Pinkie Promise

by Sarah Clay

  “Any news on Victoria’s whereabouts?” I finally look towards Coop; his face stone cold at the mention of her name.

  “She was picked up last night, they’re holding her for kidnapping, assault and recklessly causing grievous bodily harm. Along with fleeing the scene and a few other misdemeanors.”

  I huff out a breath. I thought I’d feel more relief knowing she was behind bars. But the relief I needed to feel would only come when Liv opens her eyes. I grip her hand in mine, leaning over to kiss her forehead again, this time I don’t pull away.

  “Alright Romeo, you’re coming with me” Megan declares walking into the room.

  Cooper smirks at my confused look.

  “I’m not going anywhere” I shake my head in her direction as she comes to stand beside me.

  “You’re going to let Cooper here, have some time with his sister, and you’re going to come to the staff lockers and take a shower.”

  I shake my head sterner now, adamant I would not leave my girl again.

  “Jackson listen to me; no one will harm her. Cooper will be by her side and I will be right outside that door” she points in the direction of the corridor.

  “Plus, this beautiful girl has been out of it for some time now and she still outshines you boy. The least you can do is give her a nice view to wake up to” she mocks.

  I knew I must have been looking a little rough, but showering and shaving just didn’t seem important, not when Olivia had yet to wake up.

  “Go on Jackson, I want some time with my sister. If anything changes, I’ll come and get you”

  I glare over at him but he quickly adjusts his sentence,

  “I will have somebody else come and get you… I will not leave her side.”

  I look back to Megan’s hopeful eyes and sigh out into the room, reluctantly nodding in her direction.

  She smiles a wide smile over to Cooper.

  Looks like their little tag-teaming efforts had made them feel like quite the winners.

  Before I leave, I kiss her palm and then her cheek.

  “I’ll be back in a couple of minutes Liv.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Olivia

  Oh god, what is that pounding in my head? I need some Panadol or Nurofen or something.

  I think to myself while trying to force my eyes open, but they won’t budge. It’s like they’re fused shut.

  I try to lift my hand up to my face.

  Nothings working, the pain I was feeling going from a dull ache to an excruciating level though.

  My shoulder radiating pain. I will my body to do what it’s supposed to do but it’s not listening.

  Every breath I take; I feel shoot a piercing signal to my side.

  What is going on? Think Olivia. Think.

  Okay, I was at the apartment. I’d been drawing a photo. Was it a landscape?

  No, it was a portrait. Who was I drawing? There was a man. Two of them maybe. No a male and a female. It was me.

  I was drawing a picture of me and Jackson.

  What happened next Olivia, think, think, think…

  Someone knocked at the door. Who was on the other side of the door?

  I feel like I’d barely been awake, I mean I hadn’t even gotten around to opening my eyes, and yet I could feel myself falling back under the magical spell of sleep.

  Maybe a little bit of rest would help me to remember.

  I welcome the numbness that sleep is offering to me, and I take it with all that I can.

  ∞

  “Her stats are stable; we will change her dressings before the end of rounds. But right now, we are trying to control the risk of infection while monitoring brain activity to make sure the knock she took wasn’t more significant than was first noted.”

  I hear someone's voice breaking through the fog in my head. Trying to focus on what’s being said.

  “It’s been hours, why hasn’t she woken?” I’d know that agitated voice anywhere.

  Jackson.

  As soon as I hear him speak it all comes crashing down on me.

  Jackson, Charlie, driving to collect my things, Victoria… Oh my god.

  Victoria was behind all the threats, all the damage.

  I can feel my heart beating but nothing I do is stopping the pain it’s causing.

  I overhear some machines beeping beside my head, I must be in the hospital.

  Of course, I was. Victoria shot me.

  Oh my god, did she hurt Charlie? Is he okay? what about Cooper and Tony.

  Jackson was here, so he was okay right.

  Oh my god. Breath Olivia.

  I try counting to ten but I get to two and can’t keep going. The pain in my arm and sides is excruciating.

  The beeping grows more insistent beside me. Each beep sends a sharp sting down my body.

  “What’s happening, why is it doing that? LIV BABY! Megan, what’s happening?” I hear Jackson's panicked voice shout into the room.

  I beg for this Megan person to answer, tell me what’s happening to my body.

  “It’s okay, she is due for more pain medication. It’s possible that it’s just wearing off and her body is feeling the extent of the pain she is in. I’m administering more now, just give it a couple of minutes. Her stats will come back down.” She speaks calmly, she has a sweet voice.

  I guess Megan is the nurse, I hope her words are comforting Jackson.

  I feel a hand taking hold of mine, squeezing it tightly. I know it’s him. His hand in mine brings more reassurance than any words from a medical professional could right now though.

  A few minutes later I hear him sniffing, “This is all my fault.” He chokes out.

  I plead with the heavens above to let me be okay, let me reassure the man I love that none of this is his fault, that I don’t blame him and I never will.

