Smile (Kris Bryant)

Chapter Twelve| Moving In

Alexandria

After having to stay in the hospital an extra day I was finally being released today. I can actually see out my eyes now that the swelling is down and I have a wrap for my ribs so they don't move as much as they get reset back into place.

After one last check up I change into street clothes and I'm released. It's been a long few days and I was tired for a totally different reason now, but I was just excited that I won't have to eat that sad excuse of a meal anymore. I get not everyone eats healthy and knows about nutrition, but it was like they weren't even trying.

I follow Kris into his car and sit quietly in the passengers seat. I think to myself as he hops in the drivers side and buckles up. I wasn't real sure what I was going to do now. I don't want to be in that house anymore. It held nothing but bad memories and it was too big for me to live in alone. I'm sure it was still a mess from the incident anyway and quite frankly I am tired of scrubbing my own blood off of things. I would be perfectly okay with never stepping foot in that place ever again. Maybe I'll stay with my brother or parents for a while until I figure out what to do. Everyone I love lives around the Chicago area, I would just have to drive a little longer to get to work.

Somewhere in my train of thought I missed that Kris drove right pass my house and didn't stop. I watch it pass by in the rear view mirror and look at him questionably.

"My house is back there" I tell him.

"I know where it's at" he says.

"Okay then, if were not going there then where are we going" I ask.

"My place" he says. His place?

"Did you forget something there orrr" I trail off. We come to a red light and he turns to me, his grip on the wheel tightens as his face turns very serious.

"I'm not letting you stay in that house and certainly not alone. I know Spencer is in jail for a while but I don't like you being there. You're staying with me" he says.

"Hey now, if I wanted to be told what I was and wasn't going to go I would have stayed with Spencer" I say crossing my arms over my chest. This is exactly what I was afraid of. I am tired of being treated like I belong in someone's back pocket. He pulls his car over and turns to me with sad eyes this time. He releases his grip on the wheel finally making me feel just a bit better.

"I'm sorry, I really didn't mean it like that. I just.... I can't let anything bad happen to you. Never again. I will actually lose my mind if I let something happen to you again. I talked with your parents and they agreed to let you stay with them but I live closer to Wrigley and have a extra room open so they said it would be best if you stayed with me. We brought some of your stuff to my place over the past few days and if you would like, I would love if you stayed with me" he says. A smile finds its way on my face and I let out a sigh.

"Why didn't you just say that in the first place" I tease.

"Because you still make me nervous as hell" he admits.

"Well, word of the wise, if you talk me through it there's a pretty good chance I'll do whatever you want me too" I advise.

"Nice to know" he smiles. We drive over to his apartment complex and he helps me up to his place. We walk in and it was just as I remembered. But this time my things were up everywhere, old softball stuff, my prom tiara, the good old times that I've been forced to forget about over he years.

"How did you..." I trail off.

"Your parents and I got this yesterday. The house was pretty turned upside down but we salvaged what we could. I really don't want you going back there so we brought what we thought you would need here" he admits.

"I don't want to go back" I assure him. I just couldn't go back.

He takes me up to his room we're a bunch of my clothes were. They were all neatly placed in the closet right beside his stuff. He really thought this through.

"He actually burned a lot of your things so some of this was new. I hope it's the right size" he says handing me a bunch of clothes. There was a ton of new sports bras and track shorts and tank tops in the pile cloths. All Nike too.

"Thanks so much. How much do I owe you" I ask.

"Not a damn thing. And don't even argue" he warns.

"But-" I try.

"No buts. This is something I did on my own. You didn't ask for this therefore you will not pay for any of this" he reasons.

"Well at least let me take the couch" I bargain.

"No way. You're healing, you're on the bed" he claims.

"You're tall as shit, you wouldn't last a night on that couch" I argue. It falls silent and I smile knowing that I was right.

"Fine. I'll sleep in the bed" he sighs and I raise my arms triumphantly.

"Winner" I claim and he rolls his eyes. She shows me around and I get more acquainted with everything. After a while we sit down and he orders a pizza for us. I enjoy the non-hospital food as we watch ESPN.

"Thank you so much, for everything. I don't think I'll fully understand why you're doing all this for me" I admit.

"I don't understand it either. I just know it's something I really want to do and I love doing it. Knowing that you're going to be okay is the greatest feeling I could ask for. I can't tell you why you're so important to me. You just are" he shrugs. I snuggle into his side and he puts a arm around me. I groan when his arm rests on my ribs and he jumps a little.

"Sorry" he whispers before adjusting his arm so it didn't hurt as bad.

"Is that better" he asks.

"Yeah" I admit. We watch tv for a while before I see he gets tired.

"You should go to bed" I say patting his chest.

"But I'm comfortable" he whines.

"But you're tired" I argue.

"Come with me" he says quietly.

"I don't think that's a good idea. Not yet" I admit and he nods. He quietly goes off to bed and I lay on the couch. He was right, it did hurt my ribs. But I wasn't about to tell him that.