I think I must have passed out because the next thing I know I’m waking up in what I assume must be a hospital room. The lights are so bright, it hurts my eyes. I try to move but my whole body is sore and I’m starting to feel my injuries on my face and neck. It hurts. My eyes are almost tearing up. It’s all coming back to me as I look around, disoriented.
“She’s awake! Get the doctor!”, someone shouts besides me. I turn to look and see my mother. “Oh, Audrey, sweetheart. You must have had quite the shock.”, my mother pats my hand, with a concerned look on her face. It feels strange that she looks so concerned, because we have never been close.
“Hi, mom…”, I croak out, my throat feeling dry and I hiss a bit as I realize my lip is busted, Henry must have hit me harder than I remembered.
“Get the poor girl some water”, my mother orders some nurse in the room. Any other mother would probably have gotten up to get it themselves, but not mine. The nurse gets my water and I take a sip.
“Tsk, tsk…Such nasty marks that Wallace boy left on my pretty darling. Looks horrendous.”, my mother comments as she looks at the bruises and injuries Henry left on my face and neck, as she turns my head this way and that way, inspecting closely. “Whatever shall we do? Is there even any makeup that could cover up all this…”, she gets up to talk to her secretary, trying to figure out how to hide my injuries. The fact that she’s more concerned with my looks than how I’m feeling, hurts more than my injuries do. I know it’s too much to expect her to care, she never has, but I must still have had some hope that an incident as serious as this would change her. It clearly didn't.
The doctor arrives and does some quick tests to assess my condition.
“Your daughter’s injuries are not too serious and shouldn’t lead to any problems. Luckily, time will heal her just fine and the bruises won’t leave any lasting damage aesthetically.”, the doctor reassures my mother, “You have nothing to worry about, she just needs some rest as she must have been quite shocked and exhausted at the time of the incident. We’ll keep her for observation for a bit, but the prognosis looks good.”, the doctor smiles, never fully addressing me, instead speaking only with my mother. It’s like I’m not even here.
A bit later some police officers come by to take my statement about the assault. I ask about what happened to Wyatt and Henry, and it turns out our legal team has handled everything together with my fathers connections to the police. And as Henry’s family and ours know each other, some sort of deals have been made. Of course Henry’s family, the Wallace’s, are rich as well, so Henry’s not going to jail or anything. I’m told that he was sent off to ‘study abroad’ and that a restraining order has been issued. It makes me sick to think that he’s just out there, walking completely free, but at least he’s not allowed near me anymore. Wyatt I’m told has been waiting outside this whole time to see if I’m okay, but hasn’t been let in as he’s not family.
“That boy sure is persistent, he hasn’t left the waiting room once”, my mother tells me, “do you know him? I looked him up and he seems to be from a poor family. You don’t suppose he’s waiting for a reward for coming to your rescue?”, she muses distractedly, while working on her phone. I don’t have a chance to answer before my mother continues. I can very seldom get a word in when speaking to my mother.
“Harris, go offer him some money as a thank you, we wouldn’t want there to be any issues. Oh, and maybe he should sign an NDA, we don’t want unnecessary stories about what happened to get out. Actually, contact the legal team and campaign office for a consultation first.”, my mother orders her secretary.
“Audrey, I think I should go discuss this with your father…”, my mother tells me.
“Yeah, where is my father by the way? He hasn’t come to see me.”, I cut in, voice still a bit hoarse.
“Sweetheart, you know your father is busy and so am I. You’re fine now, so I think you can manage on your own here for a bit, right? I need to get going. Harris, we’re leaving, let’s go.”, she says, already halfway to the door, motioning for her secretary to follow and not expecting an answer. “Bye, darling, let the nurses know if you need anything.”. And so I’m left alone.
Maybe it’s for the best that my mother left. I somehow feel less lonely, now that she’s gone. It’s strange that sometimes being with someone can make you feel more alone than actually being alone does. Besides, I’m used to my parents being gone all the time. They’ve been busy all my life, why would now be any different?
I decide it’s good that she left. I’m worried about Wyatt, did he get hurt while fighting off Henry? Is he still waiting for me in the waiting room? Or did my family’s legal team scare him away? My mind is racing. Now that my mother isn’t here, I can maybe sneak out to see Wyatt. As I get up a nurse immediately comes to my side.
“Need any help Ms. Spencer?”, the nurse asks.
“No, thank you, I’m just…going for a walk, to stretch my legs, you know?”, I try for a friendly smile, but my face hurts so it turns into a bit of a grimace.
“Are you sure, I can come with you…”, the nurse looks skeptical.
“Yes, I’m fine thank you, I won’t go far, don’t worry. Just feeling a bit cooped up in here.”, I reassure the nurse.
“Okay, Ms. Spencer.”, the nurse still looks a bit hesitant, but lets me go.
As I emerge from my private room and make my way to the waiting area, I scan for Wyatt’s face in the crowd and it isn’t hard to spot him. He has a few visible bruises and scrapes, but doesn’t look to be in too bad shape. I let out a sigh of relief. He’s fine. Wyatt is fine. He looks worried and tense, one leg bouncing restlessly, fidgeting with his hands. Just as I’m about to take a step towards him, it’s like my body is moving by itself, on instinct, towards him. But I stop myself. There’s too many people here, I don’t want to cause a scene and I want to talk to him privately. I know this hospital has a rooftop area for patients to get some fresh air. It’s pretty late right now, so it should be quite empty by now. I make my way up to the roof and text Wyatt to meet me there.
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