Jackie traded glances back and forth between Rachel and Catherine. Her range inside her was starting to build up and didn't even know what to say.
Jackie's anger couldn't wait any longer and finally shouted, "tell me!"
Once the words hoarsely escaped her throat, she began to cough and grasped her chest in pain.
"Careful. Don't strain yourself," Catherine said as she began rubbing her back.
Jackie pushed her away with her good arm.
"Tell me!" She whispered angrily.
"I thought you said she knew everything?" Rachel asked apologetically.
"She knows that she was in a car accident," Catherine replied.
Rachel walked over and sat down next to her.
"Jackie...Tommy was drunk. Really drunk. He's being arrested for a D.U.I. and they're charging it as a felony since you were harmed so badly."
Jackie shifted her focus from Rachel and stared straight forward without saying a word. Her eyes were in a daze.
Catherine leaned forward and placed her hand on Jackie's.
"Are you okay?"
Not looking her, Jackie shook her head yes and quietly whispered that she was tired. She asked her bed to be lowered back down so that she could sleep. Catherine did as asked and looked at Rachel with concern.
"Catherine, I can stay with her for a while if you want to go to sleep, shower or whatsoever."
"I'm okay."
"Go," Jackie said as she opened her eyes.
Catherine looked at her with confusement and was somewhat hurt. Why was she suddenly being so cold to her? Was she blaming Catherine now that she knew it was all her fault for not coming to the party?
"Go to my apartment. I need clothes," Jackie said, finishing her statement.
"She's right. She's going to need clothes when they release her. They had to cut hers off and they were covered in blood anyway- sorry," Rachel stopped herself as she realised that she was saying too much.
"Okay, please stay with her. If her mouth gets dry, her ice is on the tray and this is the button for the nurse. She just had her pain medication so she should be fine until I get back but-"
"Catherine, we will be fine," Rachel interrupted and smiled.
"Okay."
Catherine leaned down and kissed Jackie on the forehead.
"I'll be back soon."
Jackie didn't smile back but just slightly nodded.
"Thanks Rachel. Call me if anything changes."
****
As soon as Catherine left, Rachel stood up.
"Jackie, I didn't want to bring this up in front of Catherine but Tommy really wants to see you before they take him away. This is all eating him up inside and he feels incredibly guilty. I understand, and he understands, if you don't want to see him but he just wants to apologise and make sure that you're okay."
"Go and get him," Jackie whispered, without any sort of hesitation.
****
Catherine rushed to Jackie's apartment and immediately took a shower. She wanted to get back to the hospital as soon as possible. It had taken her a lot longer to exit the hospital than she planned.
Rachel was right. The media were swarming outside. After freshening up, she went through Jackie's things and packed a few different outfits; not knowing what she would be most comfortable in.
As she made her way back into the living room, she threw their bags on the couch and noticed three wines bottles sitting on the coffee table. She went over and picked each one up, noticing every single one was empty.
How on earth could on person drink that much wine when she wasn't even home for long?
Her thoughts went back to how angry Jackie was with her that day, and the depressing text messages that she received from her. Catherine collapsed onto the couch, covered her eyes with her hands and began to sob uncontrollably.
What was she doing to Jackie? How could she cause someone she loved this much pain?
****
When Catherine returned to the hospital, she was optimistic. She wanted to be there for Jackie in every way possible through this recovery. But as soon as she entered Jackie's room, the smile on her face disappeared.
"What the hell is he doing in here?"
Tommy looked back at her. He was sitting next to Jackie's bed with her hand in his.
"Tommy was just coming to make sure Jackie was okay," Rachel cut in.
"Get out," Catherine said furiously as she pointed to the door.
"Catherine, please. I just wanted to come and apologise," Tommy explained.
"Look at her, she's not okay. Look what you did to her. Now get out!"
Tommy began to get up but Jackie took hold of his hand. Catherine looked down at their hands and didn't understand what was happening. She turned her attention to Jackie but she offered not insight. Just looked back with empty eyes and leaving Catherine numb.
