Ricks POV
I'd spent a half hour outside scrubbing the blood stains from the inside of my truck. I hadn't realized so much time had passed. There was just so much blood. It wasn't until Lilly came out to see me that I realized how long I had been outside. She approached me and called out to me, grabbing my attention.
"Hey!" she called. I turned to lock eyes with her.
"Hey… what are you doin out here?" I asked.
"Was wondering what was keeping you, Kate was asking for you" i checked my phone for the time, i really had been out here awhile.
"Shit. I'm sorry I didn't realize how long it's been," I told Lilly. I felt bad. Kate was asking for me? Why me?
"I didn't want to make you feel bad, I just wanted to check on you," Lilly said.
"I'm fine. Really… i just needed to clean this" i said motioning to the truck. Lilly took a look inside the truck silently.
"Is that blood?" she asked.
"Yeah. it was worse but… i've been cleaning" i told her as i got back to work. It was silent for a few moments before she spoke again.
"You haven't eaten have you?" she asked me.
"I can't Lilly," I said.
"Okay. after this you and I are heading to the cafeteria to get something" she stated. I only cocked my head before resuming my task.
"How much was there?" Lilly asked me.
"Well… she coughed up blood in the dashboard, and bled on the seat, and then I left a handprint on my side when I went to turn the car off, and… just a little bit on the ignition,'' I said, wiping the ignition clean. "I wasn't worried about the truck though, I was terrified that I would lose Kate… i'm glad it didn't go down that way" i said, eyeing Lilly again. She leaned on the truck before responding.
"Thanks to you," she said.
"I… wouldn't risk losing her," I said as I continued to wipe.
"Do you… like Her?" she asked, causing me to stop wiping.
"Of course I do," I said nervously.
"No like… like Her" Lilly pushed, looking slightly over her shoulder. I took a moment looking into space. Should I answer truthfully?
"Lilly i… love Her" I said. she turned to fully face me though the open truck doors. We met eyes only for a split second before I quickly broke eye contact. I started wiping at the blood again, hoping that Lilly wouldnt think I was weird.
"Oh Rick," she said softly. "You should tell her how you feel," she told me.
"lilly... I just befriended her… I don't want to do anything that will wreck that," I explained.
"You think it would ruin the two of you?" she asked.
"I don't want to take the risk… plus she wouldn't want a guy like me" I said. Lilly walked around the front of the truck to get to me on the driver's side. Once she was there she stood directly in front of me and looked into my eyes.
"You're wrong," she said. I could only get lost in thought. Lilly then took the bloody wet wipe out of my hand. "Come on. You need a brake" she said motioning towards the hospital. She started walking back.
"It's not that much work," I called. She waved her hand motioning me to follow her. I closed the truck doors in defeat before following her inside.
The cafeteria had a buffet type of style where you just grab what you want before paying for it at the checkout. I just grabbed a small basket of fries. Lilly wanted a cup of jello so I bought it for her. We sat down next to one of the windows before eating. It took a bit but eventually I managed to eat one of the fries.
"You're a good person Rick," Lilly said. I only gazed at her before choking down another fry.
"When Kate got hit by that car… I didn't see it… i heard it but i didn't see it" i said looking down at the table before glancing back up to meet Lily's eyes. "If I knew it was coming… i woulda switched places with her instantly… I hate seeing her like this…" i took a moment before continuing. "This morning Kate went to get out of bed… she was being helped up by a nurse and she screamed in pain… when i saw her go down i… I don't think I ever felt worse in my life, I just wanted to hold her close, tell her it was all going to be okay, but i couldn't. I could only hold her by the hand" I finished.
"I'm sure you're doing the best you can," Lilly assured me. I ate another fry.
"I need to get back to her," I said.
"I'm sure she'll be happy to see you," Lilly responded. I looked back down at the fries. There was still half a basket. I stood up and grabbed them. "Hey" Lilly said, wanting me to finish eating.
"I'll eat them later," I said as I continued to leave. Lilly followed. As we walked she caught up and continued alongside me.
"It's not a race you know," she said. "What about your truck?" she asked.
"I'll worry about it later, Kates more important to me," I said.
"I see…" Lilly responded. "You should tell her how you feel," Lilly recommended.
