Twenty-one

Heal You

Kelsey

I'm chilling with Emma when my phone rings and Paige's number flashes on the screen. I quickly answer it.

"Hello?"

"Kelsey? Kelsey? Can you get down to the Res?" Paige sounds frantic. "Please?"

"Yeah. What's up?" I ask, already searching Emma's messy room for my car keys.

"It's Paul. He got hurt somehow."

I remember Paul telling me that Paige still doesn't believe the werewolf legends. So if she's saying somehow, it has to be a werewolf thing. I renew my search for the keys.

"Okay. I'm on my way. Breathe, Paige."

"Thank you." she says.

"No problem. Gotta go." I say, hanging up. Finally, I find my keys on top of Emma's nightstand. I snatch them up, then turn to her. "I gotta go. I'm sorry."

"What's up?" Emma asks.

"Paul's hurt and Paige needs me for moral support." I sling my backpack over my shoulder. "I'm sorry, Em."

"It's fine. Do you wanna hang out Friday? We can get pizza or something? Have a sleepover?"

"I'm game." I give her a hug on my way out. "Thanks, Em."

I arrive at the Reservation about ten minutes later. I rush into the house, only to find Paige pacing and looking horror struck.

"Kelsey!" she rushes to give me a hug. "He's upstairs. The guys are with him, but I'm positive they don't know the first thing about first aid."

"Okay. Breathe, Paige. I'll go check on him."

I run up the stairs, heart pounding in my ears. If the guys are up there, and they don't know shit about first aid, then Paul could be seriously hurt. If Paige is this frantic, he must be.

He is. Seriously hurt, I mean. He's pale, blood pouring from a large cut on the back of his head, his nose, and a split lip. He's also sweaty and shaking like he has a fever, although a quick check reveals that's not the case. Must be going into shock.

I grab a bandage from Jared and press it to Paul's cut, applying pressure to get the bleeding to stop. I then wrap another bandage around his head, taping it into place just under his ear.

"We need to get him to a hospital." I say, taking a steadying breath. "He's gonna need some stitches. Probably has a concussion, too. I'll drive him; someone help me get him to the car."

The hospital on the Reservation is about three minutes away. Paige, Jared, Colin and Sam all pile into the car with me, Colin having to sit on Jared's lap because Paul is taking up almost the entire backseat. Paige is sitting back there with him, cradling his head. Sam is crammed on the right, holding Paul's feet.

Paige and I are the ones to accompany Paul back into the hospital cubicle. He stays unconscious through the entire thing, which worries me.

I text Dad to let him know where I'm at, and that I'll see him soon. His response: okay. Thanks for letting me know. My dad is really cool.

At around ten, I notice that Paige is almost asleep. She's fighting it, but she's clearly not winning.

"Paige? Why don't you go home and get some sleep? I'll text you if something happens." I know she has a math test tomorrow; she called me, freaking out, because she forgot the formulas.

She argues with me for a while, but eventually, she leaves. I text Dad again, letting him know that I'm staying late and asking if I can skip school tomorrow. He agrees, considering that I have straight As right now.

"Are you Kelsey?" the doctor asks. I nod.

"Do you know where I can contact Mrs. Lahote?"

"No. Sorry."

"That's alright. She's probably still working. I'll try there." The doctor exits, presumably to call Paul's mom.

I find myself studying Paul's face, trying to ignore all the dried blood. It looks so peaceful when he's sleeping. There's no sign of the pressure on him.

I grab a Diet Coke from the vending machine to keep me awake. I sip it slowly, while replying to Emma's flurry of texts, questioning whether I know anything. All I know is that Paul has a concussion and he had to have ten stitches put into his head. And on top of that, he has cuts and bruises everywhere, plus a split lip and busted nose.

I grab a washcloth, wet it in the sink, and then begin to lightly clean off the dried blood from his face. There's a lot of it. Most of the blood is stuck to his lips; a result of a busted nose and split lip. Dude is going to be in a hell of a lot of pain tomorrow.

I find myself singing softly while I work. I'm just finishing up when his eyes flicker open.

"Kelsey?" he croaks.

"Hey." I say, smiling slightly. I dispose of the washcloth before turning back to him. "How are you feeling?"

"Like shit. How bad is it?"

"You have a concussion and a cut that required ten stitches. You also have lots of cuts and bruises, a busted nose, a black eye, and a split lip."

He thinks for a moment, then says "Ow."

I can't help it. I laugh a little. "Yeah, ow's the word."

"When can I leave?"

"Whenever you're mom gets back to spring you."

I answer, sitting back down in the visitor's chair.

"Okay. I'll be here awhile, then." he seems to be a little disappointed.

"Hospitals suck, huh?" I ask, leaning my elbows on my knees.

"Yeah. How do you... oh, wait. Never mind."

"Yeah."

"What was that song you were singing?"

"You heard that?" I feel my cheeks warm slightly.

"Yeah. It was really pretty."

"The song was Recession Song. It's my favorite at the moment."

I dig my phone out, turn the brightness down to zero and the volume to 20, then play the song for him. I find myself singing along softly. It really is a great song.

Paul's fallen back asleep by the time the song ends. Luckily for him, his nurse saw me talking to him, so he gets another four hours of sleep. I stay until his mom finally shows up, so I get home around four in the morning. The last thought I have as I fall asleep is, thank goodness I can skip school tomorrow.

A/n: Surprise! I'm updating early because it's Thanksgiving! And to celebrate, I thought I'd update for y'all. I'm so incredibly grateful for all of you. Whether you review, favorite, follow, or just read the chapters as they come out, I'm so incredibly grateful. So, here's the deal: if we get to 77 reviews, (not including the one by Debbie Hicks), I'll update Saturday. If not, it'll be Monday. Happy Thanksgiving! Later!

Lauren.

Replies to Reviews

Debbie Hicks: Please stop leaving reviews on my story. I know this sounds rude, but here's what pops up on my screen when I read them: "Then suddenly held Sue's own hand myself had a supernatural power born with my sister stopped aging like hybrids." And that was just the first sentence. I'm all for reviewing with an actual comment, but please stop the spam. I'm removing this review whenever I get around to posting chapter 21.

mkhdhdidhdhkjdse: I'll lend you the matches. LOL. Thanks for the compliment! Vanessa is Victoria. I tried to make it look like Paul didn't care enough to learn her actual name. I hope you like this chapter too; please review and let me know.

Twilightfanjm: I'm glad you like it! Some fluff in this chapter. I hope you like this, as well. Happy Thanksgiving!

Flowerchild23: I hope you like the fluff in this chapter. Chapters 19-22 are my favorites so far.