Crowns and Pastries

Chapter Two | I Defied Death For This?

{A/N} | So here we have the second chapter of Crowns and Pastries. I love comments so leave behind your thoughts on the story so far, and on the characters!:) |

~E~

I woke up with a throbbing pain in my leg and a heavyweight on my chest. I blinked, trying to open my eyes. I noticed Emily in the chair next to the bed, her hand clamped in mine. I then noticed that everyone was in the room, except mum and dad. Keynan sat on Emily's lap, both asleep. Lukas and Paisley were asleep on the couch that stood in the room, and Anayah and Alexandra were asleep on the floor, leaning against the wall. Cara was the only one awake and she looked up from her book when I groaned softly.

'Good morning sleeping beauty.' She commented, unfolding her legs from underneath her and getting up from the chair she'd occupied. 'How are you feeling?' she asked, running her hand through my hair.

I opened my mouth to speak but my throat was dry. It felt like sandpaper that was set on fire and I coughed. I immediately winched from the pain that blossomed in my chest when I did.

'Shh don't try to talk yet.' Cara said. 'Here, maybe these will help with your throat.' She handed me a few ice chips and I let them melt on my tongue, relaxing as they cooled my throat. I looked at her with a look that said: "what happened?"

She sighed sadly. 'You don't remember, do you?' I shook my head. 'Well, that's maybe for the best.' She squeezed my hand and sighed when I urged her to continue.

'Some guys beat the shit out of you, E. You had all of us so worried when you disappeared. And then this guy came running to dad, and the next thing I knew we were all on our way to the hospital. The man that saved you had the decency not to scream what was going on to the public, but there are already theories going around. Mum and Dad are dealing with those though. We were all just waiting for you to wake up.'

'How long?' I rasped, winching from the sound of my voice.

'Two days.' She answered. 'They had to fix your leg because it was broken pretty badly. And they had to repair your lung because one of your ribs had pierced it which explained why you were coughing up blood. But other than that you have a couple of bad bruises on your face that'll show for a while, and your stomach is also pretty bruised up but you'll heal just fine.' She told me. 'You gave us quite the fright, snake eyes'

I glared at her when she used that name which made her smirk.

'Payback for scaring us.' She shrugged.

Emily's hand tightened in mine and I looked at her. She blinked her blue eyes a few times and then hers locked on mine. Instantly a smile spread out over her face.

'Ethan! You're awake. How are you feeling?' she asked. 'How long have you been awake? Cara why didn't you wake me up!'

I smiled as she rambled on. She had the tendency to do that when she got worried, or upset, or excited.

'I'll be fine Em. Mostly just sore.' I spoke carefully, knowing my throat was still very sore. 'Might also come from the drugs.'

She looked unconvinced but nodded. She sighed. 'What were you even thinking?' she asked. 'Did you even take a guard with you? Anyone?' she looked at me as if I were crazy, and I knew she was right.

'I know that I should have had security with me, but I was only going to the toilets. I figured that I'd be alright.' I sighed with a cough that made me wince. 'Don't even say it Em, I know I was stupid.' I added, already knowing that that was what she was going to say next.

'Not only were you stupid, but you were also careless.' Cara scolded, crossing her arms.

I rolled my eyes. 'Alright, I get the picture. No need to gang up on me.' I grumbled.