Good Intentions (Book 3 in the Road to Salvation Series)

CHAPTER 23

A soft hissing pulled Katie into consciousness. She wanted to throw her eyes open and jerk upright to see where she was, but pain prevented her from doing that. Everything hurt. She had no idea every inch of her could feel that awful. It seemed unnatural.

The hiss sounded again. Katie's heart rate increased. She pushed through the discomfort and forced her eyes open. Her lids felt like they weighed a ton, but they complied with her request. It took her a moment to focus. When the room came into view, she realized she was in the hospital. Relief flooded through her. She had visions of being chained up in Lucifer's dungeon, waiting for him to come back and take her soul. Again.

The hiss sounded again, softer this time, and Katie realized it was from the oxygen tubes in her nose. Her mouth was dry, her tongue swollen. She pushed herself up to find some water and instantly wished she hadn't. The pain increased tenfold. Her shoulder ached, her side felt like it was on fire. Her skull felt like it would crack and shatter into a thousand pieces. She gingerly relaxed back into her pillows.

"Oh, Katie, honey, you're awake."

Her mom's soft voice touched her ears, and she turned her head to the left. She sat curled up on the chair next to Katie's bed. She placed her feet on the floor and leaned forward, taking Katie's hand. Tears filled her eyes, and from the redness on her face, Katie could tell she'd been crying quite a bit. She squeezed Katie's hand.

"I was so worried about you."

Katie nodded. Of course she was. That was her job. She attempted to lick her lips and talk, but they were sticky and her throat was way too dry. Her mom gently touched her forehead.

"It's okay. Don't rush. We have plenty of time for you to tell me what happened."

Katie was amazed at how well her mom was taking this. She thought for sure she would be a hysteric mess. And that wouldn't help anyone. Her mom reached out and pushed the nurse's button on the side of the bed.

It only took a few minutes for her to squeak into the room. She cracked open the curtain, and the stream of sunlight that came in threatened to blind Katie. The nurse checked her vitals and the IV in her hand, and then mercifully helped her get a drink of water. It was cool and unstuck her cheeks from her teeth. The headache subsided slightly.

Her mom gently rubbed the top of Katie's head, careful not to hit the bump that still existed on her forehead. Out of all the injuries she had sustained, that one was the least painful. She hummed softly, something she used to do when Katie was a child and sick in bed. It relaxed and soothed her. It made her feel at peace. It made her question why she had ever kept anything from her mom in the first place. It was foolish and selfish. She decided right then and there that when she felt better, there would be no more secrets. She would tell her mom everything. It didn't matter anymore if she believed her or not. She couldn't hide the truth.

"If it's all right with your mom and if you're feeling up to it, there are some people here who would like to see you." The nurse's voice was soft and sweet, full of kindness.

Katie groaned. She felt absolutely horrific and her throat was sore. She wasn't sure she'd be able to carry on a conversation. She wasn't sure she wanted to. There would be so many questions, and she didn't really know how to answer them. Or if she wanted to.

Her mind drifted back to the recent occurrences. How had things escalated to that level of craziness? Where had everything gone wrong? The only part of the events that didn't bother her was when she'd killed Braden. That was a hope/wish that she'd longed to fulfill. But Josh... that was a different story. And as much as it bothered her to admit it to herself, it killed a small part of her that things had turned out the way they had.