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Waking up in a hospital room was anxiety inducing to say the least. The last time I'd been in the hospital, I woke up and was told my mom and Sarah were never coming back. The memories of the ballet studio came in weird flashes as consciousness came back to me. I remembered James cutting me, thinking I'd die. I remembered Bella's screams growing louder--was she okay?
I blinked open my eyes, wincing at the bright white lights, why did they make hospitals so white? I felt a hand holding my uninjured one, a cold touch that brought me immediate comfort. "Emmett?" I asked, my voice was groggy from sleep as I turned and looked at him with my still blurry eyes.
He let out an unnecessary breath of relief as he met my gaze, my vision clearing as I blinked away the fog. "Thank god you're awake," his shoulders sagged slightly and I could see his body relaxing.
"Where's Bella," I asked, looking around the room, we were the only ones in it, "is she okay?"
Emmett immediately nodded, "yeah, she's in another room with her parents and Edward." He sat forward and brushed my hair behind my ear, "are you okay? How are you feeling?"
I tried to sit up a bit and Emmett immediately helped me into a sitting position, using the bed controls to prop me up more. I could feel my ribs and back aching and my arm was weirdly numb beneath the bandage. "Sore." I swallowed, my mouth dry and my lips felt like they were cracking, "and thirsty."
Emmett jumped up and grabbed me a cup from a bedside table before bringing it back to me. "Here, drink this." The ice cold water soothed the dryness in my mouth and throat, I gulped down the entire cup in one go, letting out a breath once I was done.
Once he took the cup from me and sat back down beside me, I knew it was time to address the elephant in the room. I leaned back into the bed and took Em's hand in mine. "I'm sorry," I breathed, unsure if my words of apology would even be enough for him. "I know it doesn't excuse it but, I couldn't let Bella go alone. I tried to talk her out of it, Em, I really did. But James had her convinced her mom was going to die if she didn't go.
"And I couldn't leave her to die alone. But I texted you," I choked on my words slightly as tears flooded my eyes, suddenly the memories of the ballet studio were too much, the fear I felt was too much, "I was so scared, Emmett. I started to think you weren't going to come and-"
Emmett shushed me, he moved onto the bed beside me, taking up most of the room, and pulled me into his chest. I folded into his embrace, tears leaking from my eyes as I tried to not think about what just happened--what might've happened.
"It's okay, 'Livia. You're safe now," he placed a kiss to the top of my head and I relaxed into his hold. "I'm not going to lie and say I'm not upset you faced James on your own. But, none of that matters now. I'm just happy you're safe now."
I nodded against his chest, holding his shirt in my fist as I did. "I hate to do this, babe, but I have to go. Billy will be back soon and unless you want him to see us together and flip, I should get lost."
