Hiding My Life (On Hold)

Chapter Nine

Clary's POV

I woke to the beeping sound of my heart monitor and tried to open my eyes, but failed. So, I waited a few more minutes and tried again, opening them this time.

"Hey, angel. You feel okay?" I looked to Luke and shook my head slightly, too much movement hurting like hell. "I'll get the doctor." I thanked god for the dimmed lights and waited for Luke to come back.

"Good morning, Clary. Or, shall I say goodnight?" It was already dark outside, but I just stared at the doctor. "Right. So, how are you feeling?"

"Pain." I whispered, my voice hoarse. Luke grabbed a cup of water with a straw and let me drink out of it before setting it back on the table.

"On a scale of one to ten, how bad is the pain?"

"Eleven." He nodded and pressed a few buttons on my morphine drip.

"Alright, we'll get you medicated a little more, but it will make you drowsy. That okay with you?" I nodded. "Good. It should be a few minutes before it kicks in, but after that, you should be fine. And, you can go home tomorrow night. Goodnight, Clary."

I ignored him and turned to Luke as best I could. "Ryder?" I asked, hope filling my eyes until he shook his head.

"He died instantly, angel. I'm sorry." I immediately started sobbing and eventually cried myself back to sleep.

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I didn't wake up again until the next night around eight o'clock. "Luke, where's my phone?" He pulled it out of his pocket and handed it to me. I dialed in my dad's number and raised the phone to my ear with my right casted hand. While my other was occupied by resting in a sling.

"Hey, kiddo. What can I do for you?" I sniffled, trying not to cry.

"I need a place to stay." I fought back a sob, thinking about Ryder.

"What? Why? Are you crying?" I nodded, letting out just a small sob. "Clary, tell me what's going on."

"Ryder's dead. I need a place to stay. Can you come pick me up from the hospital?"

"Hospital? Are you hurt?"

"I got shot. I'm at St. Vincents." He sighed.

"I'll be there in twenty minutes." I set the phone down and pressed the button to raise my bed into a sitting position, making me wince at the searing pain in my shoulder.

Aiden walked in and I noticed the folded pile of clothes in his hands, along with a pair of shoes on top. "Hey, angel. Brought you some clothes to change into." I thanked him and he left the room so that Luke could help me get dressed.

"Let's get you dressed, angel." I nodded, and he pressed the button to lower my bed closer to the floor and the other one to push me up into a sitting position.

He helped me get dressed into some comfortable clothes. A white button-up shirt, black sweatpants, a gray sweater and my black bootie slippers.

"Clary?" I turned to see my dad in the doorway just as Luke was helping me put my sling back on. I sat back down on the bed and fiddled with my shirt.

"I'll go get you discharged, okay?" I nodded absently to Luke and stared at my lap as he left the room, dad taking his place in front of me.

"Baby girl, what happened? You got shot and Ryder's dead?" I nodded, letting the tears fall from my eyes. "Tell me what happened." He sat down beside me, waiting for me to speak.

"Ryder got home before I did after the game and as I was getting out of the car, a car slowly drove by us and I got shot. Then Ryder got hit a couple times in the chest. Daddy, I miss him. He was my best friend and now I'll never see him again, never hear him call me 'angel' again, never cuddle with me while we watch Netflix. I want him back, daddy. I just want him back." I sobbed, no matter the pain in my shoulder.