Changing My Ways For You

Chapter 18

***Hey everyone! Okay, so this chapter isn't too long, but I didn't want to keep you guys waiting and I also didn't want to give too much away in one chapter! Anyway, while I'm at it, I just wanted to thank every one of you reading this, or my story, or whatever. This is my first story on wattpad, and I never thought I'd have this many people reading my story or even liking it for that matter. So thank you:) Okay, enough rambling, enjoy!***

Chapter 18

Austin’s POV

Slowly, painfully slowly, the darkness dissipated into something. Something I could hold on to. It wasn’t much, but at least it was something.

I could now make out the smudged contours and abstract shadows of the room I was in. Speaking of, just where exactly was I?

I could hear a beeping sound. It sounded faint yet so close. My eyes half open, I tried to sit up a bit. Nothing happened, though, when I told my brain to move. I just laid there, unmoving.

I settled for looking around with my eyes. There was no color, the space was quite bland to be honest. When my blurred vision came to include myself and the bed I seemed to be lying on, I jolted.

I was in a hospital bed, wearing a hospital gown, under hospital sheets. There was an IV stuck in my arm, and a breathing tube thing in my nose. I once again tried sitting up, but when I did my stomach hurt like hell.

What happened?

I tried to think back, to see if I could remember anything significant. I came up with nothing, my mind was blank. Well, apart from one thing.

Grace.

Grace. Where was she? Was she here? Did she know what happened? Did she care?

I again went back to looking around the room. I hadn’t seen anyone in here before, but I hadn’t been looking then.

My gaze found a row of two or three chairs---I was too hyped up on meds to count correctly--against the wall by my bed. They were all empty, apart from one.

And there she was.

She sat stiff as a board, her back flat against the plastic chair she was in. Her eyes were closed, but I knew she was not asleep. There were dark bags under her eyes, and her mouth was set in a thin line. I saw earbuds in here ears, and I followed the white wire from them down to the thin iPod in her hands. Her knuckles were white, one hand fisted around her iPod, the other just in a fist.

Her face was calm, but I knew that was far from how she felt inside. Inside, she was falling apart.

I wanted to say something, anything, at least have her open her eyes. But my voice didn’t feel like working, apparently. I kept opening and closing my mouth, but each time nothing came out.

Feeling so helpless, I just laid there and watched her, fighting my heavy lids. I didn’t want to fall asleep. I didn’t want to go back to darkness, especially when Grace was so close.