(Hospital Visit)
Steve didn't hesitate to go to Rachel's room. His heart was beating right out of his chest. He had never felt this worried for anyone like this before; Not even for Sodapop most times. His heart was racing very hard in his chest. Why was he so nervous to see her?
When he found Rachel's room, he went inside without hesitation. Bexley wasn't anywhere in sight, not even in Rachel's room. He thought that she had went home already or if she just went to go get a bite to eat. "Rachel?" he said, seeing the bruises on her face.
"Steve?" Rachel said, looking up at him. One of her eyes was swollen nearly shut. This broke his heart into two. He sat down next to her and he took her hand. "God, are you okay?" he asked her. "I'll live. Thankfully, he didn't break anythin' but I'm just covered in bruises," she replied, squeezing his strong hand.
He put her hand to his lips and he kissed it gently. This made her blush deep red. "Thank you for coming, Steve," she said to him. "You're welcome, Rachel. I'm glad that Bexley saved you," he said tearfully, his eyes getting watery. Rachel teared up as well when she saw his.
"I thought he was going to kill me if she didn't get there on time," she replied, her voice breaking. Steve leaned forward and he brushed her hair back with his hand. "I'm not leaving you alone tonight," he said to her. "But you have to work tonight," she told him with a frown.
"Yeah, I know it. I'll stay until I do. Is Bexley here?" Steve asked. "Yeah, she went to get something to eat in the cafeteria. She can be here while you're at work," she said, getting him to nod. "God, I was scared to death when Soda told me what happened," he admitted to her.
"Steve, I'll be fine. I just gotta heal up," she said softly. Tears started stinging his eyes, so he quickly wiped them away before she couldn't see it. But she did see it. "Hey, don't cry. I'm gonna be alright," she told him. "I'm sorry, I…" he shakily said. "I understand. It's never easy, but I'm gonna be fine. Like every other time," she assured him.
"But that bastard almost killed you. I've never felt this way with anyone else before," he said, sniffling a bit. Rachel blushed again when he said that - it was becuase nobody else had ever been this concerned for her well being before. It didn't feel normal to her.
Steve kissed her hand again, much longer this time. "So… what did Bexley do to save you?" he asked her, sounding curious. "Oh, she hit him on the head with a baseball bat," she replied, chuckling a bit. However, it hurt when she did that, "Ow… that was a bad idea," she winced.
"Don't overdo it, okay?" he said. He smiled at what Bexley had done. "She really got him, didn't she?" he said with a smile. Rachel nodded and smiled at him. "I'll thank her later," he said, seeing that she wasn't letting his hand go. "You and me both," she said with a smile.
That smile made his heart race again. The two of them talked until he had to leave for work, which was at 11 in the morning. Steve kissed her hand again before he left, but not without looking back at her once more. She smiled at him and waved at him again. He didn't understand why he was feeling like this with her. Maybe Sodapop could help him out with it at work.