No Place for Bad Girls

It'll Work Out

POV~Henry

One time when I was in maybe 1st grade, I fell out of a tree. Landed on my back, right on top of a stick. It hurt like hell, and I couldn't breathe for like five minutes. My parents had made me take deep breaths, in and out. Anyways, that's kind of how I feel right now. I can't breathe, and everything is spinning.

"N-no, this can't be happening..." I begin, but I hear a raspy voice from behind me. We all whip towards Megan.

"Henry, no," she mutters, her eyes opening and closing, her voice raspy and dirty. Like someone scraped her vocal cords on the pavement.

I immediately jump to her bed, grabbing her hands and kneeling next to her.

"It's OK Megalicious, I can pay everything is going to be alri-"

She interrupts me, her voice stronger this time. "Henry, NO. I have...I have enough money. I've been saving up, and I got my first paycheck. It'll be enough, I promise."

My eyes are wide, staring at her in disbelief. She moves her head slightly so she's looking me in the eyes. Her eyes are gentle and calm, and she has the slightest smile on her lips.

"Megan, you can't. I won't let you." I've never been this stern with her before, not even when I told her we had to call the police.

She looks a little surprised, but she doesn't back down. "Henry, you've done so much for me. So much. It's my turn to...it's my turn to save you."

POV~Megan

I smile softly down at him, and he looks up at me with scared, tearful eyes. With all the strength I've got, I lean down and wipe his tears that are falling onto the hospital bed.

"Megan, I can't let you throw all of your money away," he whispers.

"And I can't let your future be held back because of me," I whisper back.

He puts his head into his arms, his shoulders shaking. I know he's crying, and I wish I could do something. Instead, I just stroke his hair.

When he stops, he looks back up at me. All I can see from his eyes is sad and pain. Then, something shifts. Pain is replaced by hope, but the sad is still there.

"Megan I..." he begins, but I interupt him. I'm not trying to be rude, but I absolutely CANNOT let him do this.

"HENRY. Please, PLEASE let me do this."

He sighs, glancing at his parents. They're sitting there, kind of awkward like.

Henry's dad clears his throat and takes his mom's hand. "We'll let you guys...discuss."

As soon as they walk out, Henry turns to me. "My parents WILL pay for some of it, you hear? You're family now, and that's that." He takes a deep breath. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but alright. I'll let you pay."

I grin, wanting to hug him so bad right now. Almost like he can read my mind, he get's off of his knees and pulls me into a hug. It's warm, and his shirt is soft against my face. I laugh lightly against him, and when we pull apart his eyes are shiny.

"It's going to be OK, Henry."

And I mean it.

POV~Henry

"I'm going to go...discuss," I say, gesturing to the door where my parents are inevitably standing.

She nods, letting her head fall back onto her pillow. I kiss her head and turn around, opening the heavy door. My parents are standing there, my mom biting her nails while my father runs his hands through his hair.

Mom has always been a nail biter, ever since she was a kid. She used to tell me stories about how the kids would bully her because she did that, but then she got her "looks" in 8th grade an everyone loved her. I'm not sure how I feel about those stories.

I take a deep breath, and they both look up to me. "I'm going to let her pay, but you guys listen to me. You're GOING to help her pay, because I don't think I could ever forgive you if you didn't. You can't just...she's still a child! She's literally 17 years old, you guys have to help pay."

They look in between each other, and nod. "We'll help, but we're not going to go broke doing it," my mom mutters.

I nod, without looking at them. I've had enough of them for today, so I move past them to go get a doctor.

Once I find the one who was taking care of Megan, I walk up to him. "I just wanted to let you know, she's awake."

He barely glances at me before nodding and heading to her room. I follow him quickly behind.

Suddenly, a calm feeling passes over me. Maybe this sounds cliche, but I know whatever happens is going to happen for a reason. Everything will work out, and Megan's made me realize that.

I take a deep breath, and push open the door to her room.