Scars [An Exclamation Point Fan Fiction]

PART 13

The next morning I wake up. I look around the room and see flowers, cards, and stuffed animals. I push myslef up to sit and grab one of the cards.

"Get well sweet cheeks! The room's lonely without you! xo Lyndsay."

There's a knock on the door and it slowly opens. Danny and Paul walk in.

"Hey hey pretty lady." Danny says."Glad to see you're awake."

I laugh. "Hey Danny."

Danny sits in one of the chairs. Paul kisses me before sitting.

"How are you feeling?" Paul asks.

"Good. I think I'll be ok for the results show tonight."

Danny and Paul look at each other.

"Nikki, you slept through it. The doctor found out you had a broken rib and wanted to keep you here. He sedated you, so it wouldn't hurt worse. Tomorrow's live shows."

"What?" I ask. "That's not possible. W-what happened?"

Pauls's face pales.

"The doctor tried to get you to stand Thursday morning. You went white and screamd right before you passed out. Paul and the nurse caught you before you hit the floor. He had to do an X-ray and saw that a rib on you right side was broken." Danny says.

"He sedated you right as it happened and it knocked you out for a few days. This is the first time you've woken up since." Paul says.

The door opens and the doctor walks in. "Good you're awake. I guess the boys filled you in?" I nod. "Any pain today?" I shake my head. "Good I'm going to try and apply pressure to your rib and see how much pain there is. Tell me one a scale of one to ten. Ten being excruciating pain." He presses down and I can barely feel anything.

"Uhm.. a one. I didn't really feel anything." I say.

"Well that's good. We'll do another X-ray just to be sure in an hour. You should be good to go later today."

"When can I start dancing?" I ask

"That's up to your pain level. Don't over do it." He says and walks out the door.

I look over at Danny and Paul, they're whispering to each other.

"Everything ok?" I ask.

"Yes, but there's something you need to know." Paul says.

"What?" I ask.

"There's someone here who wants to see you." Danny says. They walk out the door. A couple seconds later the door slowly opens. In walks Brady.

"Brady?" My voice cracks. "What are you doing here?"

He leans down and kisses my forehead. "I got out of rehab the day of the accident." He says. "Mom got a phone call saying you were in the hospital. She lost it. I comforted her while dad got our plane tickets. We got here Friday afternoon, but you were knocked out." He strokes my cheek. "God I've missed you Nik." He says.

I feel the tears building up. "I'm so sorry Brady." I say. "I wish I could take back what I said to you. I wish I had gone to visit you." I pause. "I wish I'd let you tell mom and dad." Brady sits on the bed and wraps me in a hug. I sob on his chest.

"Nikki don't be sorry. I'm sorry about what I did to you. I was angry at Nate for what he was doing. And I was angry at myself for not knowing." He pulls back and puts a hand on my cheek. "You changed. I should've seen it."

"How did I change?"

"Long sleeves and pants in the summer. You were losing weight like crazy, and you never wanted to got to the beach anymore. Everytime someone raised a voice you started shaking badly." He looks down at the bruises on my arms. "I should've known." I hug my brother again. The door opens and I see my parents walk in.

"Hi mama, hi daddy." I say.

"Oh baby." My mom says coming up to hug me.

"How are you feeling Nik?" My dad asks.

"I'm fine. I'm sorry y'all had to worry."

"Don't be sorry." My mom says. "It's our job to worry."

Brady tries to lighten the mood. "So who's the guy that's been by your bedside everyday?"

I start to blush. "That's Paul." I say smiling.

"He's cute." My mom says.

I laugh. "I know right!"

"Are you two a thing?" Brady asks raising his eyebrows at me.

I blush again. "Yea we are."

"Does he know everything?" My dad asks. I swallow. This is what I was afraid of. I nod my head slowly and tell them about Paul and I. My mom strokes my cheek when I finish.

"I'm glad you have him." She says. "I think he's good for you."

I smile. "Do y'all watch the show?" I ask.

"Every week." Brady says. "Mom and dad come during show times Wednesday and Thursday and watch together."

"You know the song they sang last week?"

My family nods.

"The song was dedicated to me." I say blushing a darker shade of red.

"I knew it!" Brady says laughing.

My nurse walks in. "Excuse me. Mr. and Mrs. Garner? There's someone looking for you at the front desk." My parents look at each other and follow the nurse. Paul walks back in and sits on the other side of my bed. I take his hand.

"You must be Paul." Brady says.

"Yea and you're Brady?" Paul says.

"Yea." Brady looks down. "I just want to thank you for watching out for my baby sister. And for keeping her safe." I look at Brady and see he's crying. I've only seen him cry twice in my life. Paul walks over Brady and hugs him. Brady hugs back. They let go and Brady says, "She needs you in her life."

"She needs you too." Paul says. "She talks about you all the time."

Brady smiles. My parents open the door. "Can you boys give us a minute alone with Nikki. There's something we need to tell her. Brady there's someone out here for you to see."