You think about me?

Arressted

                                                        When I woke up, I felt like I'd walked through hell. Jaxson was laying next to me in a hospital bed, sleeping on my legs. Angel looked at me and burst into tears. Cole was next to my bed in a very uncomfortable looking chair, holding my hand and talking to Josh, who was looking at him with swollen, bloodshot eyes.

                                                       Angel got up and climbed into bed with me and hugged my neck tightly, making the other two boys look at me and Jax wake up. Everyone look relieved and shocked. Josh rushed out to get a nurse.

                                                      "Why-" I tried to say but Cole cut me off.

                                                     "We'll explain everything. Drink some water first." he said as he opened a bottle of water and passed it to me. I drank half the bottle before I asked why they were all staring at me.

                                                     "The doctor said you would be sleeping for a few more days, Max." Angel sobbed out and hugged me tighter, causing me to wince.

                                                     "I'm right here, baby. I'm okay. You don't need to cry." I whispered as I rubbed her back and used my other hand to hold Jaxson's, who was reaching out to me. Then I looked at Cole. "How long was I out for?"

                                                    "Today makes it a week." he answered, clearly sounding exhausted.

                                                    "What about-" I started as the nurse came in with Josh. It was Chris.

                                                    "Hey, kiddo. How're we feeling? Is it okay if I check your vitals?"

                                                    "Hey, Chris. I'm in pain but I'm still kicking it. Go ahead." I tried to smile at him but it turned out to be more of a grimace than anything.

                                                   "You're pretty roughed up. You have multiple cuts and bruises and a few fractured ribs. You're gonna be here for about two more weeks just to be safe and make sure your ribs are healing proper." he told me as he checked my vitals and my sides.
 
                                                   "Okay. What happened with my dad? Is he gonna come back? I heard a gun shot before I blacked out..."

                                                  "Don't ever call that asshole your dad or father again, Maxine. He doesn't deserve either title. Especially not from your family. He never deserved it at all." Chris snarled.

                                                 I nodded. "Okay. Sorry. What happened with Miles?"

                                                 "Well, after that night, many people including your siblings, boyfriend, brothers girlfriend, kids at school, several doctors, and myself all came forward about the abuse. We told them you didn't want us to but we all knew we should've a long time ago. We told them everything we knew and he's been arressted. And the shot you heard was Cole. He shot him in the leg so he couldn't get to you while your sister called the cops."

                                               "Cole SHOT him?! Is he gonna be charged?! He can't be charged!! I need him!! I can't raise two kids on my own and feed them and get them to school on time and-" Josh cut me off this time.

                                               "He's not being charged. He's not going to jail. Take a breath. He's not going anywhere, baby. He was protecting you and himself and the twins. He was protecting his family and his home. They're not charging him with anything. It's okay." he said as he came over and rubbed my shoulder.

                                              I took some deep breaths and finally managed to calm down. Chris told me the recovery plan before he left the room. We all sat there in silence for a while and took the time to appreciate my family and the doctors and to silently thank everyone for my life. I wouldn't be here without any of them.