"It wont go well, as much as i would love to be with her,,, take care of her, make her happy…" I told her. It was quiet for a moment. Just the sound of our footsteps walking down the hall.
"You might be surprised," Lilly told me before we made it back to Kate's room.
When we got back Eve looked at us.
"There you two are," she said. Kate smiled at me. She was happy to see me. I sat back down in my chair and to my surprise Kate took my hand before I could take hers.
"I missed you" she told me with a warm smile. I just covered her hand with my other hand. Holding hers with both of mine as I looked into her eyes.
"Careful you two" Eve said with a smug look. I felt Kate squeeze my hand a bit when Eve said that. I saw Lilly in the corner of my eye raise an eyebrow. As if she was telling me to open up to Kate.
"Sorry it took so long," I said.
"I'm just glad you finally ate something," Eve said.
"Those fries smell great," Kate said. Eyeing them.
"Sorry but you're on a liquid diet" Eve reminded Kate. Kate just gave a light scoff.
"You look like you're doing better" I said..
"Yea… but the doctors said it was only because of the pill i took earlier, i don't feel as much pain now but once it leaves my system… i'll be hurting again" Kate told me looking scared.
"Well, just tell them when you're hurting," Eve said.
"I'm sure they'll give you another one, '' Lilly added.
"It's just the thought that i have to start hurting again" Kate said with her ears down.
"You'll get through it" I told her. She smiled warmly.
"Did they say when she can come home?" Lilly asked.
"They want to keep her one more night to observe Her and if she's feeling better tomorrow she can come home," Eve said. Kate whimpered.
"I want to go home," she said with teary eyes.
"Aw i know baby i know" Eve said, placing a hand on Kate's leg. Kate then turned to me again.
"Can you stay with me?" she pleaded.
"Oh Kate let the boy go home, he doesn't want to stay here all day," Eve said.
"I'd love to stay," I said. "I just… need to let my folks know" Eve cranked her head to meet my eyes a bit from the side.
"Are you sure? I can just come back if she's lonely" she offered.
"Well if that's on the table then it's not up to me" I said, returning my eyes to Kate. she didn't speak. She only placed her other hand over mine and smiled lightly again.
"I guess she made up her mind," Lilly said.
"I guess so…" Eve added. Really? She chose me over her mom?
After about an hour of catching up Eve and Lilly left. They said they would be back tomorrow and call later. We said our goodbyes before it was just me and Kate again. The time was only 2:30. I hugged Eve and Lilly and sat down as they left the room. Kate reached for my hand so I gave it to her.
"I don't think my mom ever liked a high school boy as much as you," Kate said.
"What makes you say that?" I asked.
"Well you should see the way she's acted around other boys, especially my ex-boyfriends, plus I think when we told Her you fed me soup she thought it was the cutest thing ever" Kate explained as we shared a laugh.
"Well your mother and I have a bit of history, she knows my family, '' I said.
"No… i think she just… likes you" Kate told me.
"You think?" I asked. Kate only nodded.
"Uh-huh" I smiled again before slowly dropping it.
"So if you don't mind me asking… Why did you want me to stay?" I asked.
"Did you not want to?" Kate asked back.
"No no no no I do. I really do," I said quickly. I really didn't want to give the impression that I didn't want to be there. "It's just that… you had to choose between me and your mother. I wouldn't think you wanted me here, especially over your mom" i explained quietly. There was a long silence before Kate spoke again.
"You comfort me Rick," she said.
Kate did something I'll never forget. She lifted Her hand and with the back of it brushed my face lightly. I held her hand and held it close as I closed my eyes. A tear rolled down my cheek as I held it.
"Rick?" Kate asked, concerned.
"I should have paid more attention," I told her. She asked me what I meant. "If I did , I would have seen the car… i could have done something… pushed you out the way, got you to safety" i explained. Kate narrowed her eyes.
"RIck, you had no way of knowing, it's not your fault," she told me.
"I just hate seeing you like this. I'd trade with you in a heartbeat" i said, placing Her hand back on the bed, continuing to hold it.
"I know you would," Kate replied softly. At that moment I wanted to just kiss her. Right then and there. I wanted to tell her how much I loved her.
"I'm glad I found you," she said.
