I squinted awake, the harsh lights above me making my head pound. The smell of hand sanitizer made my fingers tingle.
"She's waking up!"
I was greeted by a blurry Calum, his face hovering above mine.
Where the fuck am I?
My eyes began to focus, realization hitting me like a ton of bricks.
Jason's house burned down, I was trapped inside until...
"Where's Michael?" I asked, my IV restricting me from lifting my hand to my head.
Calum looked over his shoulder with his eyebrows furrowed, "Rosie, Michael hasn't spoken to you in a week, did you forget? Did you wake up with amnesia?!"
I sat up and looked to the back of my hospital room, seeing Luke's guilty eyes staring right back at me.
"I wish I did," I mumbled to myself, raising my voice so the boys could hear me, "I saw him last night, I swear."
"He was at the party?"
"I-" I started, thinking back to the previous night. Maybe I was drinking too much? Maybe I imagined the whole thing? I mean... a guy with wings? Really? My imagination is getting the best of me.
I shook my head, trying to rattle the memory out of my mind, "Nevermind, how did the fire start?"
Luke stayed silent, making Calum explain, "Police said it was undetermined, but Ashton and I think it was Coley's joint that she threw behind the couch."
I searched my brain for the faces to match the names. Coley had blonde hair, and she was smoking. Ashton had the football jacket on and the long hair. Okay, I got this.
"Finally, why am I in this cold ass hospital room?"
The door opened suddenly, seeing my wild mother run towards my bed, "Oh honey! You're awake!"
She kissed my face despite my protests, only stopping when I pushed her away.
Calum boasted, "They said you jumped out the window! But luckily you didn't break anything."
It's because I never jumped.
"Rosie, these boys are so sweet. I'm so glad you have such great friends!" my mother laughed, watching Calum smirk smugly.
"Why, thank you, Jen."
Luke cleared his throat, standing from his seat in the shadowed corner. He rubbed his clammy palms on his jeans, reminding me of when he did it last night. Oh shit.
"Could I speak to Rosie alone for a second?" he asked nervously.
Calum shrugged, "Care for some coffee, Jen?"
Calum has to charm every woman he sees. Even my mom.
He looped his arm around hers, opening the door for her, "I'll bring you back some jello, Rose!"
I thanked him, my stomach dropping as the door shut. Here we go.
Luke sat in the chair closest to my bed, holding my small hand in his. We sat like that for a moment, neither of us wanting to break the silence.
"I'm sorry," we said at the same time, confusion contorting each of our faces, "What are you sorry for?"
We both smiled at our timing, deciding that Luke would go first.
"I'm sorry for last night."
I rolled my eyes, "Luke, you don't have to apologize."
"No, I do," he said loudly, "If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have even been upstairs. I'm sorry for leaving you up there alone after we..."
He trailed off, licking his lips and searching my eyes for any sign of uncomfortability.
"Luke, I followed you up there myself. You were protecting me from Toad."
He chuckled at my use of Todd's nickname, rubbing my knuckles lightly, "I tried to protect you and ended up putting you in more danger."
"It wasn't your fault, Luke," I said, placing my other hand on top of his.
Calum bursted through the door, a bowl of bright green jello cubes in his hand. His smiled fell into an 'O' shape at the sight of Luke's hands tangled in mine. He looked shocked, but in a good way. He looked between us, his grin growing, "Am I missing something here? Luuuuke, what did you-"
Luke interrupted him, "I think it's about time to get Rosie checked out, shall we?"
"I'm sure you already checked her out, mate," Calum commented, laughing down the hall as a blushing Luke followed him to the front desk. What losers.
---
After being home from the hospital for an hour, my mother kicked the boys out and said I needed "time to rest". They thanked her for letting them stay later, leaving with hugs and kisses.
From my mom.
She plugged in my humidifier, which the doctor told me I would need to sleep with for a bit because of the damage done to my throat. It was only 11pm, my mind wide awake and reeling.
"Goodnight Rose, love you. Sleep! You need it!" she said, pulling my door shut.
"Love you too!"
As soon as I was sure that my mother was in her room, getting ready for her soap operas, I pulled away my sheets. Once my hoodie was over my head, I unlocked my window.
Getting out onto the roof was the easy part, but actually jumping off the house would definitely be hard.
I heard a clinking noise, a smile breaking out on my face.
I looked on the left side of the lawn, watching Luke as he attempted to drag the ladder to my back window.
I giggled, his silent struggle making it hard to stay quiet.
"You so owe me for this, I had to take it off my dad's truck! Let alone driving it over here in my car!" he whisper-shouted, laughing as he finally got it to lean against the edge of the roof. I quickly climbed down as Luke held it, getting to the ground safely. I turned around to be chest to chest with Luke, seeing him step back once I was off the ladder.
"Thank you so much for doing this," I whispered, wrapping my arms around his neck to hug him.
He hugged me back, "Yeah yeah, whatever. Now, help me with this before your mom castrates me."
Once the ladder was tucked away behind a bush, Luke and I high-fived, heading out to his car. Calum had already left in his hummer, the vacant seats allowing me to sit shot gun.
We got into the car, buckling our seatbelts.
Luke turned to me as he started the engine, "You know where he lives, right?"
"Yeah," I said, biting my nervous lip, "He lives in a cabin near the coast."
---------------
made an amnesia reference fight me
filler but needed
so Luke and Rosie???? kill me?????
let me know what you think!!
