Whoops, guess who's back to her original schedule? It's ya girl, back at it again with another chapter. Y'all, my heart hurts from this. But I'll persevere even though I'm very feelsy. Hopefully you lovelies enjoy this chapter! ~Shaymie
The next few days were a flurry of uncertainty. Lo's condition kept changing, but one thing was a constant: her unconsciousness. She wouldn't wake up. No amount of talking or hours spent playing Ed Sheeran albums would wake her up. I spent nearly every second with her. I only left the hospital when visiting hours were over.
"It's been three days, Lo," I murmured as I brushed her hair. It didn't really need to be brushed, since a nurse had already brushed it earlier, but it calmed me down. If I focused on brushing her hair, then I wouldn't have to think about the fact that she was in the hospital. I smiled sadly as I looked at her face. She looked so peaceful… If I didn't know any better, I would assume that she was just sleeping. "We were thinking of having Ange's birthday party in here, but the doctors said it would be too crowded."
No response, as usual. I sighed and gently pulled the brush through her hair. She'd wake up when she was ready, wouldn't she? There was no way that she'd just… stay unconscious like this. She had just gotten shot in the stomach. It wasn't like she had hit her head or anything. I didn't understand why she wouldn't wake up… Why she couldn't wake up.
"I love you, Lo. I'm sorry that this happened." I grabbed one of her hands, taking care to not upset the IV, and kissed it. Her hands were cold. They were always cold nowadays. I tried to not let any tears fall. Crying wouldn't fix anything. "If I wasn't such an idiot, this wouldn't be happening. We should have stayed at home for a quiet night. I shouldn't have asked you to the dance. I'm so sorry, love. I hope you can forgive me."
Stop it, Alex. It's not your fault. I cupped her cheek carefully, rubbing a thumb over her precious freckles. I wanted to kiss every single one of them. I wanted to kiss her pain away. I wanted to hear her beautiful voice again. I missed talking to my girlfriend. I missed seeing her beautiful gray eyes, which appeared a silvery-blue in certain light. My eyes filled with tears as I stared at her. I brushed her bangs from her face and kissed her forehead. I didn't like how cold and clammy her skin felt. I didn't like seeing all the tubes going into her body. I knew they were keeping her alive, but that didn't make it any easier to see them.
"You're so pale, " I whispered, sobbing quietly. "God, you're like a ghost. But you're alive. You're here and you're alive and that's all that matters. I love you, Lorin. I love you so much. It hurts me to see you like this. I know you're just waiting for the right time to wake up. You'll probably even apologize for worrying us when you do. I'll be waiting, love. Take your time."
Laf entered the room as I was humming quietly to Lo. My tears had mostly subsided, leaving me with just a few stray sniffs. I rubbed Lo's hands to warm them up and sighed as Laf took a seat opposite me. He picked up the brush and started brushing her hair, a solemn expression on his face. He had been taking this harder than everyone else had. He only came to visit Lo when someone else (most of the time me) was in the room. He didn't talk to her like we did. He didn't talk much at all.
"Laf's here, Lo. He misses you. Actually, all of us miss you. I miss the sound of your voice. I miss the smell of your shampoo-it's the only sweet thing I can stand, aside from you… I wish you were awake, Lo. That would have you blushing." I hated seeing her so pale. Granted, she wasn't exactly tan before, but she was sickeningly pale now. It scared me. Did it mean that she was cold? Did she need more blankets? Was there a limit on how many blankets a patient could have?
"I hate hospitals." Laf spoke after a brief silence, his voice barely audible over the beeping machines. His hands shook as he continued to brush Lo's hair. "They're too quiet and clean and the few times I've had to be in them weren't pleasant. First my mother died and then Lorin tried to kill herself and now… now she's in a coma. This isn't fair, Alexander."
This was her choice, wasn't it? I frowned at the thought. She had made the decision to push me out of the way. She had even been smiling as she bled. It was like she was okay with getting hurt. I knew she was selfless. I knew she didn't care about what happened to her. But I never would have dreamed that she would risk her life for me. I didn't know what I'd do if she never woke up or if her condition worsened somehow and she… died. It hurt to even imagine that happening.
I squeezed Lo's hand and did something I thought I would never do in my life. I prayed. I prayed for her to wake up. I prayed that her recovery wouldn't be too painful. I prayed that Reynolds got the worst sentence imaginable and that he would rot in jail. I prayed that Lo and I would be able to live a happy life in the future, with a bunch of kids and however many pets she wanted. I'd be willing to give up anything if it meant that Lo could be happy. All I cared about was her happiness.
Laf and I looked up as Eliza walked into the room, rubbing her arm awkwardly. I heard yelling outside and stood up, reluctantly letting go of Lo's hand. Part of me was expecting for her to protest. But she didn't do anything. I sighed and looked at Eliza. She looked like she hadn't been sleeping much. I think none of us had been getting much sleep since this all went down.
"What's going on out there?" I asked. Eliza frowned and looked at Lo, her bottom lip quivering.
"There's… paparazzi. They want to use her as their latest headline. I'm… surprised it took so long. For them to come here, I mean. They've been bothering your father a lot these past couple of days. Angelica and Herc are trying to get them to leave. I think Peggy bit one of them." My eyes narrowed. What the hell was wrong with these assholes? My girlfriend was suffering, and all these sleazeballs were worried about was getting their latest scoop. I ran a hand through my hair in frustration and stormed out the door, ignoring Eliza and Laf's cries behind me.
Angelica stopped me before I could land a punch on one of the cameramen. Her grip was surprisingly strong as she pinned me against the wall. I struggled to get out of her grasp, glaring at the paparazzi who thought that this was just some joke. I wanted to break all of their microphones and expensive cameras. I couldn't understand how anyone could feel the need to butt into someone else's personal life like this. There was a reason certain things were kept private, after all.
"How is Senator Washington's daughter doing?" one of the men asked, shoving a mic between Angelica and I. "We heard she's in a coma! Do we have permission for an interview?"
"If you don't leave us alone, something else other than a camera will end up broken," Herc growled, gesturing to a broken camera on the floor. He cracked his knuckles and glared at the paparazzi. They all scrambled away like roaches. I watched them leave and sighed as Angelica let go of me.
"Alex, what the hell were you thinking? You can't really think that punching those sleazeballs would fix anything!"
"Herc threatened them!"
"In their eyes, he's a nobody. You're George Washington's son. If you went around beating up the paparazzi, it would probably cause a scandal. I know it's annoying, but it's inevitable. I mean, the fact that Lorin got shot at a school event by the son of one of the richest guys in the city really is… headline worthy. I'm not saying that what they're doing is right by any means, but…"
I sighed. As usual, she was right. Then again, when was Angelica Schuyler ever wrong? But she couldn't really just expect me to sit back and let those creeps do whatever they wanted. If they ever came by Lo's room again, nothing would be able to keep me away from them. I'd failed at protecting Lo once before, but I refused to let it happen again. I was going to make sure of it.