Hold Me Close (Edited Version)

Chapter 31

After Ryan calmed me down, the nurse brought in a board game for us to play while we waited for any news of my father. A short time later, the doctor came and told us that he had called my house and my mother had picked up. I had sent Ryan a worried glance, but he patted my leg comfortingly to tell me to wait and listen before I made assumptions. The doctor told us that my parents would pick me up in the morning. I had to stay in the hospital for just a little longer for observation. A small part of my brain wondered why my dad wouldn't come at least see me. I'd been gone for over a week, wasn't he worried?

When the doctor left, I sighed and sat back. My side was killing me, but I guess that was natural after having been shot at close range. I wished they'd give me morphine or something to dull the pain. But Ryan held my hand as he talk to me and the warmth of it felt good on my skin. "So, I was thinking for our special date we'd go wherever you wanted," he said cheerfully. "It doesn't matter where, I'll make it happen. Sound good to you?"

I glanced at him and smiled. "Yeah... But I have a question," I said, testing the waters. "What if I said I wanted to go to like, Europe? Could you still make that happen?"

He hesitated, his smile faltering as he worked the likelihood in his head. "Uh... I could... try. If that's what you really wanted, I'd do my very best to make you happy." He lifted my hand off the bed and kissed the back of it and my heart fluttered. Confidence was key.

I flushed red. "I was just kidding..." I said, slightly embarrassed for some unknown reason.

Ryan chuckled and put his other hand on top of our clasped ones. "I know."

Suddenly, the nurse walked in with a phone. She smiled at Ryan and handed it to him. "Your parents called," she said.

Ryan seemed to cough nervously. "Whoops. I promised I'd call them," he muttered with a shameful grin. He kissed my forehead and headed for the door. "I'll be right back," he said before shutting the door behind him. I smiled lightly at the door and closed my eyes.

"You guys seem so close," I heard the nurse say from where she stood checking my vitals. I turned my head to her and she smiled. "He looks like he cares a great deal for you."

I looked down with a gentle blush dusting my cheeks. "Yeah..." I said.

She came over and set a few things on the table next to my bed. "How long have you been together?" she asked.

I hesitated. It felt like a million years, but I knew it wasn't even close. I thought for a moment before saying, "About a month."

Her smile widened. "Really? By the look of things, I thought you had been together for much longer," she said.

"Why do you say that?" I asked.

"Well, I'm not an expert on love or anything, but the way you look at each other shows a strong bond which usually takes a very long time to forge." She smiled more to herself than to me as she spoke. "It's like true love straight out of a fairytale..."

I stared at her in thought, genuinely baffled by her words. Was it really that strange to be so close after such a short time? I glanced out the window to the hall where I could see Ryan talking on the phone, his eyes subconsciously scanning the floor for an excuse he could use to explain his missed phone call. I felt my lips twitch into a small smile. Now that I thought about it, I realized it really was different than what I had always heard of as love. But it was a good different. The kind of different someone can be proud of no matter what anyone else says. This wasn't some high school crush, it was real.

"Have you ever been in true love?" I asked, turning back to the nurse.

She shook her head with a sad smile. "No, I haven't. It's a hard thing to come by," she said. After a pause, her smile became playful. "But I'll tell you what I'd do if I did find it."

"What?" I asked.

"Hold it close," she said. "Because you don't find true love very often."

"I see," I murmured. My eyes dropped to my hands in my lap as I rested my head back, thinking about that.

The nurse patted my shoulder. "But it looks to me like you guys already have that covered," she said.

As I contemplated what she had said, Ryan walked back into the room. I didn't hardly notice his scowl as I reached up and wrapped my arms around his neck to kiss him firmly, I didn't care if anyone saw us. Ryan seemed surprised though, and had to lean on the bed to keep from falling on me. "Hey, wait. You might hurt yourself," he said anxiously as he tried to support my back to keep from putting strain on my wound.

He was right. My side erupted with pain as my wound reopened slightly and cold air seeped through the bandages and stiches. I ignored it to buried my face in his shoulder. "Worth it," I said.

Ryan paused in confusion before he hugged me back gently, granting my wish for a tight hug despite the pain it cause. That was love after all. However, my side really was killing me, and I eventually pulled away with a small whimper of pain. Ryan saw the red blood soaking into the bandages and quickly called the nurse over. She fussed at me all through changing the gauze as she patched up my side.

When she was finished, I thanked her and she scoffed. "Be more careful. You have to live long enough to marry this young man over here," she scolded.

Both Ryan and I blushed and she laughed as she exited the room, telling us to watch ourselves since we were in a hospital. Neither of us commented on that, we were too embarrassed to speak.

When we were alone again, Ryan remained silent for a minute before he look at the floor, his cheeks a light pink. "May I ask what brought on such a... brave act?" he asked.

I couldn't help finding his embarrassment cute. "Do I need a reason to love you?" I asked.

His blush darkened and he cleared his throat. "No, it's just a little unusual for you..." he said.

He was right and I looked away shyly. "So... Did you not like it?" I asked.

He chuckled and finally looked up at me, eyes bright. "Not at all," he said. "I found it adorable."

I felt my cheeks heat up too and I swallowed tightly. "I'm not adorable," I muttered in an attempt to lighten the mood.

He snickered, leaning close to kiss the corner of my mouth, effectively surprising me. "That's what they always say," he told me.

I rolled my eyes and he grinned. I suddenly remembered that he had looked unhappy after the phone call with his parents and asked, "What did your mom and dad say?"

His smile vanished and he looked down with a look of annoyance. "They said since you've woken up I need to come home," he said.

I felt disappointed to hear that and fiddled with my thumbs. "Oh..."

Seeing my distress, he quickly added, "But I don't intend to leave you here. I'm going to stay with you until you're completely better," he said.

A hint of a smile played on my lips and I shook my head. "I'll be fine. Your parents are probably already on their way to drag you off anyways," I said. "I'll call you when I get home tomorrow, okay?"

Ryan looked worried. "But, your mom..."

I frowned and looked down at my lap. I had been trying to forget that. "I know," I said. "But I want to know if my dad's okay before I try going to the police. They won't believe me if I have no proof... Everything we found before won't work now that Steven isn't helping her anymore."

Ryan bit his lip anxiously. "But what if your dad's not okay? Then what are you going to do?" he asked. "I won't be there if I go home with my parents."

I hesitated. "I don't know... But," I looked up and smiled, "things seem to be falling right into place lately. I'm sure I'll figure it out," I said.

*******

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