Rachel pushed her out into the hallway.
"What's going on here? Is this why she asked me to leave?"
"She knew how you would react to this. Catherine, just give them a minute. They just went through something pretty horrific together."
"Because of him! He was drunk! It's not like they were hurt by a drunk driver. HE was the drunk driver!"
"I know, I know. I'm not condoning his actions whatsoever but just try to put yourself in his shoes. I know you would never put yourself in that situation, but he unfortunately did and has to live with what he did to her."
"He could have killed her, Rachel."
"I know that and he knows that. Why don't we go and get some coffee?" Rachel said as she took Catherine's arm.
"I'm not leaving her alone with him," Catherine said stubbornly.
"Okay. Well, I think it's best if you're not here with him. So how about I stay and you go for a walk."
"Ten minutes," Catherine replied before reluctantly walking away.
****
As Catherine made her way through the halls of the hospital, her anger began to turn into feelings of vulnerability. Why was Jackie in that car in the first place? She usually always had a driver to events. Why did she want to stay at the party if Rachel had left? Why did she leave with Tommy? Was she planning on going home with him as pay back?
There were so many unanswered questions but it most certainly wasn't the time to ask. For now, she would just have to swallow it and try not to let it eat her up inside for Jackie's sake.
When she returned, Tommy was saying his goodbyes to Jackie so she stood outside the door. As he was leaving, he spotted Catherine and stopped.
"I know you don't want to see me but you would never understand how truly sorry I am. I'll never forgive myself. I know you care about her but I do too."
"I don't just care about her. I'm in love wit her, Tommy. We're together. So I think she means slightly more to me than she means to you. Even if we weren't in love, there isn't a chance in hell I would've let her get into that car with me if I were you."
"Wow. I'm so sorry Catherine. I had no idea. She never told me about you two but now I understand why you hate me so much."
"Because I didn't want her to and being the selfless person that she is. She kept it quiet for my sake. Kind of like what she's doing with you right now. She's a good person and better than the two of us combined. So good that she cares more about your feelings than the fact that her body is completely broken because of you."
"I know. I'm sorry for everything. I'm going to find a way to make this all up to her. I promise," Tommy said before walking away.
****
Catherine took a minute before going back into Jackie's room, not knowing how it was going to go. When she finally walked in, Jackie was sitting up with her oxygen mask back on. The sight of her all beat up was going to take some time getting use to for sure.
Catherine flashed her a small smile and saw Jackie's cheeks raise behind her mask to return the gesture.
"I got some phone calls to make so I'll leave you two alone," Rachel said, knowing the fact that they needed some privacy.
"I didn't know what to bring you so I brought a few different things. I wasn't sure what you would be comfortable in," Catherine said, as she placed the bag on Jackie's bed to show her.
Jackie reached up to remove the oxygen mask to respond but immediately put it back on when the nurse walked in.
"Someone's going to be a happy girl!" The nurse beamed excitedly after taking Jackie's vitals. "Your oxygen levels are up. You know what that means? We can trade in that bulky mask for a more slim nasal one and you won't even notice it now."
When the nurse returned, she had a toy-like machine with her. After switching out the oxygen, she showed Jackie the machine.
"This is called an incentive spirometer. You're going to need to do this a few times a day to make sure your lungs stay clear. It's going to hurt at first, but you need to breathe into it as hard as you can to make the ball reach this line. Can you try it out for me?"
Jackie placed her mouth on the machine and found the task kinda silly. How hard could it be to just breathe?
As soon as she blew out a breath, she realised she overestimated her abilities. It felt like fire erupting out of her lungs into her throat. She spitted out the mouth piece and coughed.
"I can't do that."
"Can you get that pillow off the chair?" The nurse asked Catherine. "Here," she said, grabbing the pillow of her. "Place this against your chest as you do it. I'm sorry but you have to."
