Going Home

8. Getting on the road

I wake up, hearing a knock on my door. A second later a nurse walks in. "I'm sorry to wake you miss Brooks. How is your head feeling?" she asks me with a smile on her face. She walks further into the room with a tray containing breakfast.

"It's feeling better. Just a small headache." I say before I take a bite of cereal. The nurse does some final check-ups and tests before she hands be a clipboard containing some papers. "These are the discharge papers. Your boyfriend is waiting outside for you. You're good to go home as soon as you signed the papers and finished breakfast."

My eyes find her immediately and I shake my head. "He's not my boyfriend." I deny and the nurse looks at me with a weird expression. "That's a shame. The two of you would look great together." She tells me with a smile plastered on her face.

I just shake my head and sign the papers before handing the clipboard back. The nurse walks out and I finish my bowl of cereal. Soon the door swings back open and Ian walks in carrying a small bag and two cups of coffee. "I brought you some of Aimee's old clothes. I thought you would want to fresh up a bit and some more along the way back home."

This was a side of Ian that wasn't new to me. The loving and caring side. But I was very surprised to see that side of him again after everything that had happened. I left him behind with no explanation or goodbye. There isn't a day passing by I do not regret that decision. But truth be it, it's all too late for that now. Choices are made, things have been done and I can't take all that back.

"Kat?.. Kat?... Kat! Are you still there?" The sound of his voice cuts off my thoughts and I look up at him. "You totally spaced out on me. Is your head okay?" he asks and I can't help to hear the worry lacing through his voice.

I just nod my head, not trusting my own voice at the moment. He doesn't seem to pick up on anything and he hands me the clothes. "Just clean up, get dressed and then we can go. I'll wait for you outside of the room." And after saying that he turns on his heels and walk out of the door.

I slowly get up from the bed, ignoring the sudden wave of dizziness that's washing over me. I admit that I hit my head a lot harder than I thought I did.

Moving into the little bathroom attached to my room I free myself from the hospital gown I was wearing, turn on the shower and step under the water. Making sure to rinse everything and using the shampoo Ian brought with him, making a mental note to thank him for that.

Once I am done showering, I dry myself and put on the clothes Ian brought for me. When I am fully dressed I take a look in the mirror, surprised to see that I am actually wearing a decent outfit. Finally, I towel dry my hair and let it dry in natural waves.

Stuffing all the stuff in the bag Ian brought with, I look around to see if there is something I am forgetting. Once I am sure I have everything with me, I move out of the room and am greeted by Ian in the hallway.

Like a true gentle man the takes the bag from me and leads me to his car after I dropped off my discharge papers. He sits in the driver's seat as I take my place at the passenger's seat. He glances over at me and shows me a bit of a smile.

"Look, I know we've had our history and our differences, but can we please to try and forget about them for the sake of making it home alive? We will be stuck with each other in a car for at least five or six days. So please, can we just bury the hatchet for the time being?" he asks me. While looking at his facial expression I know he's not kidding. He's serious about this.

I nod my head and send him a small smile. It would be hard on the both of us, but it wouldn't be impossible. "We owe it to ourselves to try. It's the least we could do, right?" And with that he put on the radio, pulls up from the hospital parking lot and inserts into first high way we pass.

The drive back to New York is going to be a long one, but somewhere I am glad we're doing this. Maybe we can both move on from the things that happened four years ago. Maybe we can even go back to be friends again. I don't know the situations we will come across, the people we'll meet along the way. All I know is that I am glad I am not making this journey with a complete stranger.

For the first time since I have arrived here, I look over at Ian and take in his appearance. There he sat behind the wheel with his eyes, a color sea green, are focused on the road ahead of us, his dark hair that's perfectly styled in the messy kind of look, his broad shoulders and well-built body, he still looks like the same guy I left behind four years ago.

His appearances may still look the same, but he isn't the guy I used to know anymore. He grew up and moved on, just like I thought I did myself.

Thinking about what is and what could have been, I rest my head against the window and listen to the music playing in the car. A smile spreads on my face.

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

-

Suddenly I am waken up by someone punching my shoulder. I jump up in my chair and glare at the only person who could be guilty of the act. "What the heck was that for? Couldn't you just shake my shoulder or call out my name?" I ask him with disbelief. Who in the world wakes a person by punching them. That seems absolutely insane.

Ian just looks at me with an amused smile on his face. "I did shake your shoulder and called out you name. You were just too fast asleep to even twitch. So I did the next best thing I could think of to get you awake." He says it like it's the most normal thing to do in life, punching a person to wake them up.

I rub my hand over the spot on my arm where he had hit me. That will become a bruise later. "So what could be so urgent you had to wake me up so abrupt?"

"I thought you might want to have some lunch after you've been sleeping for almost five hours now." He says. Had he had said it I look around me to see we're parked near a shopping mall. As if he could read my mind he speaks up again. "First we're getting some lunch, after that we'll get you some much needed stuff like toiletries, underwear and some clothes."

I open my mouth to protest, but he's already out of the car before I can say anything else. I sigh to myself and then get out of the car, finding myself following Ian in the direction of the mall.