  But instead of an almighty power playing nice, I feel a heaviness falling over me before everything goes silent again.

  ∞

  “Cooper will be here soon. They’re only letting him in during visiting hours.” I hear Jackson's voice coming through, but it sounds so far away.

  “Tony pops by to, but he’s been in the office picking up the extra work. God that sounds bad, like I care about the fucking work. All I care about is laying right in front of me.”

  His voice is coming over clearer now.

  He sounds so tired.

  “I swear I will never let anyone harm you ever again Liv, please just wake up baby.”

  I feel fingers drifting over my face.

  “Charlie’s missing you.”

  Oh god, that means he’s okay right? He chuckles a little.

  “He’s been staying at Tony’s place. Apparently, he keeps trying to sneak into his bed at night.”

  I smile, well at least I do in my head.

  “The police and doctors are saying it looks like based on the angle of the bullet wound you threw yourself in front of the bullet. Olivia, you crazy, beautiful, amazing woman. You need to wake up right now and tell me you did not take a bullet meant for Charlie!”

  I can’t, even if I could wake up I wouldn’t be able to tell him that, because it’s exactly what I had done.

  Although it sounds a lot worse when I say it over in my head. I didn’t think I’d get hit.

  At least I don’t think I did. And she was going to kill Charlie.

  All he was doing was protecting me, no way, I couldn’t let him get hurt because of me.

  I’d never forgive myself.

  “Liv, baby” I feel his lips touch mine just slightly before he whispers against them “I need you to wake up, I need you.” I will myself to open my eyes, to bring him the reassurance he so clearly needs.

  But nothing I do is working. “How’s our beautiful girl doing this morning?” I hear that same sweet feminine voice coming from somewhere in the room.

  “Her stats were stable overnight, Nurses on last night said her body is in shock from it all. Trying to recover. But that’s bullshit, sh
e’s one of the strongest people I know” Jackson's gruff voice comes from a little further away now.

  But I can still feel his touch.

  “Jackson she is going to pull through this, just give it some time.” I want to agree with her, to shout out.

  “Jackson, I actually came in to tell you that he’s here again, Dean, he wants to see her and is refusing to leave until you at least speak with him.”

  I hear Jackson let out a feral growl. Did she just say Dean was here and why was he eliciting that kind of reaction from Jackson? I want to keep listening and find out what’s going on but silence falls over me before the pain cascades away.

  ∞

  “Any news on Victoria’s whereabouts?” I hear his voice clearer this time. Jackson sounds angry like he's holding the full weight of his hostility back though.

  “She was picked up last night, they’re holding her for kidnapping, assault and recklessly causing grievous bodily harm. Along with fleeing the scene and a few other misdemeanors.”

  Coop. He’s here, I want to tackle him to the ground and hug him. So glad that he’s safe and didn’t get in the way of Victoria.

  I feel a hand gripping mine in the palm of their own before the bed dips slightly, I can smell Jackson as soon as he’s above me. Leaning over me, he kisses my forehead, but he doesn’t pull away, just rests his lips against me.

  “Alright Romeo, you’re coming with me” The nice nurse has an air of authority to her now.

  “I’m not going anywhere, Megan”

  Ahhh, Megan, that’s right, that was her name.

  But wait, where was she taking him. I don’t want him to leave. I try opening my eyes again to tell them that but nothing happens.

  “You’re going to let Cooper here have some time with his sister, and you’re going to come to the staff lockers and take a shower.”

  I feel his hand tense around mine before Megan speaks again.

  “Jackson listen to me; no one will harm her. Cooper will be by her side and I will be right outside that door.”

  She’s right, Cooper will protect me.

  “Plus, this beautiful girl has been out of it for some time now and she still outshines you boy. The least you can do is give her a nice view to wake up to” I can hear the playfulness in her tone, but I doubt he looks anything other than handsome.

  From the bits and pieces, I’d been able to pick up, I had some bruising to my face, a couple of broken ribs and my shoulder was all bandaged up. I’d come to a few times when the nurses would be checking the entry site. I’d heard them say how lucky I was not to have done and irreversible damage.

  Right now though, I was worried that I was worse off than I was supposed to be.

  “Go on Jackson, I want some time with my sister. If anything changes, I’ll come and get you.” As soon as I hear my brother speak, I feel slightly better that I won't be alone. Jackson wouldn’t take too long to shower. I feel his mouth leaving a kiss on my palm, and then my cheek. Before hearing him whisper close to my ear. “I’ll be back in a couple of minutes Liv.”

  ∞

  “You’ve got to wake up sis. We all need you okay, so if there is some glowing light calling you, well you just tell it to fuck right off and come back to us okay.”

  I know he’s trying to crack a joke, but it falls flat with his solemn tone.

  I hear a chair scraping on the floor as Coop must shift it in to place beside me. Once he settles I feel him take my hand in his. I remember all the times my brother would hold my hand as a child, comforting me when I’d fallen over, or been picked on in school. It had the exact same effect now.

