Complicated

Chapter 57: Crude Awakening

C R U D E A W A K E N I N G

———

Kathy's POV

Chemical imbalance got me twisting things
Stabilize with medicine
~~~

I blinked repeatedly as I tried to take in my surroundings, trying to erase the hazy grey that spread across my eyelids.

"About fucking time." I heard my brother's voice and lifted the corners of my lips in as much of a smile I could muster, groaning as I slowly shifted my body to the right to face him.

My attempt at a smile immediately dropped at the sight of him.

"Don't look at me like that. You don't look any better." He noted through a sly smirk, his humor still intact despite his mangled face.

"Thanks." I cringed at the sound of my voice, raspy and painful as I spoke.

"Ric..." I heard Cierra's voice warn him threateningly and groaned again at the pain as I lifted myself up off the bed slightly to look at her in her bed, directly across from me.

Ric shook his head slowly. "Best not do that. Let me update you." He turned easily to me, with no evident pain showing, and propped himself up on his elbow to explain everything to me.

I shut my eyes tightly closed as I processed the information. All the information. Along with the lingering, old pain that rippled throughout all my body.

I had three broken ribs. A bloody hole that was covered by some gauze on my neck because of Lucius digging his wand into my neck. My face had multiple moon like shapes on my cheeks, near my jaw, from digging his nails in. I had suffered a concussion. My leg... fuck. My fucking leg. It was broken, in addition to the fucking mark. Bruises all over my fucking body. In other words, I probably looked ugly as hell. I couldn't bring myself to look, no need to further damage my self esteem.

They were able to wrap me up in some bandages for my ribs, so they were no longer broken thanks to my mom and other St Mungo's staff. However, they were still heavily bruised and hurt quite a bit when I moved. The hole in my neck has healed up for it to just be a scar that should be going away eventually. The moon like shapes on my cheeks thankfully weren't deep enough to cause real scarring, and were no longer there. And yet my leg... it wasn't broken anymore at least, I would have to wear a knee brace for a couple days and can't run or dance for at least two weeks. Still, the mark will never go away. Turns out, he carved it with a poisoned knife, so despite me being lucky to be alive, the branding will never go away. Roxy's furious, wants to tear him out limb by limb despite him already being dead. I don't think Damon has it in him to be furious, instead he's just trying to be very strong for me.

Still, I don't think I suffered the worst of it.

Ric's face will never be the same. He has a huge scar deep into the right side of his face, from his temple, across his eye, to the top of his nose. As well as another small carved scar on his cheek. His back and ribs are bruised but thankfully nothing broken. Al has been with him this whole time, just like Hugo, but Al's presence simply felt different.

Still, neither one of us suffered as much as Cierra.

She lost it. Her baby.

The stress was too much, the pain was too much, the psychological fucking torture was way too much. She woke up to the announcement that she had miscarried a couple days ago, moments before she fell unconscious. Louis tried to console him but she pushed him away, Made him leave our room here at St Mungo's. He hasn't. Ric has seen him roaming outside, he hasn't left.