Chapter One-Hundred and Thirty-Seven
John waited for what seemed like days to see Clarissa, he laid in his bed, picking at the tape on his arm that held his new IV in his vein. Thomas had come to see him a few minutes after Clarissa had been admitted. He'd been such a wreck that Joan had asked him to wait outside so he didn't upset John any farther.
Joan knocked on his door, smiling as John's head snapped up to look at her. "She's stable now."
He attempted to push himself out of bed, his muscles quaking with the small effort. "I need to see her."
Joan nodded, pulling up a wheelchair so that he didn't strain himself too much. "I know sweet-cheeks."
"Don't call me that." He stated, shuddering at the memory of the men who'd jumped him and drugged him to the point of inability to fight against them.
She nodded, remembering the results of his tests that had shown he'd been sexually assaulted by the men who'd jumped him. "I'm sorry." She helped him into the wheelchair, gently adjusting his leads and IV so that they could be taken with him as well as clipping a leash to Chance's collar to take her with them.
Thomas looked up as John was wheeled into Clarissa's room, his heart aching at the fear in John's eyes. He stood, as John struggled to get to her, pushing him back into the chair as he listened to Clarissa's heart monitor beep behind him. "She's okay, John."
John looked at Clarissa's face, taking in the fresh cuts on her pale skin and the hard plaster cast on her arm. "She doesn't look okay." He stated, letting Joan push his wheelchair closer to Clarissa's bedside. He rested a hand on her good arm, watching for a reaction. "What happened?" He asked, reaching up to smooth her hair back from her face.
Thomas rested a hand on John's shoulder, able to see the kid's pain as he tried to care for Clarissa as best he could in the state he was in. "She was in a car accident. Doctor said it could be a few days before she wakes up again."
John nodded, trying to force himself to ignore his own pain as he bowed his head and started to whisper under his breath. "Please… if anyone's out there… don't take her from us…" He jumped as a warm hand cupped his cheek, his dark eyes meeting those of Clarissa's. "Mom!" He held her hand with a crushing force, letting his tears spill over onto his cheeks.
She gave a small smile, squeezing his hands as he pressed her fingers to his forehead. "I'm here, Pumpkin." She whispered, her voice strange in John's ears as it rasped from the effects of the crash.