Not Some Princess ✓

29. Worth

29

Worth

What do you mean?
I'm sorry by the way
I'm never coming around
It'd be so sweet if things just stayed the same.
—Lights Up
Harry Styles

WEIRD THINGS happened to me in my dreams. I dreamt I was laying on the hospital bed. Stefan, Mom and Dad were staring at me from different angles.

I mean, come on.

Dad would never let Stefan be in the same room.

He knew we didn't like Stefan.

I sound like a kid.

My head hurts.

What?

I moaned and closed my eyes again wishing to wake up already. I felt super tired and groggy. My left leg seemed a bit too numb and felt the same in my right hand. I—

Wait.

Holy mother of all the good coffee beans.

I opened my eyes again and saw mom and dad looking at me with a smile on their faces and Stefan standing near the edge of the bed with Joe sitting on the sofa behind peering at me with a grin. I looked at dad closely. Was he alright? There were two male species in the room. One he didn't even know quite possibly.

"Hey, sweetheart. How do you feel?" I felt dad holding my good hand and his eyes a bit moist.

Mom was beside me looking at me with an expression that was a blend of relief and annoyance.

Oops.

There it comes.

I winced in advance.

"Twenty-five. That's how old you are Emilia." She stated. I tried to shuffle uncomfortably but winced again this time in pain. "I can't believe this, I know accidents happen but why do they have to be so severe only with you? Huh? And then you say you've grown up and you want to live separately. Blah. I agreed. Your dad said you are a woman. A woman." She huffed. "Falling down the stairs is not exactly a woman's go-to sport!" She pursed her lips as she tried to regulate her breathing.

"Mom, your blood pressure—

Oh man, I should not have said that.

Did something happen to my brain too?

"You should have thought about my blood pressure before you decided to get two fractures, one scar and a bruised rib!" She never spoke higher than the respectable decibel. Today was one of the exceptions.

"Mom, I didn't plan to—

"Now you listen to me young lady, " I squeezed my eyes shut. "I don't care how old you are, if you can't take care of yourself properly, you're coming back home. Independent or not! You can be independent at home!"

"Mom, please not this again." I winced and tried not to meet dad's eyes who wasn't exactly proud of me either. And Stefan and Joe who were now sitting together at the back trying to hold their laugher.