Curtain Call (Jake Sims)

Chapter 29

I think I'm ok. I can move everything, but my stomach really hurts. After Frank realized what just happened, he huffed annoyingly and then went to his room, slamming the door behind him. I immediately pulled out my phone and called Beth. When she answered, I told her I needed a ride to the hospital. Naturally she wanted to know every detail. Why, who, when, what etc. I told her that I would explain later, and she grudgingly agreed. I probably could have driven myself to the hospital, but just incase something was wrong, I didn't want to be behind the wheel. When Beth got to my house, I walked outside and got in the car. "Tell me everything. Now." She didn't give me any other choice, so I went over everything that happened once I got home. She was so pissed she threatened to go back and cut Franks dick off. It hurt to laugh, so I just smiled instead. Once we pulled into the hospital parking lot, Beth found a parking spot, and we slowly walked into the E.R. There were tons of people waiting to be called on, and I knew that we would be here for a couple hours. "I'll go check in, you should go get us some drinks and snacks." I said. "Alright." She smiled like there was no place she'd rather be and then left towards the cafeteria. I walked up to the front desk where a young woman handed me a clipboard with a bunch of paperwork attached to it. I smiled, grabbed a pen, and then went to go find somewhere to sit. After I was halfway through the grueling paperwork, Beth sat beside me with a sigh. "The line in there was freaking ridiculous. I almost flashed the people in front of me just to get ahead in line." She sighed. "Now Beth, we've discussed this. You know taking your clothes off isn't the only way to get ahead in life." I joked. "It is when you have an IQ score like mine." She rebutted and I couldn't help but chuckle painfully. Eventually I finished filling out the extremely thorough papers and returned them to the desk. The young woman grabbed the clipboard and told me a nurse would call my name as soon as possible. I nodded my head and went and rejoined Beth in the waiting area. After an hour and a half went by, I had to go to the bathroom. "If the nurse calls me, tell her I went to the bathroom and that I'll be right back." I said as I stood up from my chair. She nodded her head as she took a picture for Snapchat. While I was rounding a corner in the hallway, I accidentally bumped into someone. "I'm so sorry!" I apologized quickly. "It's o— Shannon?" The voice asked. I looked up and realized it was Casey, Jake's friend. "Oh, hi." I greeted politely. "What are you dong here?" He looked me up and down, examining my body for any signs of damage. "Just not feeling very well, that's all. What about you?" I lied and changed the subject as quickly as I could. "Oh, I was uhh, I was showing off and accidentally sprained my wrist. Doctors said it should be healed in a couple weeks, so it's all good." He smiled. "Well I hope you at least got the girls number." I replied with a smile. "Even better, she agreed to go on a date with me." He winked and I laughed at how cheesy he was. "Only you could hurt yourself and still get a date." I shook my head. "What can I say? I'm just that irresistible." He smiled proudly and we both laughed, my stomach began aching and got this pinched feeling so I had to stop. "You sure you're alright?" He asked, after seeing me wince in pain. "Yeah I'm good. It's probably just the stomach flu." I nodded my head reassuringly. "It's actually almost my turn, so I should get going." I said. "Yeah alright, hopefully me and the boys will see you and Jake soon." He smiled. "Yeah, maybe." I waved and then walked to the bathrooms. When I got back to the waiting room, Beth had her headphones in and was watching a video on her phone. "Last call for Shannon Murphy." I turned and seen a nurse looking around. "I'm here!" I yelled and hit Beth on the shoulder. "Ow!" She yelled and took her headphones out. "You suck. Let's go." I sighed and walked over to the nurse, Beth right on my heels. The nurse escorted us to a bed that was separated from the others by nothing but a sheet. "The doctor will be here soon." She said and then left. "Wasn't she delightful?" Beth said sarcastically. "She probably would've been nicer if she didn't have to call my name a million times." I glared at her. "Sorry. It was a hair tutorial on how to fishtail braid." She defended. "Oh, well in that case I forgive you." I said dryly. "I said I was sorry." She said quietly, making me feel bad for being mean. "I know. I'm just in a bad mood." That was the best apology she was going to get from me . "I understand. I'm gonna go make a call, I'll be right back." She said, holding up her phone and then disappearing behind the blue hospital curtain that was hiding me from the hustle and bustle of everything else happening. Suddenly the curtain opened again and a woman with red hair and a white coat appeared in front of me. "Shannon?" She asked and I nodded my head. "Hi, I'm doctor Johnson." She smiled and then looked at the papers I filled out earlier. "It says here your experiencing some abdominal tenderness. Do you mind laying back so I can get a look at your stomach." I slowly leaned back and watched her shut the curtain, so nobody could see me which I was grateful for. When she approached me, she slowly rolled up my t-shirt and began pressing on different areas of my stomach. some places we fine, others hurt like a bitch. She could tell I was in a lot of pain by the way I would flinch and try to move from her touch. "What happened right before the pain started occurring?" She asked while she covered my stomach. "Oh, I umm, I fell down the stairs." It was only partially a lie. "Right, well I'm gonna order an X-ray on your ribs since that's where you seem to be experiencing the most pain, and once I get the scans, we can take it from there. I suspect you bruised a couple ribs during the fall, but I want to be sure it's nothing worse." She smiled and opened the curtain again. She grabbed the closest nurse and told her to escort me to the room where I could get my X-ray. I got down off the bed, and followed the woman in the purple scrubs. I sent Beth a quick text telling her where I was going, and to wait for me back at my bed . She replied back, but I had to leave my phone with the nurse because it would mess with the machine. 

