Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters!
Shaking her head, Charity flipped her phone shut. She couldn't believe that Lauren had abandoned her. She'd been lied to, if only by omission, by Tyler, abandoned by Lauren and smothered by her mother, all in the span of twelve hours. Right now, all she wanted was a friend, and yet, she had no one.
"Like always." Charity muttered under her breath. She glanced up as the door swung open.
"Charity, the doctors say that you can be transported back to Tree hill, now that you're awake. They're getting the ambulance ready now." Lucas said, walking into the room. Brooke followed him in, and began bagging up the things that were strewn about the room.
"Great!" Charity replied, her tone obviously fake. Lucas frowned at her, as he made his way closer to her bed.
"Charity, I know this isn't easy. I know that you're hurting right now. I'll do anything in my power to make this easier for you, but I won't walk on eggshells around you and I won't tolerate you verbally abusing your friends and family." Lucas said sternly, never shifting his gaze from her. Charity nodded and looked away.
"Do you want your mother or me to ride with you? Or how about Tyler or Lauren?" Lucas asked. Charity simply shook her head. She had no desire to spend the ride home making small talk.
"Alright, well, I'm going to go and let Peyton and Lauren know that we're leaving." Lucas sighed, patting her hand before he turned away from her bed.
"Lauren's in Tree Hill. She found a ride back last night." Charity stated tonelessly, purposefully making it sound worse than it was. Lucas gave Charity a long look and headed out the door.
"Charity, honey, please don't lash out. I know that you're angry, but trust me, you don't want to push away the people who love you." Brooke spoke up softly, from the other side of the room.
"Right, because you have so many people left that love you." Charity replied sarcastically. She gave her mom a cold stare and then turned away from her. As Charity closed her eyes, a tear slipped down her cheek. Charity was too much like her mother in this respect. When someone hurt her, she hurt back. She didn't know any other way. She wished more than anything that she could apologize to her mom and dad, and Peyton, but she didn't have the courage to admit that she had wanted to hurt them.
She heard the door open and knew that her mom had left the room. Charity kept her eyes closed, hoping sleep would come, but before she could get to sleep the orderlies came in and began to wheel her bed down the hallway. After she had been transferred into the ambulance, and felt it pull away from the hospital, she opened her eyes, hoping that someone had come with her. She took in the sterile atmosphere of the ambulance. The realization that she was truly alone, and she had no one to blame but herself, came crashing down on her.
"Are you riding all alone? Where is your family?" The nurse asked, coming back to check her vitals. Charity gave him a once over. He looked like he was barely out of high school, let alone old enough to have gone though college. Charity wished she had run a brush through her hair, instead of throwing it up in a bun, before she left the hospital.
"Yeah, I'm by myself today. My family is driving back home. We were only in Raleigh for a few days." She explained, hoping she didn't sound as desperate for company as she felt.
"Wow, only visiting town and you get hit by a car? Talk about bad luck." The cute nurse asked, flipping through her chart.
"Yeah, bad luck." Charity replied softly.
"So, I'm Ethan. The lady driving is Natalie. We should be in Tree Hill by late afternoon." Ethan said, noting the sadness in Charity's voice.
"I'm Charity Scott, but I guess you already knew that." She replied, forcing a smile.
"Yeah, but I'd much rather hear it from you than read it on your chart." Ethan replied, giving her a lopsided grin.
"So I bet you still get carded, don't you?" Charity asked. She couldn't get over how young Ethan looked.
"I'd imagine that I would, had I any interest in hitting a bar." Ethan replied, his eyes sparkling mischievously.
"What? You're kidding, right?" Charity asked incredulously.
"The good doctor is telling the truth. He rides the straight and narrow." Natalie commented from the driver's seat. Charity took in this new information.
"Dr. Ethan? Wow, how old are you?" She asked.
"I'm twenty-six. I graduated high school two years early. Anyway, enough about me. What were you doing in Raleigh?" Ethan asked lightly, changing the topic.
"I was there for a cheerleading competition." She answered, smiling widely so as to showcase her dimples. She grinned as a slight blush grew on Dr. Ethan's cheeks.
"A cheerleader, huh? I should have figured. No wonder you got hit by a car." Ethan joked. Charity shook her head, chuckling at Ethan's remark. She was beginning to be glad that she was riding to Tree Hill alone.