  “I called dad.”

  If my body wasn’t already in shock, it would have been after hearing that.

  “Crazy right, but he deserved to know. He will be here tonight. We didn’t say much to each other. I just updated him on everything that had gone on in the past couple of days and told him you were in the hospital.” I can hear Coop sigh.

  “I don’t know how it will all go down once he’s here, but you’ve got to know, you’ll always have me Livvie. And Jackson and Tony. You’ve got us, I promise you.”

  The pain was starting to get away from me again and I wanted to slip back into the numbness that eases it, but I desperately wanted to keep listening to Coop speaking.

  “I’m so sorry I haven’t been a better big brother to you Livvie. Just wake up okay, wake up and yell at me or hit me. But wake up.”

  I’m trying Coop. I desperately wanted to be awake and talking with him.

  ∞

  It’s different this time. I can see so much light behind my eyes. I can see shadows and shades.

  Things aren’t feeling as fuzzy. Smells and sounds are coming clearer.

  I feel a hand take mine, I know who it is instantly.

  I can smell him, feel him.

  “Baby” oh no he sounds so broken. I can feel his hand tightening around mine. “You promised me Liv, you promised you’d come back to me.”

  I stop trying to force my eyes open and just listen to his heavy breathing and aching voice.

  “Please baby, open your eyes, let me see them baby blues Liv” he’s practically begging me now. I feel him pull away from me, leaning back in the chair he was obviously sitting beside me in. I can feel the weight of his hand leave my hand before it comes back to rest beside me.

  My poor Jackson, I try with all my might. I need to be there for him, just like he’s tried being there for me. Concentrating on opening my eyes.

  They twitch a little, barely opening before clamping back down. Not accustomed to the bright white light. Slowly I open one eye, followed by the other. Blinking away the pain that shoots through my skull.

  After a couple of minutes of just blinking, my eyes seem to have somewhat readjusted. I take in my surroundings. I’m in a bright white hospital room. Heavy blankets resting over my body. Flowers rest on every available surface of the room. The TV above my bed is on, but no sound is coming through. I hear a sniffle come from my right and advert my eyes to its location.

  That’s when I see Jackson. Seated in a green plastic chair, he’s bent over though, leaning his forehead against the side of the bed I was currently laying on. I can’t see his face. But I have every part of it memorized.

  “Olivia, I never knew what love was, not until you come along, and now that I know…” he mumbles against the mattress, but I’m listening so desperately that I catch every word.

  “You can’t take that away from me, you can’t take you away from me. Please baby, please.”

  He begs and it’s what I need. It’s the extra strength I need to force my body to listen.

  His hand is right beside mine, barely touching. I know I’m not about to run a marathon, but if I could just get his attention. With everything in me, I flex my pinkie towards his hand, trying to grab hold of his, I feel the contact.

  He must to, because his head flies up, eyes snapping to mine. He looks so pale and confused. I want to say a million things to him, but I already feel like going back to sleep.

  Just keeping my eyes open and the little movement I’ve managed, it’s exhausted me.

  “Pinkie promise” I don’t even know if he catches my words clearly, my voice barely above a whisper and so hoarse, it feels like I haven’t used my voice in years, not days.

  “LIV!” the relief that washes over him breaks my heart, he must have been so worried and there was nothing I could do to help him with it. He stands quickly, moving up to where my head rests on the pillow.

  “Baby, you have no idea how good it is to see you awake” he smiles the softest of smiles, placing his hands gently on either side of my face before leaning in and kissing me.

  “I’ll get the nurse.” I attempt to smile, but it could be more of a grimace.

  I let my eyes drift shut again, but before sleep takes over I hear Jackson's gentle voice close to my ear.

  “You can go back to sleep Liv, I’ll watch over you.” His warm lips on
my temple offer that familiar comfort.

  “Just make sure it’s not such a long one this time okay babe.”

  His sad tone is fading; but I know he’s still worried.

  At his joke I feel my mouth turn up at the edge, definitely offering at least half a smile this time.

  ∞

  I can feel eyes on me, I haven’t opened my own yet. Trying to mentally prepare myself for what to expect. I can hear hushed voices, Jackson, Coop, and Tony.

  I smile inwardly before slowly opening them up, they still feel heavy but it’s nothing in comparison to what it was.

  “Livvie” I hear Coop's voice before he steps into my line of sight. “Oh god sis, you scared me.”

  I smile, this time offering a proper one. “Coop” I cough a little after.

  Jackson is quick to offer me a cup with a straw in, I selfishly swallow some of the cool water down before he pulls the cup away, sitting it on the small table. Coop tells me he’s going to go grab Nurse Megan before he practically runs out the door.

  Jackson turns back to me, wiping my hair away from my face. I can’t even imagine what I look like right now. But I don’t care, I’m so happy to see him. His eyes are bloodshot and he has dark circles underneath them. I notice a slight bruise on his jaw and I wonder where it came from.