𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐕𝐎𝐈𝐂𝐄, Sodapop Curtis

8

•~Grace's P.O.V~•
I was told I was out for two days and I wasn't allowed visitors for two weeks. I didn't mind it. I didn't really want Chloe or the gang to see me all puffy and bruised. I still had a couple of bruises but they weren't puffy anymore.

The doctor knocked at my door as I sat up in my bed so that I could take some pain medicine from the nurse.

"Grace." I looked up as I swallowed my pill.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Your allowed to have visitors now, you've got a couple of people here to see you." I smiled.

"Well, let them in!" He nodded and went out of the room. Soon, the gang and Chloe came in. Chloe ran to my bed and hopped in it. She paused.

"Can I hug you, Mommy?" My brows furrowed.

"Well of course. Who told you you couldn't?" She glanced back at the gang.

"Soda said to be careful, cause you were hurt." I looked up at him for a moment.

"I'm not hurt anymore, baby." She hugged me tight, and I hugged her back even tighter. I missed her more than words could express. I missed all of them, but mostly Chloe.

Chloe was my entire world. Even if I got a broken rib and a broken nose from Jeremy because I was protecting her, it didn't matter to me because she was safe.

"I missed you, Mommy." I heard her whisper. I pulled away, seeing tears roll down her plump cheeks.

"I missed you too." I wiped her tears away. "Did you watch a lot of Mickey Mouse?" She laughed and nodded.

"So, how's your rib?" Two-Bit asked as he sat down in one of the chairs. The rest of the gang settled down in the other chairs too.

"And your nose?" Darry added.

"They're fine, I gotta take some pills for my rib so it doesn't hurt that bad but besides that I'm alright." I chuckled, trying to make the awkwardness in the air go away.

Soda stood with his hands stuffed in his pockets and his head down. I knew as soon as I woke up that he'd want to talk to me, alone.

"Chloe, how about you go with Two-Bit and our friends into the hallway for a second while I talk to Soda?" She frowned but went with Two-Bit and the rest of the gang.

"I really wish you would've told me." He sighed as he sat down next to me on the bed.

"There wasn't much you could do, Soda." He turned to me.

"I could've done a whole lot. I could've let you and Grace come and stay with me, so you could've gotten away from him. You could've broken up with him and you'd be safe with me." I grasped his hand.

"But I loved him Soda-"

"You loved the guy who broke your nose, your ribs, and made blood spew from your mouth?!" He spat.

"Soda, you don't understand. That's what abusive relationships are like. Sometimes the person is nice and when they explode, you don't know how to feel. All you can remember is when they were nice." His nostrils flared, and I could tell he was biting back something he desperately wanted to say.

"Chloe could've gotten hurt." That made me pissed.

"Do you really think I was so 'in love' with Jeremy that I'd let him hurt Chloe?" I could hear venom dripping from my voice.

"Grace I didn't mean it like that." He sighed.

"I took her to you because Jeremy tried smacking her. I took her to you so that she would be safe because I knew she would." I looked him in the eyes. "If Chloe was getting hurt any sooner than that, I would have still taken her to someone else and broken up with Jeremy. He can hit me all he wants, but he can't hit Chloe." Soda tightened his grip on my hand.

"Don't say that. You're not gonna get hurt anymore because that bastard's going to jail." I remembered last week when I was served court papers that I'd have to go and fight that Jeremy should be in jail. That'd I'd have to have witnesses and a testimony.

"That's up for the court to decide." Soda's eyes went wide.

"You have to go to court?" I nodded. "But there were witnesses and everything-"

"That's why I was going to ask any of you to be my witnesses." Suddenly the door burst open.

"We'll do it."
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Word Count:765