CHAPTER 36: The Fault Is Mine

EMILY'S POV:

When I woke up, I panicked. My chest was on fire, and ached with every rushed breath I took. I tried to sit up, but the quick attempt made my head spin, and I fell back on the bed with a sigh. After a few minutes, I slowly remembered everything that had happened.

I glanced around the room. It was plain for the most part, and reeked of chemicals and cleaning supplies. My left arm was in a cast, and a white bandage was wrapped around my chest. I didn't know what exactly had happened to cause the obviously broken parts of me, but I didn't care. At that moment all I wanted was to make sure Spencer was okay.

I bit back tears as her voice replayed in my head. Her screaming from the other end of the phone, absolutely terrified. I had hurt her, and worse, she probably was so worried she may have hurt herself.

I sighed as the door opened and the doctor walked in.

"Ms. Fields, glad to see that you're awake. How are you feeling?"

The doctor was in his mid-twenties, but seemed very certain with what he was doing. His blue eyes stood out amongst his rather dark brown hair. He was decently attractive, but I didn't care. I just wanted to see Spencer.

"I'm fine. Where are my friends, and family?" I asked, anxious to see them.

"They're in the waiting room. I can allow visitors to visit you soon, but we have to go through some basic procedures first." He pulled out a pen and started to take notes as he checked the machinery around the room.

"Okay…" I was eager to get everything done with.

"Ms. Fields, can you tell me your name, and the name of your close friends?" He asked.

"Why do you want to know?" I snapped. After all those years of A tormenting us, I had learned to not trust people right away.

"It's just procedure Miss. It's something very important to check in car crash victims." He explained. I sighed, and nodded.

"My name is Emily Fields, and I have…three friends by the names of Aria, Spencer, and Hanna." I rolled my eyes impatiently.

"Thank you. Now tell me, does anything hurt?"

I paused and thought for a moment.

"My chest is a little sore, and my head hurts, but otherwise I'm fine." I admitted.

"Great. I can have a nurse bring some ibuprofen by for your head. As for your chest, you broke one rib in your upper right mid-section, and bruised another right below it." He informed me.

"Okay." Despite hearing that I had broken a rib, I was pretty okay. I had survived, miraculously, and all that mattered to me was that Spencer was okay.

"What exactly happened?" I was curious, and wanted to know what Spencer saw so I could prepare myself for the trauma she might be in.

"A drunk driver ran a stop sign and rammed into the side of your car. Luckily it wasn't going fast enough to cause you any further injuries, however the impact was enough to-"

"Okay, that's fine thank you." I sighed, not wanting to know all the gory details.

"Can I see my friends now?" I asked again.

"Yes, I believe I have everything I need. I have some paperwork to do with your mother, but I can wait if you want to talk to her." He glanced up at me from his clipboard.

"No, you can get the paperwork done. If there's a Spencer Hastings out there waiting for me, I'd like if you could send her in. Only her." I specified. He raised his eyebrow at me, but didn't ask any further questions.

"Will do. Let me know if you need anything Ms. Fields. There's a button-"

"Yeah I know." I smiled sweetly, waiting until he left to finally sighed and fall back on the bed.

Fifteen to twenty minutes must have gone by before I heard the sound of footsteps outside the door. I sat up slowly, and waited.

Whoever was out there was talking, but weren't coming in. I sighed, knowing it was probably that idiot doctor keeping Spencer by asking questions. I knew he meant well, but I had to see Spencer.

Minutes later the door burst open, and Spencer walked in. Her face fell as soon as she saw me, and I bit my lip to keep from crying.

Her face was red, and her hair was a mess. She looked as though she had run a marathon, and was pale. She was breathing hard, and I knew she must have been exhausted. When Spencer walked forward, I also couldn't help but notice she was limping.

She literally looked as though she had been through hell and back.

"Spencer…" I opened my arms as she approached my bed, and enveloped her in a hug.

She sobbed into my shoulder, and I pat her back comfortingly.

"Spencer, it's okay." I murmured.

Finally she snapped out of whatever emotional state she was in, and pulled away to look me in the eyes.

"I should be comforting you…" She sniffed. "God, I'm sorry Em. I was just…I was so scared…I thought I had lost you." Her eyes were dark and haunted. As if she had looked death in the face and then walked away.

"I know." I replied solemnly. "But I'm here now. I was lucky." I smiled.

Spencer nodded, and smiled back, but it was filled with sorrow and grief.

"Hey, come here." I pat the bed, and she looked at me questionably before jumping up and moving until she was lying next to me.

"Spencer what's wrong?" I asked once she was adjusted.

"Nothing. " She muttered, and looked away from me.

"Spencer…" I scolded. "You can't tell me there's nothing wrong when I can read you like a book and see that something is very wrong." I pointed out. She sighed, and tears welled in her eyes.

"I…I'm so sorry." She sniffed. "If I hadn't called you...you wouldn't be here…in this mess…" She bit her lip to keep from choking on her emotions.

"Spencer stop." I demanded. She flinched at the sharpness of my voice.

"Spencer, don't you dare hold yourself responsible for this. If you hadn't called me, I would still be in this mess. It was the drunk driver, not you. Don't ever say that it's your fault again." I insisted.

"But-"

"No. Spencer, I don't want you to feel guilty for what happened. It had nothing to do with your phone call. Seriously." I reassured the stressed girl in front of me.

"Fine…" Spencer snapped softly.

"Thank you Spence." I smiled, and pecked her on the lips gently.

We sat in silence for a long time. Eventually she brought her hands forward and was playing with the ends of my hair, lovingly. The two of us were content, and at peace with just being together.

"Spencer, why were you limping when you came in?" I asked eventually.

"Oh…that." Spencer chuckled nervously. "If I tell you, promise you won't yell at me." She looked up, her eyes pleading.

"Okay?"

"Well, when I heard you scream…I didn't know what had happened. I panicked, and ran outside. I thought I could come get you…I don't know why. It's stupid now that I think about it. However, I was trying to find you, so I ran all the way there without shoes, and I guess according to Melissa I ran over some broken glass and stuff. I don't know, I don't remember, I was in such a state of panic." She admitted.

"Oh Spence…" I ran my finger along her jawbone gently.

"It's okay Em. I don't mind." She smiled, and snuggled into me.

"I'm just glad you're here, and not dead." Spencer sniffed.

"Me too." I closed my eyes, exhausted from the pain my body was maintaining.

"Are you okay?" Spencer asked, immediately worried something was wrong.

"I'm fine Spencer, just tired." I replied honestly. I opened my eyes to look at her for a minute. Her eyes were half closed, and she looked barely awake.

"Spencer, you should get some rest too." I insisted.

"Are you sure? I can just sit here with you. That way if you need anything-"

"Spence, I'll be fine. Really. You need more sleep than I do with all that worrying you must have done." I pointed out.

"That's true, but-"

"No buts, just go to sleep Spence." I insisted.

"Fine." Spencer sighed. We sat for a minute before I felt my own eyes start to grow heavy.

"I love you Emily. I love you so much." Spencer muttered before yawning and closing her eyes.

I nodded slowly and closed my eyes as well.

"I love you too Spencer. I'll always love you."