Broken

Chapter Thirty-One

The hospital reminded me of Grandpa. I had spent my last moments with him in a room that looked similar to the one I was taking residence in. His condition had been unstable the whole time he was there. I was younger then, but I knew all along that things were bad. I had spent every moment I could with him for those two and half weeks he was stuck in that room. Some days were good, and some days were bad.

I never resented the hospital after he died there. The people were always friendly. The nurses and doctors that had gotten used to me there always made effort to speak to me when they saw me. I could feel the sympathy they had for me and Grandma whenever they spoke to us. Towards the end, I could almost see it in their eyes. They knew he was not going to last much longer, but they always took time to make sure we were all comfortable. They were always in Grandpa's room, making sure he was pain free and did not need anything.

The nurse that had been taking care of me was one I remembered. She had introduced herself as Jeanie. She had remembered me and my family as well. She had been overly nice to me, making sure my bandage was clean and I was comfortable. She looked to be in her thirties. She had bright red hair that was always pulled up in a bun. This afternoon she was wearing a set of bright pink scrubs.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Good," I said.

"No visitors?"

I shook my head, "I convinced them that they should get something to eat and rest."

"That's good," Jeanie said. She was checking my bandage. It had been changed recently so it looked fine. She looked at the machine on the wall. "I think you'll be out of here soon."

"Soon as in today or soon as in tomorrow?" I asked.

"Tomorrow," Jeanie said. "You lost a lot of blood that night, Hayley. Dr. Miller just wants to make sure you're okay overnight."

I nodded, "Yeah, I guess I'm lucky."

"I think your grandparents were watching over you," Jeanie said with a smile. "And of course, you had your savior who found you."

I had not seen my savior since the police kicked him out of my room. My heart ached to see him. My realization yesterday only made things worse. I had things I needed to tell him and things I needed to ask him. I just wanted him to hold my hand again and tell me everything was going to be alright. It was nice to have Dad here, but I still had not known him long.

"Have you seen him?" I asked.

"Who?" Jeanie asked.

"Justin Lathrop," I said.

Jeanie shook her head, "I haven't seen him since he left last night. He had been here since they brought you in. I had to talk him into leaving you while Dr. Miller took care of you. That boy cares an awful lot about you."

I smiled, "I figured he would be back by now."

"Maybe he was just giving you time with your dad," said Jeanie. She shrugged. "He knows family comes first."

Jeanie was not aware of the confusing situation with my dad. She had no clue that I had known Justin longer than I had my own father. I bit down on my lip considering my options. I had no way of getting in contact with anyone myself. I could not ask Jeanie. She would probably let me, but I just...couldn't bring myself to do it. I hoped he would show up soon.

"Okay," said Jeanie. "Do you need anything else? TV on? Lights off?"

"No," I said shaking my head. "I'm fine. Thank you."

"I'll check in on you again soon," she said before she left the room. She was not gone a few seconds before she was back in the room. "It's your lucky day. Your savior just got off the elevator and he's coming this way."