Best friends Frankie and Penelope have just arrived in the Valley seeking to escape the past. All they needed was each other and a fresh start. They make new friends and potentially find love. Unbeknownst to them, they stumble upon a war between two...
The march through the hospital hallway was too familiar for Hawk's liking. Everything around him droned on. Despite the hospital's mission to save lives and provide health care, each time he ventured through the halls - the journey he knew better than the back of his hand - it looked lifeless. It felt like a broken, scratched up record, one that played on repeat but skipped the best part of the song.
He turned the corner, keeping his hands in his pockets and his eyes forward. Though the nurses were friendly, he didn't want to talk to them. He just wanted to get to where he wanted to be and sit at Penelope's side for the next hour like he'd been doing for days. It was his new daily routine; wake up, go to school, visit Penelope, go to training, go home and sleep, repeat.
Nothing made it easier, but the pills helped. He'd knocked one back before walking into the building and hid the bottle in the car, where no one would find it. He knew if his mom found it, she'd start asking a lot of questions, one he didn't have the answers to; ones he didn't want to answer at all.
Before he even walked into the room, he knew nothing was going to be different, but he could still hope. He still wanted to look Penelope in the eyes and tell her how much he loved her, let her know how much he needed her. There was no shortage of things he wanted to say to her, but he knew they would have to wait.
She was still on the bed, eyes closed, heart monitor still beeping. He took the seat beside her, grabbed her hand, and kissed her knuckles. It was all the same as it had been.
He knew in his mind it had almost been three weeks, but in his heart it felt like eternity.
~
Hawk didn't know when he fell asleep, but he was awoken by pressure.
At first, he had no idea where he was or what was going on. Then the smell of the hospital attacked his nose and brought him away from his dreamland, where he was happier. He groaned, burying his face in his arm to hide from the bright lights, wishing to escape reality again, but the position his body was in brought discomfort that roused with his trip back into reality.
Then he felt pressure again, around his hand.
Groggy and grumpy, he lifted his head, eyes squinted as the fluorescent lights bombarded his eyes and blinded him. He had to blink away the sleep, but when he could see clearly, he saw the face of an angel.
Penelope's warm, sweet as sugar eyes were open and on him, watching him kindly. A small smile played on her lips when he finally looked at her, as if she'd been the one waiting on him to wake. Her features were soft and tired, her hair a little tousled but pushed out of the way of her face. A smaller bandage covered the injury on her head, which he'd been told was healing well, and was also out of her way.
Her hand squeezed his again and it was enough to make him bolt upright. He tightened his grip and brought her hand up to his lips, kissing her knuckles ten times over before he could get any words out, startled but happy. He was overwhelmingly happy.
"Oh my god! Oh my god!" was all he could get out at first, then he smiled at her and leaned over her bed, taking her face into his hands gently. "You're awake. Oh my god, you're awake. I've dreamed about this, you know. Wait, I'm not still dreaming, am I?"
She shook her head lightly, smiling at him as tears pricked the corners of her eyes. He gently wiped them away with his thumbs, laughing joyously as he could hardly believe it.
She'd finally awoken. Penelope had finally opened her eyes like he'd been hoping for. He could finally tell her everything he wanted her to hear. They could finally be happy again.
"Oh my god, I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you," he told her, kissing her cheek.
She let out a strange, strangled sound as she smiled. It was almost a laugh, but she ended up coughing dryly. It was rough and hard, causing her to sit up from her position on the bed. The movement and noise rattled Hawk's brain and he felt like he was rejuvenated with clarity.
"Shit, you need a doctor or a nurse or somebody," he said, looking around the room frantically. They were alone, so the only option he had was to go to the door, where he knew he would find someone outside. The only problem was that he didn't want to leave her side whatsoever. He wanted to sit with her forever, but he knew the best thing that she needed at that moment was a professional. So he looked at her. "Stay right there, I'm gonna go get someone!"
He rushed to the door, his feet pounding against the squeaky clean floor. His shoes screeched, grating on his ears, but it was far more welcome than the droning of the heart monitor. He ran to the nurses station, hardly concerned that he was in a hospital. He didn't care about the people or the carts or the chairs in the hall, he just knew that he needed to get to someone; he needed Penelope's nurse or doctor, whose faces and names he knew by heart.
However, he called out the first name that comforted him, the first one that came to mind. "Miss Diaz! Miss Diaz! She's awake!"
As he rounded the corner and found the small desk area, a group of nurses were startled by his yelling. Among them was Miguel's mom, who approached him first and quickly with concern.
She put a hand on his arm to calm him down, but nothing was going to pacify his cheerful, rapidly beating heart. The excitement was too much, the joy he felt was being pumped through his veins. His hands were shaking.
"Hawk, what's the matter?" Carmen asked, her eyebrows knit up in that familiar, motherly way.
Panting, he told, "She's awake! Penelope's finally awake!"
He'd never, ever been happier.
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Ahhh, my heart! 💗💗💗 these two have finally reunited! and they have my whole ass heart! 💗 how about yours?
What are your thoughts on this (short) chapter? What about your thoughts on Hawk being there when Penelope woke up?
