Aurora Lockheart was once the sunshine girl-bright, kind, and full of life. But one night changed everything, leaving her a shadow of who she used to be.
A year later, just as she's beginning to think she'll never find her way back, her ex-best fr...
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"Can you calm down?" A voice snapped, sharp and irritated, breaking through the fog in my head.
"No! You've got no right to come back!" Another voice roared, deep and filled with fury.
"Lads—calm down," a third voice intervened, exhaling heavily as though already tired of the chaos unfolding.
I groaned, trying to focus. It felt like I'd gone ten rounds with Tyson, yet, weirdly, like I was floating on cloud nine. My entire body was heavy, but my mind? It was buzzing.
"You leave my baby sis—" the angry voice started again, but I shot up before he could finish.
"My baby! Where's my baby?!" I croaked, my voice scratchy, words tumbling out in a panicked rush as my eyes tried to adjust to the glaring hospital lights.
"Baby? What baby—Jesus, Aurora!" Joey's familiar face appeared by my bedside, his voice a mix of worry and exasperation. "Lay back down. You're alright, you're fine."
"Jesus... what did Andrew give me?" I slurred, sinking back against the pillows as he gently nudged me down. I chuckled, the sound dry. "I think I need more of that..."
"You're on some seriously strong meds right now, Aurora," Joey explained, his hand brushing the hair out of my face. "Trust me, you don't need more."
I tried to swallow, but my throat was dry, almost like I hadn't had water in days. "The fuck is he doing back?" I managed to croak out, my eyes landing on Darren, standing rigid and quiet by the door.
"I'm gonna go get a nurse or something," Aiden muttered, rubbing the back of his neck as he glanced towards Darren, the man whose name no one wanted to mention.
"No... not my Aiden," I frowned as a yawn escaped me, my body betraying my mind's attempts to stay alert. "My head's all... fuzzy." I chuckled, slurring my words as Joey pulled the chair beside me. "Where's Joker? We're supposed to have a sleepover—" I giggled, trailing off.
Joey glanced at me with a confused frown before I ask, "Am I really high or am I actually seeing Darren?"
Before I could say more, the door creaked open, and a nurse stepped in. She exchanged a few words with Darren before turning her attention to me.
"Happy to see you're awake," she greeted, a soft but sad smile tugging at her lips. "I'm Dr. O'Neill. I'm the one who operated on you." She paused, her eyes flicking between Joey, Aiden, and Darren before sighing. "I'll cut straight to the point."
I blinked, trying to stay focused, but her words felt distant, like I was listening through water.
"We had to induce a coma to reduce brain activity and allow your body to heal from extensive trauma. You suffered multiple skull fractures, a broken nose, cheekbone, broken ribs, and a collapsed lung." She rattled off the list clinically, but I could feel the weight of it. "You've been in a coma for about six days."
