𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐍

twenty one

『 twenty-one 』

NATALIE SAT ON THE HOSPITAL BED, waiting for word from the doctor. 

Her mother sat by her side. Hawk and Jackson waited in another room. It had been a long afternoon. 

It wasn't injuries directly from the fight that had caused her to go to the hospital. It was her brace. She had damaged her wrist worse than it already had been. The doctors had been right the first time. Tory had been merciful with the break. It could have been so much worse. 

Well, now it was worse. 

The only thing keeping her out of a full cast was the full necessity. That being, that there wasn't much of it. 

There had been a bigger strain on her ligaments, than the actual bone. The doctors were looking at extending her time with the brace by two more weeks. Her hand wouldn't get out until November. 

Now, they waited for the okay to leave. Natalie had been shuffled through two nurses. A doctor had come to visit. Nurses had taken countless tests, almost as if it were any other checkup. Now they just needed to wait for the final result. It was taking ages. 

They had brought in a couple of magazines to occupy themselves while waiting. Natalie flipped through an edition of Time magazine with no real attention. 

Natalie didn't feel like talking, or reading, or watching TV. She wasn't up to answering the nurse's questions. She was exhausted. She wanted to curl up in a ball in bed and not wake up for the next week. 

Miguel was dead. Robby was on the run. 

She needed to call him. Had he called her yet? She wouldn't have known. She had abandoned her phone after a bombardment by Aisha and Kate on the way to the hospital. Did Robby think she had forgotten about him? Was he waiting on his own for her to reach out first?

Leila occupied her with her phone for a moment, before moving on to the hallway. Natalie stared at the TV. The volume was down. She wasn't interested in what it had to show. Leila came back in not even a minute later. 

"Jackson's going out for lunch. Do you want anything special?" Leila asked. 

"Anything edible. Thank you," Natalie flipped a page in the magazine. To be truthful, she had no appetite. But anything to stop them from worrying further. She would eat whatever he brought. 

Leila responded to her husband's text and took her seat. She eyed her daughter carefully, watching every movement she took. "We saw your friend's mom on the way out," Leila told her. "He's in good hands. They'll take care of him."

Natalie said nothing. 

Okay. Miguel wasn't dead. But she knew he wasn't awake. She would never be fully happy with their circumstances until she was able to talk with him, face to face. Leila rose from the chair after another minute. 

"I'm going to talk to Eli." Leila patted Natalie's calf. 

"Is he okay?"

Leila opened the door with a smile. "A little banged up, but good. Are you okay?"

"Could be better."

Leila nodded. Her smile faltered when the door closed behind her. 

Natalie grabbed her phone with her good hand. She checked her notifications for any name other than Kate. Robby hadn't said anything. She didn't know if he had even gotten home safe. Was it safe to go home in the first place? Did he even listen to her? He had no reason to, but what if he did? Had he known to get the essentials and leave before any officers could come knocking?