Legitimately Us ||H.S||

Chapter 12

As soon as I open my eyes, I close them again with a wince. Pain. It's consuming me. If I could think of anything else at the moment, I'm sure it would be that I have never felt worse in my entire life. My head throbs, pulsing along with what I can only assume is the sound of my heartbeat, which is far too loud. Thump thump. Thump thump. Thump thump.

I groan, lifting my arm slowly to press my fingers against my temple to ease the pain, but my movements only seem to make everything hurt more and instead my hand grips my stomach as I groan again.

"Jayde?" I hear from beside me.

"Too loud," I say as I try to open my eyes. The light coming in from the window makes me close them again. "Too bright." I hear the shuffling of feet and the closing of curtains before the shuffle moves again back toward me. "Thank you."

"Can we get you anything?" Another voice speaks up, quietly.

I know the voices are those of Carter and Kate and I swallow hard with the realization that Kate is in the room with us. "I'm fine," I say, allowing for my eyes to finally open. My vision adjusts slowly, finally seeing that it looks to be a hospital room I'm in and I try to sit up, wondering how the hell I got here. Tears spring to my eyes with the pain, making me lay back down.

"You don't look fine," Kate sighs. "You don't need to lie right now."

"I'm going to get the nurse," Carter says, making his way across the room, and before I know it, he has disappeared through the door.

"How did I get here?" I finally ask, my eyes shifting along the ceiling tiles, seeing visions of last night behind my eyes. The last thing I remember is texting Carter. I have no recollection of anything after that, my mind a complete blank. Maybe it's better that way.

"The nurse will explain, I'm sure," Kate answers. "I really wish you would have told me about your Dad. I don't want you to think you're alone—"

Kate is interrupted by a Nurse coming into the room, followed by Carter. She's already asking questions, to which I can't comprehend. She looks down at whatever papers are on her clipboard at the end of my bed, flipping through a couple, before coming to my side and pressing a few buttons on the machine. I look down, finally seeing that I am hooked up to the thing that beeps, through my arm.

"How did I get here?" I ask, seemingly to interrupt whatever it is that she was saying. She stops and stares at me through her obvious fake lashes and I wish I had more energy to scream at her with every moment that passes that she doesn't say anything. But I am weak. I can feel it within every part of me.

"How are you feeling?" she asks. "Medication is—"

"How does it look like I'm feeling?" I quip. "How did I get here?"

I watch the nurse roll her eyes and I wish more than anything I could smack her. "Someone will be in later to explain everything to you. Meds are being pumped through this into you for the pain, as we speak, so for now, you should get some rest. If you need anything, press the big red button." She points at the wall above my head, before walking out.

Worst nurse ever.

I ask Carter to put the bed up for me to sit, and we listen to the loud noise that makes my head hurt worse, as I slowly come to a sitting position. He props my pillow up for me to be comfortable, except I'm not, I just wish I was. The silence in the room is deafening as I look between the two of them sitting in the chairs next to my bed and a wave of embarrassment washes over me just imagining what they could possibly be thinking as they stare back at me, expressionless.

"I'm guessing you got my SOS?" I finally ask, looking at Carter, knowing no one will explain anything unless I ask.

"Yeah," Carter grumbles.