|A L W A Y S & F O R E V E R| B O O K 1

33||T i m e t o M o v e F o r w a r d

Continued...

Russell

When Ci hit the tile floor, she hit it pretty hard. We had to rush her to the emergency room right away. While her grandmother stayed at home, her mother came along with me. She was beyond scared and I was too. When we arrived, the nurses rushed her into one of the rooms and had us sit in the waiting room.

We'd been here for two hours now, and no one came out to give us any type of information on her condition. That bothered me a lot. I just hope she's okay and it's nothing too serious. After we waited for another fifteen minutes, we heard rushed footsteps coming down the hallway. I stood up, thinking it was a nurse before I noticed it was Ciara's father, Carlton.

"What happened? Nobody's told me anything." I could tell by his tone that he was scared mixed with a hint of frustration. Which is understanding, considering he's her father and he knows nothing. I'd be scared and frustrated, too. I already am from the lack of communication we're getting on her condition.

"Her and Kennedy got into a fight at my mother's." She sniffed while shaking her head, looking down to the ground.

"A fight? For what?" I could tell he was infuriated by the way his jaw clenched and the tone of his voice.

"I-I think it's best if she tells you herself." He took the seat next to her and ran his hands up and down his face while leaning his head against the pale white wall. He stopped after a minute and clasped his hands together while he changed positions, resting his elbows on his knees.

"What happened to her? Did she get hurt?"

"She got hit in the head. It looked pretty bad, Carlton." He bit his lip to keep from blowing up. He cooled himself off some before continuing with their conversation.

"How bad?"

"She was bleeding from her head, and then she just collapsed to the kitchen floor." She cried.

"Fuck." He placed his head in his lap, letting his hands hold his forehead.

"Family of Ciara Harris?" His head shot up abruptly as the doctor stood before us. The three of us stood up, ready to hear the unknowing news that we were about to receive.

"Is she okay?" I asked straightforwardly. There was no need for small talk at this time.

"She suffered a grade 2 concussion from the wound to her head. So she's out of it a little. Nothing life-threatening, though. She did complain about having a slight headache, and her blood pressure is pretty high. So, I would make sure you don't say or do anything to stress her out. May I ask what happened? That is if you don't mind." I rolled my eyes at his question. You can't trust anybody. Especially with her status.

"We rather keep that to ourselves." Her father spoke.

"I respect that, sir." He nods his head at the Doctor. I didn't even know his name.

"So, can we go see her or not?" He was getting impatient by the second. All three of us were.

"Of course. Follow me." Ciara's parents and I followed his lead down the hallway to the room she was in. When we got to her room, she was sitting up in bed, rubbing her temples in circular motions. Her parents rushed in while I took my time walking in. Every time I came to hospitals, I got a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach. I hated the atmosphere.