𝐔𝐆𝐇! {𝐋. 𝐇𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝}

Sixteen

Faith burst through the front doors of the hospital, her lips swollen and her hair a mess as Lexi trailed behind her, both girls slightly out of breath.

"Grace Morales," Faith panted, gripping onto the front desk. "I'm her daughter!"

"Room 203," said the receptionist, sending a sympathetic smile Faith's way. "She's in surgery, sweetheart. She lost a lot of blood and the doctors found a cyst on the heart, it may be awhile."

Faith nodded, thanking her for her time as she headed to Room 203, Lexi following behind her silently.

Lexi and Faith didn't talk. Lexi knew no matter what she said would comfort Faith, who was going through a wide range of emotions as she sat with her head in her hands.

Isabella was away for Christmas, and Faith didn't want to disturb her holiday in the Bahamas, so just as she was about to fire of a text to Frank, the man in question burst into the room.

"I-I'm here," Frank panted, learning over and resting his hands on his knees. "I-I-"

"She's still in surgery," Lexi spoke softly. "The nurse told us she lost a lot of blood and the Doctor found a cyst on her heart, so they're going to try and fix everything at once."

"Fuck," Frank muttered, rubbing his forehead. "Jesus fuck, Faith..." Faith looked up from her hands, her beautiful brown eyes bloodshot. "I-I-"

"I'll be fine, Frank," said Faith with an unconvincing smile. "I just want my mom."

"Y-yeah, me too," Frank said, taking a seat in the chair next to Faith. "She is sorry for everything, y'know? She didn't mean any of it, she just wanted to spite you."

"And she did, and it h-hurt so much," Faith told him, feeling Lexi's hand on her shoulder tighten ever so slightly. "But I wanna forgive her, so fucking much. I just want my mom."

The three fell into silence once more, Frank going to call Suze who had agreed to babysit Evie and David and give her an update on Grace.

"I'm just going to pop to the apartment, baby," Lexi said softly, rubbing Faith's shoulder. "I'll get us some fresh clothes, and something to eat."

"I'm not hungry," Faith mumbled, tapping her foot anxiously against the tiled floor. Lexi sighed, placing a kiss against Faith's cheek before standing up, taking Faith's car keys.

"Here you go," said Frank when he come back into the room, handing Faith a bottle of coca-cola.

"Thanks," Faith sent him a small smile, biting her lip as Frank sat next to her in Lexi's empty seat. Faith pulled her knees up to the chest, taking a sip from the plastic bottle before putting it to the floor.

Faith didn't know what happened next, but she was being shaken awake by Frank. She pulled her head up off his shoulder, sending him a small apology before noticing the occupied hospital bed in the room.

Her mother was there. Awake. Grace had cuts and bruises everywhere, her right arm and right leg and neck covered in plaster, and a long bandage running down the valley of her breasts where they had cut open her chest.

"Mom?" Faith mumbled hopefully, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Hi, baby," Grace croaked out. Faith let out a muffled cry, climbing onto the bed on Grace's uninjured side. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Faith didn't reply, she buried her head in Grace's shoulder and continued to cry, but Grace was alive, and Faith had forgiven her.

—————

"I come with gifts!" Faith said cheerfully as she burst into the hospital room on Christmas Day, two weeks later. David cheered from where he sat on the bed besides Grace, watching as Grace dropped a black bag onto the chair beside Grace's hospital bed. "One for Frank, one for Evie, one for mom... oh no!"