Braxten High

Chapter 26

Ayden's POV:

I woke up from the nap I had accidentally ended up taking while watching Scarlett when I heard the sound of the door opening, followed by silent footsteps that belonged to the nurse who came to check on Scarlett.

"When is she going to wake up?" I enquired as soon as she walked in to do her usual check-ins.

"I'm going to give her an injection now, she should be up in a while," she replied, giving me a reassuring smile and propping her bed up. "The bullet has injured her brachial artery, but since she was brought here quick enough she won't really suffer any major damage. She may need assistance for her hands though, as she will probably have little to no arm function for quite a while."

I held Scarlett's hand as she was getting injected for probably the seventh time since last night. Once the nurse was done, I thanked her with a silent nod and stroked the back of her hand with my thumb as I wondered where Azriel and Zara were.

After around half an hour, I felt the hand I had held stir ever so slightly and immediately looked up to Scar, blinking down confusedly at me and scowling.

"Why is this bed so uncomfortable and why am I here?" she mumbled, her voice hoarse from the elongated lack of usage.

Against my common sense and better judgment, I sprung from my seat and hugged her excitedly. "Finally," I whispered against her hair and tightened my hold around her. She returned the embrace after a few confused nanoseconds and tried not to flinch when I continued to hold her for a while.

I pulled away after a while when I realized that I might be hurting her, "I'm sorry, how do you feel?"

"Don't be, and I'm fine, I guess," she said, looking around and realizing she was in a hospital room. "Although, maybe you should tell me how I should be feeling because I'm in a hospital and I have no idea why."

"You were shot last night while I was at the bakery. I am so sorry for leaving you there, if I hadn't maybe you wouldn't have to go through all this."

"Wait, really? I don't remember or feel anything. Why would someone shoot me, and why can't I feel any pain or whatever? Hey, why can't I lift my left arm?" she asked, probably trying to reach for something with that arm.

"They injected you with Lidocaine to numb the pain because they had to perform a surgery to remove the bullet from your shoulder, which may be out of use for a while. Now, don't stress yourself and take some rest, you must be tired," I said while lowering the bed so she could lay down and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

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I was almost done helping Scar finish her soup, which she kept complaining against, when I heard a commotion from just outside the door. Shrugging at the questioning look she threw me, I stood up to investigate what triggered the disturbance.

Just then a lady barged in, followed by an exasperated nurse, paying no heed to the nurse's pleadings of letting the patient rest.

It took me a few seconds to compute that this lady was Scar's mom, as I remember seeing her when I first went to the penthouse.

"Oh my god, what has happened to my dear daughter?!" she started and sat down on the chair beside her, quite dramatically if you ask me.

"Oh nothing much she just got shot last night; you've come really quick though," I replied before Scarlett could, giving her a sarcastically sweet smile. Scar silently thanked me and looked over to her mother.

"How truly caring of you indeed, mom," she added, emphasizing the last part. Mrs. Anderson threw me a judgemental look and then scoffed. "Isn't this the guy from that day at the penthouse? Why is he still around?"

"You do not get to come here and pretend to care for me and then judge my boyfriend. And he is still around because I don't drive people away with my fakeness, unlike someone here," Scar said in reply, throwing her a dirty look.

Mrs. Anderson just rolled her eyes and looked over to me. "Do you mind? We are trying to have a private conversation here."

"Actually, I'd rather he stays and you leave. I don't even know why you came after basically declaring me unwanted," Scar countered defensively.

"I came here to actually fix things by checking up on you and paying the hospital bills. But you will always remain the ungrateful, despicable child that you always were. You disgust me, Scarlett Anderson."

"Oh, so that's why you came. To show your wealth off and pretend like you still care? That's low, even for you," she mumbled, looking down towards the end.

"Mrs. Anderson, it's better that you leave. Scar could use some rest," I said.

After Mrs. Anderson literally stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind her, I sat down beside her and held her while stroking her hair.

"It's going to be alright Scar, she's your mother after all. Just rest for a while; you need to rest a lot to recover completely and you'll always have me by your side," I said and kissed her temple gently.

We were interrupted by Zara and Azriel, and Scar pushed me slightly with her good arm and hid any signs of dismal.

"Who was that lady I saw storming out?" Azriel asked, handing me a change of clothes. "I ran by your place. How is she doing?"

"I'm so sorry, Scar. I'd come earlier but I really didn't check my phone or saw Ayden's missed calls. Anyways, how are you feeling now?" Zara said, taking a seat beside Scar on the bed and hugging her carefully.

"It's okay, seriously. Chill, I'm fine now and I missed you. What were you doing all morning that you couldn't even check your phone?" Scar asked, concerned.

"Uh, it's better if Azriel tells you that," she replied, and looked at Azriel encouragingly.

"Zara was with me all of last night and this morning, for uh, support. As you all know, my dad was sick and he uh, he passed away yesterday and I was feeling terrible and guilty. I'm dealing with it better now, thanks to Zara," Azriel said, his voice quieter than it usually is.

I was unable to form any words of comfort; I knew how much his dad meant to him and he was the only person who kept him going. I didn't know what to do so I hugged him and heard him sniffle a little to keep his emotions at bay, the wound still being very new and painful.

Scar too made a brave attempt to get out of the bed or lift her arms for a consolation embrace; that just ended with Azriel having to walk to her and hear her forward, encouraging words. 

-zoie and dawn