"Leah! Leah honey, I need you to wake up!"

It hurts so much…

"Why isn't she responding? He must have done some serious damage."

Why would he do this to me?

"That ambulance is taking forever! Leah! Leah, stay with me!"

The pain is so intense…

"She's still not responding! Where's that ambulance?"

I can't feel my left arm…

"When I find that brother of mine, I'm going to make him wish he was never born!"

Stevie? How did she find me?

"Come on, Leah! Stay with me, here! The medics are on their way! Just hold on for a little bit longer!"

How long have I been lying here?

"Oh thank God! Okay Leah, here comes the ambulance. Don't worry sweetie, we're going to get you taken care of."

Where's Colden?

"We're in here! Hurry, she's lost a lot of blood!"

My head is throbbing, it hurts so much…

"Please, please, Leah! Hold on! These nice men are going to take good care of you."

Where are we going? I can't see anything…

"We'll be at the hospital in no time, sweetie. God, can't this ambulance go any faster?"

Is this real life?

"Yes, doctor. I'm her best friend. I called her earlier, and when she didn't pick up, I went over to see if anything was wrong. And when I got there…"

Jim's going to be mad if there's blood on the carpet…

"Be strong, Leah! I'll see you when you get out of surgery! I promise!

Everything's fading…

XXXX

Bill sighed as he sat by Leah's side in the small hospital room. When Stevie had called and told him and Tom about what had happened, they flew over from Germany as fast as the plane would take them.

It had nearly been a week since the incident, and Leah had never regained full consciousness. Stevie and Tom had gone back to her place to rest about an hour ago, but Bill insisted that he'd stay by Leah's side no matter what.

Every once in a while, she'd lightly squeeze Bill's hand; surging his hope to unreachable heights, only for them to be dashed once again as she fell back into her unconscious state.

He stood up slowly, careful to set Leah's hand down gingerly. Making his way to the window, he thought to himself, "Why would he do this to her?"

Leah had told Bill about Colden many times over the phone, and from what she had told him, he seemed like a decent guy. But now...

Bill's expression twisted into one of sorrow and pain as he attempted to imagine what she had been through. "It's just not fair! I should have been there to protect her! I could have done something! Why did I have to hang up when she heard that noise? I should have known that something was wrong." He rested his head against the glass window and let a few silent tears slip from his eyes.

"Leah…Leah…" he whispered through the tears. "I'm so sorry…"

Glancing back at the hospital bed, seeing Leah all bandaged up and bruised, Bill made a conscious decision.

"I'm never going to leave her side again."

Wiping his tears, he took a deep breath and made his way back over to the bed, taking a hold of her hand.

"I promise, Leah. Things are going to be different from now on." He gently squeezed her hand and studied her face, awestruck at how amazingly beautiful she was, even covered in bruises and bandages.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, though he would never admit to it, he knew he loved her. He just hoped and prayed she'd wake up soon.

XXXX