" Galfore swallowed and nodded.
"The doctors believed you would not wake up. You had...lost so much blood, Korina. You had a concussion, far too severe to have resulted from falling on the floor. The attacker had bludgeoned you."
"Who? Who was it?" she asked fearfully. She hadn't been scared before, there had been too much pain. But now, the reality hit her. Hard. She'd been attacked. Someone had apparently attempted murder. On her.
Galfore shrugged, his eyes fraught with sadness. "We do not know. The police are looking into it, but so far, they have found nothing."
Richard didn't remember calling 9-1-1. He didn't remember helping the paramedics break down the door to Kori's home, helping them lift her body on to the stretcher. He didn't remember climbing into the ambulance with them, or calling Galfore and giving the phone to the paramedic. But he did remember the whole, agonizing, ten-minute ride. He hadn't been ble to take his eyes off Kori. And not in the good way.
He was glad, in a way, that his vision had blurred, even though all he could see was the red, red from her hair, red from her blood. At least he couldn't distinguish the difference anymore. Kori needs a haircut, that's all. It was pretty easy to tell he was a wreck.
He'd nearly collapsed, on getting out of the ambulance, but he forced himself to get up. Kori needed him, and they were taking Kori away. He needed to follow them. And so, Richard had stumbled along with them until they made him wait outside the ER. The next thing he knew, Galfore was there, shaking him awake, telling him that he'd passed out. Fainted. Him.
But there wasn't time to worry about his well being. Kori had been stabilized. She was sleeping soundly, now, and was sure to wake up soon. That was all Richard had bothered to hear from Galfore before rushing into Kori's room. He grabbed a chair and sat down by her bed.
Her face was virtually clear of any wounds, besides a gigantic bruise on the side of her head. Her arms had a few cuts on them, but nothing too major. The rest of her body was covered with a white sheet, and Richard didn't dare try to even think what might lie under that. He stroked her cheek, a garbled sound making it's way out of his throat. And that was when everything hit him at full force. Before, it had been dulled by his shock, but now...
He sank back in his chair, panting. Kori got hurt! Kori's in the hospital, and it's all your fault! Stupid, stupid, stupid! If you hadn't listened to her, if you'd've gone and met her, she'd be fine! And now look, you're not doing a thing about it, you're sitting here and crying! Like you're nine years old!
He was crying. And the relevation startled him. He hadn't cried in...forever. Not since his parents died. But he'd had the same feeling then: the overwhelming sadness, the helplessness while they were carted off, knowing he'd never see them again...
Idiot. She's alive. She'll be fine, the doctors said.
What if she's not? What if she hates me because this is all my fault--
And Kori woke up.
I didn't kill her! Though it goes against popular belief, I am NOT a murderer, and I feel rather hurt you thought me to be one.
Haha, just kidding, but I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. More drama is coming soon!
