Preacher Man // ross lynch + driver era

82

I woke up to the sound of beeping and it immediately hurts my head. I open my eyes slowly to the bright lights and I automatically feel the panic flow through my body.

"Hey, it's okay, I'm here," Liv says, jumping out of her chair to grab onto my arm.

My breathing is erratic. "What happened?"

"You came inside the apartment and the next thing I hear, you're face first on the floor," she whispers, her eyes watering. "Don't move, okay? I'm going to get the doctor."

As Liv opens the curtain to the rest of the emergency room, I touch my face gently. Nothing feels broken. The IV is poked into my hand.

Moments later, a man comes in wearing a white coat. "Hi, Miss Hayley. How are you feeling?"

I furrow my eyebrows. "My head hurts," I admit.

"Yeah, I bet. You seem to be very dehydrated so that's why you have the IV in you. You didn't break anything, just bruising. When was the last time you ate?" I glance down at the bed.

I slowly look up at him, avoiding any eye contact with Liv. "Lunch." He raises one eyebrow at me. "Two days ago."

"What'd you eat?"

"Yogurt," I reply.

He nods, his pen moving swiftly on the paper attached to the clipboard. "And that's it?"

"Yes, sir," I whisper.

He nods again. "Alright so I'm going to have a nurse come over with a tray. We want to make sure you eat and can handle the food while making sure you're keeping hydrated. I'll check back in on you in an hour, okay?"

I nod and he smiles sadly at me before walking out of the curtain.

"Hayley," Liv whispers from beside me. "Why didn't you tell me you haven't been eating?"

I bite down on my lip as I glance over at her. "I've been trying to fix it myself," I admit, my eyes watering.

"Hayley, I'm here for you. I'm always here for you, okay?" She reassures, her cold hands touching my arm.

I nod. "I'm sorry," I whisper.

She glances over at the phone vibrating on the countertop. "Rocky's FaceTiming me," she whispers.

Ross.

"Does he know?" I ask.

She shrugs. "I was on the phone with him when you came in. I said hi then I screamed. I had to hang up to call the ambulance."

"You can answer," I whisper.

She nods, reaching over to open the call. "What happened?" Rocky asks immediately.

As Liv goes to open her mouth, Ross grabs Rocky's phone from his hand. "Where is she? Let me talk to her."

Liv immediately looks up to see what to do. The nurse then walks in with a tray in her hands.

Fuck.

"Hi, Hayley." She's an older woman with a very calming voice. "How does the IV feel? Some say that it itches a bit. I have some chicken here for you. I know it'll be rough, but we have to make sure you keep it down. If not, I'm afraid we may have to use a feeding tube. You need protein, hun."

I don't want to even glance down at the phone. I nod. "I'll try," I whisper.

I already feel nauseous.

"I don't want to hover you, but please try. I'll come check on you in ten minutes," she smiles and excuses herself.

"Please let me talk to her," Ross begs from the phone. Liv slowly hands me the phone. With shaking hands, I grab it from her. "Hi, Hayl."