My (Not So) Charmed Life

Taking Back Control

I was stuck in the hospital for three more days. During that time, I told the doctors not to allow anyone in my room, except for my parents. Thankfully, Amicus took charge and limited the amount of visits by anyone else, as due to the fact that I was in a human hospital, they didn't want to raise anyone's suspicion by having a bunch of magical people lingering around.

I was thankful that I was able to avoid Ryan, Sammy, Tori and Annette. I wanted to put as much distance between all of them and myself as possible. I wasn't ready for those confrontations just yet. The time came for me to tell my parents the whole story, and that took up most of my time in the hospital bed. Other than that, I stared at the TV and checked my social media profiles on my phone, relishing in the utter normalness of it all.

My mom and dad weren't what I would call happy about the fact that I was being stalked, kidnapped and attacked by rogue wizards, but Amicus had spoken to them privately after their initial meltdown, and whatever he had said had done wonders, because after that, they both just seemed happy to see me alive.

My time in the hospital eventually had to come to an end, and I was discharged and taken home. They put me in a wheelchair to leave the hospital, which I fought tooth and nail about, and finally a nurse had to threaten to sedate me if I didn't calm down.

"It's hospital policy that anyone who has been admitted for head trauma or enters in a comatose state must be discharged in a wheelchair. You won't have to take it home or use it, but you do have to leave in it, or I'll be forced to sedate you, which won't be pleasant." I shut my mouth and finally relaxed my tense limbs to allow him to lift me from the bed and place me in the chair. I couldn't stop the heat in my cheeks from blazing as they wheeled me down the hallways and out the door of the hospital.

My dad pulled the car around and left it in the front of the doors so that I wouldn't have to be wheeled all around before getting into the car. The ride home wasn't nearly long enough for me, but it didn't matter much anyway, because as soon as we pulled into our driveway, I noticed a figure sitting on my front steps.

When my dad let me out, I tried to walk on my own, but ended up leaning heavily on him, my strength not being back as completely as I had tried to let on. As much as I liked the excuse of being in the hospital as an easy avoidance of the people I didn't want to see, I hated having so many unresolved questions and feeling weak. I looked over at the guy on my steps and took in a shaky breath when I realized who it was.

"Long time, no see, Liza."

"Same to you, Sammy."

Rather than flipping out and kicking Sammy out, my mother invited him in for a glass of lemonade and before I could escape upstairs to my room, she said casually, "Why don't you two sit down and have a little chat?" She walked me over to the dining room chair while ignoring my imploring looks and glares, and then walked out as though this were completely normal.

I pursed my lips and looked down at my hands. I refused to be the one to begin this conversation, and if Sammy was going to try and convince me that he was on my side, I was not going to make this easy for him. I peeked up at him and saw him practically gnawing on his bottom lip. It was a nervous habit of his since we were kids, and for a second, I felt sympathetic towards the little boy I had been so close to so long ago.

"Okay, listen. I'm not going to try and sugar coat the fact that I hurt you. I was a dick, okay? I just want to tell you the truth. I want to make things right between us again, even if it's completely impossible." I met his eyes this time and saw the anguish in them, and it was something that I didn't understand.

"You have ten minutes," I said, trying to keep the anger and the fear out of my voice. I was finally going to have some answers, and weirdest of all, Sammy of all people was going to give them to me.