Dying and Everything in between

18| Broken Bonds

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Lucas wasn't a stranger to the feeling of a hospital bed.

Heck, he used to live in one. When he stirred awake in place, eyes groggy, heavy, and his body aching with exhaustion, the first thing he saw was the white ceiling, almost blinding him. He squinted his eyes in annoyance reaching up to itch his mouth, his action getting strained from the IV fluid connected to his hands.

What even happened last night?

All he remembered was going to see the city at night with Joy, and while bits and pieces of his memory were still trickling into his consciousness, he supposed he passed out. However, passing out for him wasn't exactly the best-case scenario.

Before he could press the handy button to call a nurse, he heard footsteps approaching his door over the robotic whirs of machinery calculating most of his vitals.

Lucas leaned back into his pillow, sucking in a shaky breath as he forced his eyelids to fall shut. And as if on cue, the door swung open.

"You're lucky he didn't die last night." Lucas knew that voice. Laura. That was her voice. She didn't sound too happy.

"What you two did last night was extremely irresponsible, Joy." Jake?

"I-I'm sorry," Joy? Why was she here? Joy sounded small, defeated. Lucas's fingers curled into fists at his sides. "He didn't tell me any—,"

"—Of course he wouldn't tell you anything!" Laura's voice boomed, silencing her and even the monitors for a second that lasted for what felt like eons. "I allowed you two to go out, live life, and be responsible. What I didn't ask was for you to almost kill my child."

"Dr. Andrews," Jake stepped in. "I think that's enough. You should calm down."

"How can I 'calm down'?!" She shrieked, her voice trembling. "Do you not know how terrified I was to see that he wasn't in his room? All morning, I was afraid, wondering where he went because he didn't even bother to call me."

The room fell silent, all except for each heavy drag of Laura's breath overlapping with the occasional drip of the liquid IV.

Her disheveled graying hair toppling out of her ponytail, the worn-out creases on her face, and the glossed-over look in her dark eyes showed so much worry.

Lucas always hated seeing her that way. Hurt, well-spent. Every time he hurt her, a part of him would ache, and nothing about that has changed. He was regretful of what he had done. He regretted hurting Laura or making her worry so much.

"I'm sorry," Joy repeated softly, voice so soft it was almost lost in the denseness of the atmosphere. "I-It won't happen again."

"It better not," Laura sneered. "He has a fever and he's exhausted to top it all off. But even so, it could've been worse. What you did was very irresponsible."

"I know," Joy said under her breath.

"If you knew then you would've known that he could have died in your arms."

"Dr. Andrews, I think that's enough," Jake intervened, sternly. "She gets it. No need to make her feel any guiltier than she already is."

"I- just. D-don't do it again. You're both old enough to understand you can't take risks like this. You know the rules. You know the agenda," She stressed. "You both got extremely lucky last night."