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When I got back to my bed I was shocked to see Jake standing next to my bed talking quietly with Beth. My stomach churned at his presence. This is the first time I've seen him since we last kissed and since I figured out that I'm in love with him. I didn't know how to feel, or what to think. "Jake? What are you doing here?" I asked, attracting both of their attention. "Beth called me. To be honest, I'm a little pissed you didn't call me yourself." He glared at me. "Why would I call you?" I asked honestly. "Maybe because no matter how you feel about me, I still care about you deeply." He snapped. We looked at each other for a few heated seconds before I looked away and sat down on the bed. "Are you ok? What happened?" He asked, his tone calm. "You didn't tell him?" I looked at Beth. I was annoyed that she called him, but I was grateful that she didn't tell him what happened. "I figured you should be the one to tell him." She replied. I looked back at Jake and debated whether or not I should tell him the truth. If I do tell him, I don't know how he'll react, but if I don't tell him, he'll be...pissed, for lack of a better word. Eventually I decided on telling him, but in the right setting. A busy hospital definitely wasn't the right place to tell him that my moms boyfriend tried to sexually assault me, and then actually physically assaulted me. That probably wouldn't go over too well. "I promise I'll tell you everything, but not here." I said. "Good call." Beth mumbled under her breath, but me and Jake both heard her. Jake looked at her suspiciously, and then back at me. "Shannon, tell me what happened." His voice was low and dangerous sounding. "Not here." I repeated, and then Dr. Johnson joined us. Saved by the bell. "Hi Shannon." She greeted with a handful of X-ray scans. "It looks like I was right. You have three bruised ribs on your right side. Now, the bad news is that the ribs take the longest to heal. You'll probably be in pain for a couple of weeks, but the good news is, the bruises aren't as bad as they could have been, and I have some great pain killers for you to take." She said, handing me a prescription for Morphine. Morphine? Seriously?  I grabbed the paper, and looked at her. "Once you get that filled, take one pill every four hours. But don't take it after 11pm." She instructed. I nodded my head and thanked her as we said our goodbyes. Jake walked with me and Beth to her car and waited patiently for me to tell him what happened. "Not tonight Jake, I'm exhausted. I just want to go home and go to sleep." I yawned. He looked at me for a few seconds waiting for me to change my mind, but I wasn't going to. I really did just want to sleep. Eventually he realized that I wasn't going to budge. "Fine. But you're telling me tomorrow before rehearsal." He sighed and pulled me in for a gentle hug. I closed my eyes and rested my head against his chest, savoring the moment. I desperately missed the feel of us being so close, but I wasn't ready to forgive him for what he did. When I pulled away, I gave him a small smile and then walked over to the passenger side of the car and got in. Beth got in seconds later and then looked at me. "What?" I asked. "You're not going back there. You're staying with me tonight." It wasn't a question. I just sighed in defeat and looked out the window as we began the drive to her house.

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YAY, SHE'S OK! ON ANOTHER NOTE, HOW DO YOU GUYS THINK JAKE IS GOING TO REACT WHEN SHE TELLS HIM WHAT REALLY HAPPENED? COMMENT YOUR THOUGHTS! xx