COMPLETE ✓| Charlotte Hastings found herself between a rock and a hard place when she aged out of the foster system. With only a car to her name, she set out on the open road, hoping to find long lost relatives. Winter hits her hard. When she meets...
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CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO | A LITTLE MEANING
Charlotte Hastings
Light burned through my eyelids as I fell back down to earth. The dream land had been so appealing. It was like floating on feathers. Warm, soft feathers. I wanted to stay there forever, even though it left a bad taste in my dry mouth. The taste of straight alcohol. Slowly I became aware of my body. My arms and legs were covered by a soft blanket that almost seemed weighted. So much so that it made it hard to move.
There was a tingling sensation in my fingertips as I realized there was a hand holding mine and tightly. A slow beeping filled my ears, becoming louder with each passing second. It made my brain pound in my skull until I forced my eyes open.
This wasn't a familiar place, but I immediately knew where I was. I knew just by the smell of antiseptic that filled my nose. My eyes trailed down my body, squinting through the blurry haze. A hospital gown loosely covered me, yet the fabric still made me want to scratch every inch of my body. Or maybe that was due to the medication that was slipping into my vein through the IV.
A boy sat next to me, leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed. I didn't have to see his features to know who it was. Eli. His name echoing in my head sent butterflies dancing in my stomach. Tears filled my eyes as I thought about the last time I'd seen him and the note I'd left. I couldn't help but think that maybe he was here to let me know how much I'd hurt him. To yell and get back at me for what I'd done.
I deserved to be yelled at. I deserved whatever he was about to say to me.
"Eli," I tried to say, but it came out cracked and raspy. Still, his eyes fluttered open. Those beautiful brown eyes that pierced into my soul. God, how I missed him. The tears streamed down my cheeks. I'm such a bitch. How could I have hurt this beautiful man?
"Hey," he muttered under his breath, a small smile on his face, but it quickly shifted to panic. "Are you alright? Are you in pain?" He stood and hovered over me, waiting impatiently for me to answer.
I cleared my throat and went to pull my hand to my face to wipe away the tears. Pain shot through my shoulder as my arm caught on the sling. "Sore, but I'm okay." My chest rose and fell as my palm became sweaty in his grasp. His expression relaxed and we quickly fell into silence, the past looming. It was my fault we were in this position, so I had to say something. Right? It was just so easy to get lost in his eyes and forget everything. "You're here... I didn't think you'd come."
"Of course I did," he said, but his teeth pulled at his bottom lip as though he was holding back what he truly wanted to say.
"Why?"
"Why?" he said, exasperatedly. "Seriously?" His voice raised, but he quickly composed himself. We were in a hospital, after all. He whispered through clenched teeth, "I care about you, Lottie. We had a fight, that doesn't mean I don't stop caring. Unlike you, I don't run away from my problems." I expected him to be angry, but I still wasn't prepared for this. I tore my eyes away from him as lips quivered. He folded his arms across his chest and sighed. "I'm sorry."
