The sunlight that shone through the window beside my bed woke me from sleeping. Someone must have opened them at some point or maybe they were already like that in the first place. I didn't really have time to look around my room the night before.
I tried sitting up but was stopped by a weight on my lap. It was Eli. He was fast asleep, leaning across me and I didn't have the heart to wake him up because he looked so adorable like that.
The doors opened suddenly, revealing a very stressed Mrs Barnes although she seemed to visibly relax when she saw that I was awake. I gave her a tired smile and she returned it, sitting down on the chair on the other side of me to Eli, closest to the door.
"I'm glad you're awake, Ash." She said, looking down at my bandaged arms. "Eli and Jett were both really worried about you. I was too. You're basically a part of the family now."
"Thank you for everything, Mrs Barnes but I really shouldn't be here." I replied quickly. "I can't afford the hospital bills."
"Don't worry about that." She waved her hand at me dismissively. "Jett has already sorted it."
"Really? That was so nice of him." I paused, looking around to see that Jett was nowhere in sight. "Where is he?"
"He's asleep in the hallway. We didn't want to disturb sleeping beauty here." She told me, gesturing to Eli with a smile.
"You guys didn't have to stay, I can handle this on my own, really."
"Nonsense! What kind of people would we be if we left you here?" She looked shocked. "By the way, Ash. I need to talk to you about something when we get home. It's about Eli..."
I felt myself shiver slightly when I heard her say home like that. It was like it was ours rather than the Barnes' house and I felt like I truly belonged somewhere for once. But then I wondered about what she meant when she said she needed to talk to me about Eli.
Eli started shifting in his spot before opening his eyes tiredly.
"Ash." He said, sitting up. "You're awake."
"Yep, I didn't want to disturb you, you looked so peaceful like that."
"Thanks. How are you feeling?"
"Better, I guess." I smiled and he took my hand in his.
"Well then!" Mrs Barnes stood up quickly. "I will leave you two alone for a while to talk."
When she left the room, Eli leant towards me and kissed me on the cheek as gently as he could as though he was afraid to hurt me. I guess I did look kind of terrible since I was covered in bandages and most likely looked like a zombie.
"I'm glad you're okay." He murmured.
"Me too." I smiled.
About half an hour later, there was a bit of a commotion in the hallway. Eli tensed up and started walking towards the door as the shouting increased.
"Eli, wait! What's going on?"
He glanced back at me for a second before shaking his head and leaving the room. He didn't close the door properly though and some of the noise from outside leaked into the room for me to hear.
"Where is she?! I have a right to see her, she's my daughter!"
That voice... it was my dad. He was here looking for me. My heartbeat sped up, causing me to cower under my covers with just my eyes peeking out from beneath. He sounded extremely angry.
"Step in there old man and I swear to god I will knock you off your feet so hard you will forget how to walk properly." That was Jett's usual snarky voice.
"Touch me, I dare you little boy. I'll beat you into next week if you lay a single finger on me." My dad replied, his voice murderous.
Suddenly, the door flew open, smacking into the wall behind it. I winced and closed my eyes, tears almost leaking out of them. My dad's footsteps thundered along the floor until they stopped by my bed.
"Pathetic." He sneered and grabbed me roughly by my bad arm. I let out a cry in pain but allowed him to drag me out of bed. "We're going home."
"Help me!" I shouted before I could stop myself.
This angered him even more. He kicked me hard in my ribs which caused me to yelp in shock.
"Get the hell off of her!" Jett yelled, charging into the room with Eli beside him.
Jett grabbed my dad's arm and tore his grip off of mine before sending a fist into his face with a sickening crack. My dad then kicked Jett, sending him flying to the ground and started beating him fiercely. I cried out, begging him to stop until Jett found the energy to throw him off. He jammed his elbow into his stomach and punched him in the face once again before shoving him away.
Security suddenly burst into the room after hearing the commotion from down the hallway. They grabbed my dad and pulled him out of the room, saying a bunch of words that I couldn't understand at that moment. They gripped his shoulders tightly, making sure he couldn't come back in.
I let out a shaky sigh when I realised he was gone and wasn't coming back. I looked at Jett whose face was bruised and bloody after being beaten quite badly by my dad.
"Are you okay?" He asked, nodding towards where my dad had kicked me.
"I'm fine but Jett, you should be asking yourself if you're okay!" I answered, rushing towards him. "You got hit really badly!"
"I'll be alright." He half smiled.
Eli came back into the room with two nurses who immediately sat Jett down on the chair to take a look at his face. He grumbled in protest but eventually allowed them to help him out.
I was just glad that I was safe in hospital now. My dad wouldn't be allowed anywhere near here for quite a while. I could finally relax for once.
