Do They Bother You? (Editing)

Chapter Fourteen

Friday- One Week to Graduation

"...Only barely got to her in time..."

"...Severe fractures to her ribs...."

"...Concussion. Don't know the extent..."

"...Damage..."

"...Could be asleep a long time..."

The first thing I heard was the beeping of the heart monitor.

I didn't open my eyes- I didn't want to see the horrors that had been done to my body this time.

Soft breathing sounded next to me. A hand rested in mine loosely, like they'd been holding my hand and then fallen asleep, their grip going slack. I squeezed, hard.

They gasped.

"Lena?"

Dear god, it was LJ.

My eyes flew open, despite the harsh light, and I looked at him with tears stinging the corners of my eyes. His eyes were bloodshot, like he'd been crying, too, and his clothes were rumpled.

"Shhh..." He murmured, gently brushing at my cheekbone to catch a tear that had escaped. "You can't cry, sweetheart. You'll hurt yourself."

I went to draw in a breath and understood what he meant- my ribs felt like they were broken. They probably were. I felt along the bottom of my ribcage, gently, and found the raised edge of what felt like stitches.

"He, um..." LJ swallowed. "He smashed a lot of the left side of your ribcage. There was internal bleeding, so they had to go in and stitch you up. Thats where they went in."

I started to nod, then winced at the pain in my head. My hand went to reach up and touch my temple.

James caught my hand. "Don't," he murmured. "He got you good, just a little right of where your temple is. Any farther over and he would have killed you."

"Did...did he...?" I couldn't get the question out. My voice sounded like sandpaper.

LJ knew what I meant. "No," he said, a look of pain on his face. "No, he...he didn't touch you. He seemed more concerned with beating you to death."

Despite the amount of pain I was in, I felt relief. Thank goodness for small favors. Slowly, I rested my head back and closed my eyes.

"I need to get the nurse," he said, standing. "Finn's here, if you need anything. I'll be right back."

It was only then that I realized that Finn was snoring on the other side of my bed, my other hand clasped loosely in his. I watched as LJ left the room, his shoulders hunched.

I didn't open my eyes again until the nurse showed up. The light hurt, and I was grateful when she turned them off so that the light was dim.

"Hi, honey," she said, her voice soft. She was speaking to me like I was a child. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I was beat with a baseball bat," I said, somewhat snidely. It didn't seem to have an effect on her.

"It's normal to feel some discomfort. Now, if you're up to it, I'd like to ask you some questions."

"Sure, okay."

"Can you tell me your full name?"

"Delena Katherine Masterson."

"And how old are you?"

"Seventeen."

"When's your birthday?"