"Me to" I replied before it was just silence. After a few moments she… holy fuck is she leaning over to me? She's got lusty eyes. Oh she's trying to kiss me is she? But this is all so fast. Why would she want to kiss a guy she just noticed? Especially if it's her first kiss. Do I mean that much to Her? Well… if i do i guess i shouldn't deny her. I leaned forward as well. Kate squeezed my hand a bit. It was cute. Just before our lips connected the curtain at the door got pulled causing us to snap out of it and jump back. It was the nurse from before with another tray.
"Alright , I have some lunch and meds for you sweetie," she said as she pushed the cart over to Kate.
"oh… thanks, '' Kate responded.
"Of course, of course" the nurse said as she went to collect the other caret.
"Can we keep this one?" I asked.
"Sure" she said before walking out. "Just call if you need anything," she reminded me. I sighed. What a mood killer. But at least Kate can eat again to build her strength. That is more important.
Kate took the lid off the plastic bowl before sighing.
"Something wrong?" I asked. She glanced at me and smirked.
"It's chicken soup again," she said.
"They did say liquid diet, take that pill so you're not hurting later" i told her. She did after I handed her her juice. That's when I realized something. "Hey… you're drinking by yourself," I said.
"Yeah, I'm gonna eat myself too," she said.
"I'm so glad you're feeling better," I told her.
"Well I'm not a hundred percent yet but I'll get there," she told me.
"I have no doubt," I smiled. We put on the TV as she ate and ended up watching whatever was on nickelodeon at the time. Not sure what it was. I was lost in thought. Did Kate really want to kiss me? Is she on some other medicine that I don't know about? I just can't wrap my head around it. After Kate was done eating she took one last sip of juice. "Empty?" I asked.
"Yeah" she answered.
"Want me to get you more?" I asked.
"No. i'll just ask for more when the nurse comes by'' she said. I'm so glad she's getting better. She grabbed my hand again and held it. I glanced at her and she gave me another warm smile. We sat watching the TV, holding hands until I eventually fell asleep.
When I awoke. It was dark outside, all the street lights were lit in the parking lot. It was quiet, and the TV was off. Turning to my left I saw that Kate had also fallen asleep. Still holding my hand. I checked my phone for the time. 8:45 it read. I groaned as I felt a wave of guilt. Kate asks me to stay with her and I fall asleep, figueres. I then saw that I had multiple texts from Angel. Stuff like "hey. How's Kate doing?" and then "hey. Why aren't you answering? You aren't doing her already are you?" then it was "mom wants to know if you want to be picked up she needs an answer some time this week" i groaned again as i texted back.
"Sorry I fell asleep, Staying with Kate again tonight. She should get out tomorrow` I hit send and waited for an answer. Eventually one came.
"Fell asleep? Wow she must have tired you out. I'll let mom know you're staying" i didn't reply mostly because i didn't know what part of the text to reply to first, the one where she says she's telling mom for me? Or the one where she accuses me of screwing Kate. I heard Kate let out a light groan as she started to stir.
"Sorry I fell asleep," she said.
"I fell asleep first," I said.
"Did you? I thought I did" Kate said giggling.
"I don't know, I just remember dozing off," I told her
. "Either way, i asked you to be here and fell asleep on you, sorry about that" Kate said.
"No. I fell asleep on you if anything,' I said back.
"Did you though?" Kate asked with another smile. Before I could respond my phone started ringing. I checked it only to see that Eve was trying to facetime me.
"Your mom is trying to facetime with us" I told Kate before moving up on the bed and getting close to Kate. As I lowered myself and stuck my arm out Kate rested Her hand on my arm, and leaned against my shoulder. It was a nice, warm feeling. I swiped answer and saw Eve and Winston on the phone.
"Hey guys," Kate said.
"Kate. sorry i couldn't be there earlier, you know how i work" Winston said.
"I know dad, I'm not mad," Kate said.
"You don't need me anyway, you've got your boyfriend there" he said pointing to me. I gave a joking smile and waved.
"Hey Winston" did he really just call me her boyfriend?
"Thanks for taking care of our baby," he said.
"Of course," I said. Kate's grip tightened a bit.
"So Kate." Eve started. "The doctors called and said that you should be ready to leave by tomorrow morning, they sent over some scripts to our pharmacy which i already got, and they said if you're up for it you can leave, they just wanted to observe you for one more night to make sure you were okay." Eve finished.