Jackie tried again and was breathing as hard as she could. Her lungs stinging, ribs throbbing and the ball hardly moved.
"Five more seconds," the nurse instructed.
Catherine rubbed Jackie's back to offer some support. They were the longest five seconds of her life and once the nurse left, she was completely winded.
Catherine spooned some ice chips into her mouth to help her feel better. Once Jackie started to feel better, Rachel came back into the room.
"Jackie, you're all over the news," Rachel said as she clicked on the remote.
They news revealed everything. From paparazzi shots of Jackie and Tommy leaving the party, to Tommy's blood alcohol level and then finally footage of the wreckage.
Jackie couldn't believe what she was seeing. The car was completely smashed on her side. Suddenly, they showed the jaws of life cutting into the car and Rachel switched the television off.
"You don't need to see that. I was on the phone with Matt. Once you're feeling up to it, the lawyers are going to need to come and see you to decide how to handle this all with Tommy."
Jackie was exhausted. Too many visitors and commotion today. She then started to feel the pain  quickly setting back in.
"I don't want to talk about this right now," she fumbled for the remote but couldn't find it.
"What do you need?" Catherine asked.
"Pain meds."
"I've got it," Catherine replied.
"You look tired and it's getting late. I'll let you get some rest," Rachel said before saying goodbye to the two of them. "I'll be back tomorrow."
****
As soon as Rachel left, the nurse entered and injected more pain medicine into Jackie's IV.
"Alright Honey, this will last you until your night nurse gets here. Do you want me to lean your bed back?"
Jackie nodded.
When the nurse left, there was an awkward silence between Catherine and her. Jackie closed her eyes and felt the medicine trail through her body, slowly making her feel like she was floating. The drugs were such a relief and instantly putting her into a better mood.
Before opening her eyes she spoke, "Nothing happened between me and Tommy. I just want you to know that. It was just a ride."
Catherine didn't speak so Jackie opened her eyes and turned towards her.
"I even hesitated before getting in the car because I was scared that you would be mad."
Catherine looked back at her. Her eyebrows suddenly pressed together in the middle and her eyes began to form tears.
"Come here," Jackie whispered as she patted on the bed.
Catherine got up and sat on the bed. Jackie carefully moved her hips and broken leg and scooted over.
"Lay with me."
"I don't want to hurt your" Catherine replied softly.
"I don't think I have any bones left to break," Jackie laughed. "And I'm so drugged up right now. I can't feel a thing."
Catherine laughed as tears continued to fall and Jackie tried her best to wipe them away one handed, but ended up poking her in the eye. It made them laugh even more.
"Thank God I can't feel my ribs at the moment. Now go turn off the light and snuggle with me."
Catherine smiled and got up to turn off the lights. When she returned, she curled up next to Jackie as they both laid in the darkness; well as dark as a room can be with the glow of the hallway light seeping in.
Jackie could hear Catherine sniffling and felt her tears fall on her hospital gown.
"Stop that. Why are you so sad? I'm okay."
"Because if I wouldn't have been so selfish, this would have never happened."
"This wasn't your fault. I don't blame you at all. I don't blame anyone."
"I'll always blame myself."
"Well you shouldn't. I should've left with Rachel and that's all there is to it but I didn't. Now I'm here, and you're here, and that's all it matters. Now can you scoot in a little closer? You're not going to break me."
Catherine moved in a tiny bit closer and they both laid in silence.
Catherine laughed and effortlessly said in one breath, "I love you."
"I love you too."
After a moment, Jackie whispered again to interrupt the moment.
"And these drugs. I really love these drugs."
Catherine laughed again. She let go of her regret for just that moment to appreciate hearing Jackie's humour.
Just 24 hours after thinking that she would never even hear her voice again.
A/n Thanks for reading my story. Please vote and drop a comment. Comments will help me a lot more than you might think. â¤ï¸
* Photo Credits to Brooklyn Birth Arts.