ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕋𝕨𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕪-𝕊𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕟

𝑴𝒂𝒚𝒂 𝑺𝒕. 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒏

TRIGGER WARNING: Abuse

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The hospital was 25 minutes away from the museum, but from the way I was speeding, we got there in 10 minutes flat.

Angela was attacked. My best friend was attacked. I don't know the state of her condition or how she is.

We were arguing over stupid shit like boys instead of being with each other. If I was with her, Ryan would have never...

I turn off Kol's car and run inside the hospital. I hear Kol trickle behind me.

I reach the front desk. "Hi...excuse me, ma'am? I'm looking for Angela Florence."

The woman sitting at the front desk is on the phone with somebody. "Trudy, I told her ass not to bring no chicken to my house. Y'know that white women can't cook for nothing. And you know what she did, Trudy...she brought two containers worth of fried chicken to my house."

I tap on the desk. "Excuse me...my friend Angela Florence is at your hospital. Can you tell me what room she's in?"

The woman continues talking on the phone. I'm starting to get a little frustrated.

I look at the sign on the wall to double-check that this is St. Luke's Hospital. I turn back to the women. "Excuse me miss--"

"Can't you see I'm on the phone? God, these young folks are so disrespectful nowadays. She sees me on the phone, but keeps talking," the woman says.

"Excuse me, ma'am. But my friend has been attacked and is here at your hospital. I'm sorry that you don't feel like doing your job today, but you do work at the front desk of a hospital, so please fucking assist me in finding the room Angela Florence is staying in," I say, coldly.

The woman's mouth hangs slightly open, and she tries to regain her composure. She starts typing on her computer. "214," she says.

I nod, politely. "Thank you."

Kol follows me and helps me look for room 214. We find the room and I grab the handle to enter. Kol holds my wrist to stop me. "What?" I snap at him.

Kol looks at me, tenderly. One hand rubs up and down my arm, as the other hand smoothes down some strands of my hair. "Baby, you're frantic," Kol whispers.

I close my eyes and let out a deep breath. I lean into his touch. "If anything happens to her..."

Kol brings my forehead to his lips and pecks it. "Nothing is going to happen to her, Maya. I promise."

I smile weakly.

Promises are pretty lies.

I open the door and see Leo sitting on Angela's bed, staring at her. He looks like an absolute wreck. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe he did care about her.

"Leo," I say, snapping him out of his trance.

Leo turns to me, his worry lines showing.

Kol and I walk inside. "What happened to her?"

"Well, she called me earlier and said she wanted to talk and I obviously assumed it was because of our conversation. She said to meet her at this restaurant, so I went. There was an alley next to the place and I heard screams and then a bang. It sounded dangerous. Then there was complete silence. I went to the alleyway and saw this guy standing over Angela. Her shirt was ripped and her skirt was off. The guy's pants were around his ankles, for God's sake. I don't even know who he was."

I take in a breath at Leo's explanation. "It was Ryan. He's her ex from high school. He's been harassing her. I keep telling her to report him, but she never does. And now..."

I let out a controlled breath. "I don't give a fuck what she wants. I will drag her down to the police department and make her file a restraining order." My voice cracks and Kol rubs the lower part of my back.

Someone knocks on the door and I turn to look who it is. His badge reads Dr. Lightner.

"Are you the family of Angela Florence?" he asks.

"Her family is out of state. We're the next thing," Leo quickly replies.

He gets off the bed and comes to stand next to us.

"Angela has a mild concussion. The blood from the side of her head was from impaction. It didn't do any long-term damage, though. But, it may take some time for Ms. Florence to function at her normal speed again," Dr. Lightner explains.

I nod, slowly. "When can she leave?"

"Well, we need to keep her for observation, but I'm sure in a couple of days she can leave. Someone would need to watch over her sometimes."

"I'll do it," Leo says, very quickly.

"Leo, that's sweet of you, but I can do it," I say.

"But, I want to do it. I owe it to her," he replies.

"I am her best friend! I will look after her," I retort.

There's a strained silence as the doctor watches us. Dr. Lightner backs up. "I'll come back in a bit to do some examinations. You can sort this out between yourselves."

Dr. Lightner leaves the room. I look back at Leo. "Maya, please. I have done wrong by Angela. I care about nothing but her happiness and her safety. Let me look after her. Let me take care of her."

I bite my lip, thinking. I sigh. "Fine. But, you better give me your address, because I'm coming to visit her at least twice a day."

Leo smiles small at me. He goes back to sitting on Angela's bed, holding her hand. I look at the scene. Leo holding her hand. Leo being there. Being there for her. Being there for her in the way that I couldn't.

I leave the room and Kol follows. I try my best to conceal my tears, but I can't. I lean against the wall for support, but I end up sliding down like I'm in some cringy tv show.

Kol doesn't judge me. He doesn't pretend he doesn't know me. He doesn't walk away. He slides down the wall and sits right next to me.

He brings me into his arms and carcasses my hair. I cry in his arms. "It's all my fault, Kol."

He shushes me. "No, baby, it's not."

I nod and draw up my nose. "Yeah, it is. Ryan came up to me and asked me what he should do about Angela. What he should do to win her back? A-And I told him that he and Angela could go fuck themselves because I w-was mad."

I sniffle. "It is not your fault, Maya. It is nobody's fault but Ryan's. You couldn't have predicted what he was going to do. When Angela wakes up, we are going to make sure she's okay and healed and then get that restraining order done."

I look up at him and smile. "We?"

He smiles and kisses me gently. It felt like a promise. A promise that we would always be we.

But a promise I felt like I wasn't ready for.

End of Chapter Twenty-Seven

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