Don't Leave Me (A Bajan Canadian Fan Fiction) (Watty Awards 2013)

Chapter Five: Your Pain is Mine

Chapter 5

I start waking up in a strange place. The light blared in my eyes. My torso hurt.

"What... what happened?" I ask to no one particular. A squeeze vibrates through my hand.

"You were shot, Mitch," the voice says. It was feminine.

"Rebecca?" I ask.

"Yeah," she says, sniffling.

"Are you okay?" I ask, squeezing her hand.

"I should be asking that to you, you know," she says, laughing through her tears, "It just scared me. I could hear the gun shot from my house. I was just driving when I saw you hanging out of your doorframe with a bullet wound." She started crying really hard by then. It took all my energy to reach my other hand over and brush my fingers over her cheek.

"I'll be okay," I say, dropping my hand from her face and onto my stomach. It hurt to move. It hurt to do anything.

"On the bright side, once you get out, you don't have to use crutches. Your ankle healed," Rebecca said, stroking my hand.

"It hurts," I cry, tears slipping down my cheek.

"I know, I know, I'm so sorry," Rebecca cried with me, stroking my cheek softly. The pain was excruciating. My torso was burning. I screamed out in pain. A doctor quickly came in as Rebecca stepped back. The doctor quickly put the medicine into my torso. The pain slowly slipped away. My breathing became normal again. The doctor checked my IV levels before telling me while I was asleep for about 5 days, they successfully got the bullet out of my body.

I nodded, the pain fully melted away. Rebecca returned back to her spot next to me, taking my hand and kissing my finger. A knock came from the door as the doctor went out.

"Who is it?" I ask.

"It's Matt and Sadie," Matt says as the doctor opens the door. The doctor asks what relation they have to me.

"I'm uh..." Matt starts.

"He's my brother and his girlfriend," I say quickly. The doctor nods and leaves. Matt and Sadie walk into the room.

"How are you feeling?" Matt asks.

"We heard screaming from the elevator. Was that you?" Sadie asked. I nod slightly. Sadie looks at Matt.

"Who shot you?" Matt asks. I look to Rebecca who was playing with my fingers.

"Dakota..." she said. Sadie clings onto Matt immediately. I look at the ceiling.

"This is... terrible," I say, "Did he get caught?"

"No," Rebecca said, "He ran out as I ran in." Rebecca's eyes brimmed with tears.

"I don't want him caught," I firmly say. The three look at me like I'm crazy.

"Mitch, you're crazy," Matt says, looking at the three of us.

"He's going to pay somehow. Just not now. But later," I murmur so the three can only hear. They all nod at me. Rebecca looks down at my fingers, playing with them gently. I smile at her. She looks up and gives me a toothless grin. Matt sits down in the chair across from the hospital bed. Sadie sits on his lap.

A nurse comes in and checks my medical equipment.

"How are feeling, Mr. Hughes?" she asks.

"I'm okay for now," I say, gripping onto Rebecca's hand as a shot of pain flows through me. I try not to show too much emotion.

"Alright. Yell if you need anything," she says, fixing something and leaving the room.

"How long until I get out?" I ask. Matt shrugs and whispers something in Sadie's ear. She nods and gets up.

"Where's Sadie going?" Rebecca asks.

"To check when Mitch gets out," Matt says. Sadie returns with a slight smile.

"He gets out in about 3 days," she says, "If the pain gets worse he stays another 5 days." I nod, knowing I'll be able to last 3 days. Rebecca grips my hand tightly, like she was in pain. I roll my head over to her.

"Are you okay?" I whisper. She shakes her head no before letting go of me and walking out of the room. Sadie holds up her finger as in the 'one sec' thing that girls do. I look at Matt as he looks at the door. I prop myself up on my elbows, immediately putting one back down. The pain wasn't coming back anymore, which was a plus.

Sadie entered holding her face, crying. Matt stands and hugs her.

"What happened?" I ask frantically. Sadie faces me. She removes her hand from her face, showing me a red line from the bottom of her line to her chin.

"What did she do?" I ask.

"She took a scissors and stabbed my face!" she said, turning and crying into Matt's chest. He holds her like she was going to die at any given moment.

What was wrong with Rebecca?