Mate

Eight

Before Toni could react, I pushed him out of he way. Julian's full-forced punch connected with my jaw, causing my head to snap to the side. A sickening crack filled my ears as multiple people gasped and stood abruptly from their seats. I flew backwards, my back ramming into the bench of the table behind me, knocking the breath out of my chest. A whimper made it's way from my throat as I held a hand to my face, too scared to actually touch my obviously broken jaw, tears threatening to spill.

It hurts. So bad.

"Aspen!" Toni's voice echoed, but I could barely see as my vision fogged and blurred. I could just make out Julian's shocked figure, staring at me, and Toni going up to him and pushing him harshly into another table.

"I'm going to kill you!" Toni shouted as the table all but split in half from the surprising force he'd pushed Julian with.

I couldn't tell what happened after that. The pain from my throbbing head and bleeding mouth was enough to block my senses with a numb relief. I could distantly feel myself being lifted at one point and faintly heard the yelp rip through my throat at the pain of my injured back being moved.

Soon, the world went black.

•~•~•~•~•

Beep. Beep. Beep.

I groaned. Seriously. Who disturbs my slumber

"Aspen?" A croaky voice spoke. I opened my mouth to speak, but quickly closed it again and squeezed my eyes shut in pain with a soft whimper.

"I'm so sorry, angel," the voice apologized and two hands gripped my right hand reassuringly. "I never meant to hurt you."

"I'll go get the doctor," another voice murmured, evidently having mixed feelings about something. Footsteps retreated the room, a door opening and closing.

I finally opened my eyes to see the warm brown of Julian's remorseful eyes. I looked away from him, remembering what had happened, and slipped my hand out of his.

He let out a sigh and we waited in silence for the doctor to come in, not knowing what to say. I scanned the room; it doesn't look much like the room I was in at Julian's pack hospital. This is a mundane hospital.

The doctor came in and did a checkup on me and gave me a dry erase board about the size of a notebook and offered me a variety of different colored Expo markers.

I chose blue, of course.

The doctor told me that I shouldn't speak for about two weeks before I can come back for a checkup. I only nod in response.

Dang it. This is a regular hospital. I can't just drop off the radar this time. I have to heal like normal.

The doctor left.

As it turns out, the voice who had retrieved the doctor belonged to Toni. We spoke for a while (More like he spoke and I wrote, but still.) before Julian offered to take us home.

I had no other way to get home, since Gran doesn't have a car, I had to accept. Toni accepted, as well, on account of my safety, as he put it.

So I was signed out after calling Gran and scheduling another appointment for the checkup on my jaw and back, which was only bruised, and Julian drove Toni and I home. Makenna had been waiting outside the hospital, looking like she wanted to strangle her brother upon seeing him, and sat in the passenger seat beside Julian in the car after making sure I was alright. Julian tried to speak to me along the way, apologizing and promising he won't do it again.

You bet your pretty life you won't, pretty boy.

~~~

I promise this isn't one of those stories that is revolved around hospitals.