Another Part Of Me

Chapter 27

Luciana woke up in the hospital. It only took her a few minutes to realize why she was there. A male doctor walked over to her with a smile. "How are you feeling Ms. Santiago?"

"I could be better. What's today?"

"It's May twenty-forth. You lost a lot of blood last night. We wrapped your arm up. You'll be wearing this cast for a while."

"Ugh, why does my nose hurt so bad?"

"It's broken. I advise you not to put any pressure on it. I'll give you extra bandages for it."

"Okay. What else have I injured?"

"Your back is bruised, and you have a lot of cuts from glass on your feet and legs. We've removed every piece, though. Besides that, you have no other injuries. For the next few months, it'll be normal for you to feel pain in your lower back and your arm as well. Be careful on how you move your body, and let it rest as much as possible."

"Jesus Christ. Okay. Is my sister here?"

"Yes. Would you like me to send her in?"

"Yes,please."

He opened the door and called for Dalani. He walked out and closed the door behind her. "Hey, Cici!"

"Hey." Dalani ran to Luciana's bedside and gave her several pecks on the cheek. Luciana laughed. "Lani!"

"Oh, I'm so happy you're okay! How are you feeling, amor?" She pulled up a chair.

"Terrible."

"What made him angry enough to actually shoot you?"

"I told him what a jerk he was and that I won't be seeing him again. But I think the fact that I fought back is what really made him angry."

"What a jerk. I'm really proud of you, though. That took a lot of courage to do what you did."

"Thanks.. but I didn't think he'd kill his self though."

"Why do you sound so sad about it?"

"I don't know. Apart of me feels like it's my fault."

"How in the world do you figure that?"

"Before he did it, he just watched me bleed and scream. I guess I made him feel guilty."

"Now how the hell is that your fault? It's not like you shot yourself! You should not be thinking like that, girl."

"I know I shouldn't. It's just these images that keep appearing in my head are taunting me. I really wish none of this ever happened."

"I know. It's over now though. You did it for a good reason. You did it for your daughter. He was only taking advantage of you. Sometimes people never change. I hope you've learned something out of this whole experience. You can't just trust anyone."

May 30th, 1994

Luciana checked out of the hospital six days after her arrival. Dalani pushed her out on a wheelchair.  As they were leaving, they were hoarded by cameras and tabloids.

"Luciana! Over here! How do feel about Mr. Jackson's marriage?" "Does this mean goodbye to the big screen for a while?" ""How long will it take you to recover?" "Is it true that you've been working on an album?"

Luciana shook her head, ignoring the questions. Once they were in Dalani's car, Luciana felt confused. "Did you hear them say something about marriage?"

"Yeah.. I'll talk to you about that later."

"Why can't we talk about it now?"

"You need to calm down. Just relax for a little bit. I'm taking you to mom and dad's house."