THERE WILL BE BLOOD || DANIEL MATTHEWS ||

XIV: THE HOSPITAL

I think the beeping woke me up.

All of the lights were off except for the screens of monitors and computers that illuminated the hospital with an eerie blue light. I processed that I was in the hospital, because I'm super smart. Also because of the vital hooked into my veins. I probably should've stayed in my room and everything that happened to me. However none of that mattered as I looked around my room and realized Danny wasn't in it with me.

I snuck out of my bed. Taking the vital on wheels in one hand, I stumbled to the door. Cautiously, as to not make any noise, I lifted the doorknob and squeezed my body through a tiny little gap.

As I entered the hallway I became painfully aware of how loud the wheels were, but miraculously no one noticed. That, or no one was there. I guessed most of the staff were either gone on night shift or in another part of the floor.

I kept to right side of the level and walked slowly to the next room. I looked at the name tag on the door and let out a sigh of relief when I read "Daniel Matthews". With the same level of caution as before, I opened the door and sneaked into his room.

There he was in the hospital bed. The sheets lifted up and down with his breath. His levels looked steady. I managed to stand next to him in bed before the wheels woke him up.

"What? Who?" He jolted up with a start. His eyes were panicked as his vision wasn't focused yet.

"It's okay, it's me." I whispered. His posture softened as his eyes focused and he realized it was me.

"Lilah-" He grabbed my arm softly and pulled me in. I landed on his bed with a slight thump. He pulled me into his chest, his icy blue eyes stared into my chocolate ones. "I'm glad you were the first face I saw," he tucked a strand of my curl behind my ear, "I don't want to be separated from you again."

"I don't want to be without you." I echoed his thoughts.

He kissed the top of my hair, "You won't be." He turned me around and snuggled into the nape of my neck as we fell asleep.

The next thing I heard was screaming. I woke up to the bed shaking violently. I looked over in concern and Daniel was seizing next to me. His eyes rolled back into his head.

☆ ☆☆

I awoke to the smell of strawberry yogurt. I was back in my bed. Guess they moved me back to my own room after Danny's seizure.

My eyes struggled to adjust to the harsh yet dull hospital light. Two figures stood in front of my hospital bed. One was a tall, thick man with a strong jawline, his face scowling like he just smelled something bad. The second was a shorter woman with curly black hair; she was beautiful, except for the cuts on either side of her mouth. They both were dressed nice and wore police badges. The man was holding a Yoplait Strawberry yogurt.

"Did you have to pick that up from the cafeteria?" asked the woman.

"I needed a snack Gomez," the man responded gruffly.

I watched as they bickered back and forth. I supposed they were too focused on each other and hadn't noticed I'd woken up yet. "Hello?" I said. My voice sore from little use. My voice shut them up and they both looked at me. "May I help you?"

"Hello. I'm Detective Gomez and this is my partner, Hoffman. I was wondering if we could ask you some questions if you're feeling up to it?" She smiled at me. The corners of her mouth unsettlingly reminding me of the Cheshire Cat. I ignored them, looking around my hospital room. I was the only hospital bed in there.

"Where's Daniel?"

Detective Gomez's smile faltered. "He's okay, he's in the next room. He's still asleep. The doctors said-" she trailed off. "Well, he needs his rest."

"Well, what did they say? I need to see him." I shifted uneasily in my bed, my anxiety starting to rise. Why isn't she telling me what the doctors said? That can't be good.

"I understand what you both went through, but right know rest is the best thing for him. And the best thing you can do for us is answer our questions." Hoffman responded, trying to calm me down.

I shook my head, the trauma and events that happened overwhelming my senses. I was getting overstimulated, I didn't know if Daniel was okay and I needed to see Danny. "I'm not answering questions until I see him." I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to console myself, letting out shallow breaths.

Gomez looked at Hoffman, "Delilah-"

"I'M NOT ANSWERING QUESTIONS UNTIL I SEE HIM!" I snapped. I grabbed the pillow from behind me and chucked it at them. Gomez ducked but the pillow knocked into Hoffman, him swearing as the yogurt fell out of his hands and onto his jacket. "GET OUT! GET OUT!" I sobbed.

"We need a doctor!" Gomez shouted over me. A nurse ran in and checked my vitals.

"My jacket-" Hoffman grumbled as Gomez grabbed him and left the room.

"Easy, easy, you're okay!" the female nurse grabbed my hands and pinned them down as another took a syringe and stuck it in my arm.

And I saw black again.

☆ ☆ ☆

I woke up. 

A woman was standing in front of me, with the same curly hair and eyes as me. She was crying and covering her nose with a white handkerchief. "Mom?" I said, almost unsure. It was surprising that she was here, and even more surprising, she seemed sober. The acrid smell of alcohol was nowhere to be seen.

"Delilah," She sniffed. She rushed over to me and gave me a hug. A real one. A deep hug that I haven't gotten for a while. When she finally pulled away, she tucked a loose curl behind my ear and stroked my head. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay Mom-"

"No, it's not," she cut off, voice filled with regret. "I'm your mother, I should've been there for you. I- I was so caught up in my own problems, I neglected to be your mother. And that is something I will never be able to fix or forgive myself."

"Mom, it was really hard for you," I tried to console rubbing her hand.

"And I made it harder for you." She shook her head.

I was taken aback by her words. All this time I felt like I was her mother, taking care of her and trying to protect her from my father and herself. And she's never taking accountability for anything. And now, she is. The shock of losing me must of taken her out of her self-deprecating stupor and made her realized she had to change.

"Um, Mom, where's Varia and Liam?" I asked gently.

"They're at Harper's house; she offered to watch them for me as long as it took for you to wake up." I nodded, understanding that my mom left them in the care of her book club friend.

I nodded. It surprised me again that Mom seemed to have actually thought things through and made the appropriate decisions. And that she was here with me, for me. That she cared about me and wanted to make sure I was safe.

With a sinking heart, I asked,

"Where's Dad?"