CHAPTER 44
OLIVIA
I fucking hate hospitals.
I feel like I’ve said that before.
There’s just something so cold about the entire building. The continuous sound of machines beeping echoing down the eery hallways. The sterile scent of disinfectant. The scratchy fucking blankets.
The whole thing makes my skin crawl.
And yes, I’m fully aware that we need hospitals. I appreciate everything doctors, nurses and surgeons do on a daily basis to save lives. I’m not a complete monster. I just don’t have any good memories of hospitals.
When I woke up and took in my surroundings, for a split second I thought I’d dreamt the last ten years of my life. I half expected to find a social worker at the end of my bed telling me that my Mum was gone.
Instead, I found Savannah curled up in the leather chair next to me. I was fairly out of it on pain meds, so I don’t remember exactly what I said to her, but she left a while ago with the promise to return with some clean clothes and a milkshake from Bellas.
Apparently, I have two broken bones in my left arm, a few slices in need of stitches from the broken glass, and a mild concussion. I’m not so sure on the latter. Nothing about the throbbing in my head is mild .
I’m not allowed to go home today. The doctor said she’d feel more comfortable if I stayed overnight for monitoring, and as long as they keep pumping me full of the good stuff, I can deal with that.
The door to my hospital room cracks open and Savannah pokes her head in, a bright smile on her face as she waves the milkshake in the air. “I got the goods, and I brought company.”
Bella and Daisy appear in the doorway behind her, their arms laden with snacks and puzzles. “We thought we’d keep you company for a few hours,” Daisy says as she drops the items on the end of the bed.
Savannah places a bag on the leather chair next to the bed and starts pulling clothes out. “So, I picked up some clean undies, your favourite pj’s and some toiletries.”
Bella pulls two more chairs into the room, situating them on the other side of the bed and I watch the whole thing unfold with a thick lump of emotion in my throat.
“I love you girls so much,” I say, my chin trembling as my eyes fill with tears.
The three of them stop moving and look at me. Sympathy reflects on their faces as they crowd around me, pulling me into an awkward group hug. “We love you, too, Livvy.” Savannah says against my ear and Bella and Daisy hum their agreement .
“Ugh, I don’t know why I’m so emotional,” I say, swiping at my tears as they pull back.
Savannah laughs. “Don’t worry, it’s just the morphine. You’ll be back to your bitchy self in no time.”
“Oh, thank God,” I exhale in relief and the four of us dissolve into a fit of giggles.
Eventually, I drag my aching body out of bed and into the bathroom to wash the grime from my body as much as my injuries will allow me.
My mind wanders to Grayson as I carefully run a brush through my hair. He hasn’t shown his face since I’ve been conscious, and although it stings, I can’t help but worry that my accident is going to make him pull away from me. I feel like we’ve come a long way since our ‘friends with benefits’ arrangement begun. Grayson opened up to me about Rueben and the affects his death had on him, and I thought we were finally getting somewhere.
I know he told me at the beginning that it would never be more that sex for him and at the time I was okay with that. I didn’t think I’d fall for him. I was so sure that I could go into this arrangement and just have fun, but somewhere along the line my heart got involved too.
Once I’m satisfied that I no longer look homeless, I slowly make my way back into my hospital room where Savannah, Bella and Daisy have made themselves comfortable. Sav jumps out of her chair and hurries towards me, offering me an arm and I gratefully take it, allowing her to help me back to bed. “Have you spoke to Grayson at all?” I ask her quietly and hold my breath as I wait for her response .
She’s silent for a long time. Too long. I look at her, taking in the pity swimming in her eyes and my heart sinks. I stop walking. “What?”
“I don’t know what happened when he got to the accident site, but he took off and no one could find him,” she says, her chin trembling as she talks.
“But they found him eventually, right?” I ask, my chest constricting with panic.
Savannah takes a deep breath as she contemplates exactly how much to tell me. “I found him after I left here this morning. He was sitting at Reuben’s grave, wet from the rain and hugging an empty bottle of whiskey.”
“Fuck,” I whisper. Tears sting my eyes as I imagine Grayson slumped against his best friend’s headstone in the rain. The urge to go to him is strong, but for obvious reasons, I can’t and that thought has the tears spilling over the edge.
Savannah rubs a hand on my back lovingly as she guides me back towards my bed. “I took him home to sleep it off and Hunter will be there when he wakes up, so try not to worry too much.”
Easier said than done.