"I can't wait, '' Kate said happily.
"Now when you come home you'll need crutches which the hospital already said they were going to provide, once you're back in school you'll need to be careful" Winston explained.
"Don't worry, I'll watch over her at school" I said.
"I know you will," Eve said.
"So we'll see you tomorrow?" Kate asked.
"First thing," Winston said.
"Okay. I love you guys" Kate said.
"We love you too. Bye you guys" Eve said waving. We said one last goodbye before hanging up.
I went to get up to sit back in the chair but Kate stopped me.
"Why don't you… stay up here?" she asked.
"I don't want to take up the whole bed" I told her as I tried to get off again. She stopped me again.
"You'll be fine, I just want someone to be close to," Kate explained.
"I'll be close," I said.
"Is it because I haven't showered in two days?" she asked. I haven't even thought of that. She smelled great actually. Like strawberries. I hope I was fine.
"No i'm not saying that-" i started before Kate cut me off.
"Then lay down with me," she pleaded. I gave up and layed back down. She slowly shifted to one side as I took up another, trying to take up as little space as possible. My right leg was hanging off but this was still way better than sleeping in that chair. Kate nuzzled into my neck as we shared the one pillow we had. She sighed in comfort.
"You okay?" I asked.
"Never better": she smiled as she put the TV back on.
"Just let me know if I hurt you" I said.
"You would never hurt me" she responded before planting a soft kiss on my cheek. Holy shit this might be the best day of my life. Eventually we found something to watch on a different channel. Some horror movie on syfy, I don't think either of us were paying attention though. We were lost in our own thoughts. Kate never stopped snuggling me. It was so warm and comfortable. Eventually we fell asleep together.
Kates POV
I woke up the next morning smiling. I don't think i slept that good in awhile, despite the pain in my side which was slowly starting to fade. I opened my eyes to see Rick sleeping beside me. I was still buried in his neck from the night before. He was so comfy, if i wasn't in pain i would have really snuggled with him. This whole thing has really confused me and I don't even know where to start. Rick is just so… nice. Every day I feel more and more guilty about how I treated him. But at least I can fix that now by being a good friend of his. Light was pouring into the window, nearly blinding me. I couldn't bear to look at it. I groaned, waking Rick.
"Morning," he said, waking up.
"Morning… how'd you sleep?" I asked.
"Great actually," he said, giving me a happy feeling. He stood up before stretching and checking his phone. "Your mom should be here soon," he said.
"Good" I responded before noticing a pill on the cart next to me along with a cup of water. I took it so that I could get rid of the pain I was feeling and then relaxed back in bed. Not that I wanted to, I really wanted to move around. I don't know how long I can spend just sitting in this room.
"You excited to go home?" Rick asked.
"Yea… thank you Rick… for everything" I said. He sat down again placing his hand on mine ,making me feel safe again.
"Always," he said. I just wanted to kiss him, but instead I gave him a hug. He accepted as my Mom walked in.
"Hey Kate. are you ready to go?" she asked, causing me and Rick to break our hug.
Rick wheeled me out to my moms car before helping me out of the wheelchair and into the car. He handled me with care as he did it. Once I was in the car I thanked him again. He smiled and patted me on the shoulder.
"I'll see you at school" he said before shutting the door and wheeling the chair back into the hospital. Once my mom got in the car and started driving she spoke.
"Glad to be out?" she asked.
"I feel so free," I said , lowering the window. I needed some fresh air.
"What was that I walked in on earlier?" she asked me.
"The hug?" I asked.
"The hug," my mom answered.
"I was thanking Rick for everything. I couldn't do it enough he… saved me" i told her. She sighed before responding.
"I don't know how to thank him either Kate, we would have lost you if it wasn't for him" Mom explained. I silently looked out the window and enjoyed the cold air until we arrived home. Being home never felt so good. I walked through the door with my new crutches. These are really going to suck. Mom helped me up the stairs so I could shower. That shower was the best one I ever took. Even if I had to watch out for my cast. After I was done I went to my bedroom and got dressed in something loose and comfortable, before throwing my crutches to the side of my bed and jumping into it. I got under the thick covers, and with the combination of feeling free, refreshed, and warm, I fell asleep in a matter of seconds. It was so good to be home.
