Fragments

24 | Bullet Wounds

24 | Bullet Wounds

A bright white light floods my blurred vision before I come crashing into reality. My eyes flutter open and the world comes into view. Standing at the foot of my bed is a frazzled nurse with a deep purple watch pinned to her white nurse uniform.

"What-t." I cough, my throat burns from the dryness. "What happened to me?"

"Let me get you some water," she mutters.

The nurse tosses the clipboard into the metal pocket attached to the end of the bed before rushing out of the room.

"No, wait," I call out, but my voice is only a cracked whisper.

The room is left in a creepy silence which leaves me sighing with dismay. What happened and where is Scarlett? Is she okay?

I stretch out my stiff limbs and that's when I notice it – the searing pain embedded in my shoulder. The pain triggers a memory of that night – the moment I was shot in the shoulder.

My heart rattles inside my chest. I'd never felt so useless in my life. Torn between the pain and wanting to protect Scarlett. I hope she's okay, she needs to be okay.

The door creaks open and I expect to see the same nurse holding a cup of water, instead, my father's head pokes inside. A surprised smile appears on his tired wrinkled face.

"You have caused me a lot of trouble, young man." Despite the grumble to his tone, relief course onto his face.

"I can see more silver hair," I note with a grin. "But what happened to me?"

The smile from his face falls. "You suffered two bullets in the shoulder but you'll be fine."

"And Scarlett?" I bite my lip.

"She's asleep outside, so we have time to talk."

"How much trouble am I in then?" I question.

Dad scratches the bad of his head as he walks deeper into the room. He stops beside my bed and then shakes his head.

"None because you slept through it."

"But?" There's always something wrong.

"Scarlett tried to give herself up to save you, but I stopped that from happening. We managed to come to an arrangement to settle the debt," he explains.

"Thank you for saving her." I sigh with relief.

"I figured you've been through enough and she's a good woman." He shrugs his shoulders. "Scarlett's a hard worker."

"She's an amazing woman," I agree.

"And that's my cue to grab her." He chuckles.

"Thank you, Dad."

Dad takes a moment to stand beside the bed, then he steps back and walks out of the room. Shortly after, I hear the sound of feet hitting the ground.

Her bright hair flows through the air as she bounds towards the bed. Arms fly through the air as she launches herself onto the bed. Scarlett wraps her arm around my neck and kisses my lips.

My mouth is still dry, so the kiss is chased.

"You need water, let me find you some." Scarlett scrambles off the bed and heads towards the door. Just as she opens it, the nurse reappears with a small plastic cup.

"I'll give it to him, thank you." She takes the cup and scrambles to my side.

I take the cup from her hand and quickly drink the refreshing liquid. Then I scrunch the cup in my hand and throw it towards the waste bin. The cup hits the side and bounces onto the floor.

Scarlett resumes her seat on my bed, her hand lightly pressed against my chest.

"You scared me," she scolds. "There was so much blood and I thought you were dead."

"I'm not. I'm right here." I tightly squeeze her hand.

"I wanted to hate you." Her eyes flicker to the ground. "For taking that bullet, but I can't stop myself from loving you."

Scarlett's pea green eyes meet mine and she bites her lip, waiting for me to say something.

"Are you going to say something?" she demands.

"No, it's just." I grin. "I don't feel like a fragment anymore."

"That doesn't make any sense." She laughs.

I tug on Scarlett's hand which brings her body closer to mine. I awkwardly lean forwards and whisper, "Tell me when you've figured it out."

"Okay." She smiles. "Then I'll have to learn from the master."

"Mm, I hope you don't mean me." I rest my head against her forehead.

"You know what I mean." She smirks.

I carefully rest against the propped pillow and shuffle to the side.

"Can we finally cuddle now? I've been waiting for a while now," I tease.

A small smile appears on Scarlett's lips as she nods her head.

Even though the bed is cramped, she snuggles into my side, her beautiful pea green eyes gaze into mine.

"I love you," I whisper.

"I love you too."

Her tired eyes flutter closed and I watch as soft snores escape her parted lips. For the first time in a long time, Scarlett is finally peaceful. She no longer needs to worry about her past.  

One more chapter which I hope I have enough energy to post soon :3