Home Run

23| The Rude Awakening

The sound of the clock ticking was the first thing I heard. I awoke in a hospital room with Owen half asleep on a chair next to my bed. He tried keeping his face propped up with his hand. The last thing I remembered was driving after I broke up with Trevor. I stopped for a while and then I drove through an intersection as this car came hurtling straight into the right side of my car.

Then everything went black.

"Owen," I said. My arm stung a bit, and my neck was stiff. I had a massive headache, and my whole body was in excruciating pain. But I was still alive. That alone is a blessing.

"Shit Natalia," he looked up. A smile immediately spread across his face as he stood up from his chair. "I thought you'd never wake up."

"And ditch you on your graduation day?"

"I would kill you if you did."

"Where's mom and dad?" I asked as I searched around the room.

"You've been out for almost three days now. They were here the entire time watching over you. But they went home this morning to get some rest. They'll be back at around six o'clock. If I get a hold of them, I'll tell them to come now."

"I need to call the doctors," he bolted to the door. He glanced back at me, "I love you."

"I love you too," I said. Owen and I weren't very affectionate toward one another. We were always there for each other, but we weren't verbal about it. My near-death experience triggered this fear in both of us; not getting the chance to tell people what you truly feel.

After Owen came back with the doctors they went into detail about what had happened to me. The doctor kept going on and on about what would happen during the rest of my stay at the hospital. Owen was standing in the back listening along until the door slowly swung open. I knew it wasn't mom or dad. So it must have been Trevor. Even after I hurt him, I so desperately wanted to see him walk through those doors. My heart was beating faster as the door opened wider and the person walked in.

It was Audrey with a fast food bag in her hands. She handed it to Owen. I knew I shouldn't have kept my hopes up. The doctor exited the room. Audrey and Owen approached me. "I'm so happy you're awake now," Audrey said. "I was here when you were still in the emergency room."

"Was Tre-" I stopped myself. 

"I don't know if you want to hear it especially since you just woke up."

"Tell me everything," I said. I was prepared to hear the harsh truth.

"Trevor didn't kiss Veronica. I don't know why he didn't tell you that, but he told me, and I believed him."

"I know what I'm saying sounds really far-fetched, but it's the truth," Audrey explained. She took her phone out of her bag. She showed me the same photo Veronica showed me. "The explanation of how I got this picture is complicated, all you need to know is that this picture was taken when they were still together."

"How do I know what you're saying is true?"

"Look at the photo closely," she said. In the photo, Veronica was without a doubt taller than Trevor. But now she was much shorter than him. Not only that, Trevor's hair was longer in the photo. This photo was from tenth grade when they were actually together. I was so caught up with what Veronica was saying I didn't dare question the authenticity of the photo. Most of all, I was angry with myself for doubting Trevor's feelings for me. I was weak, easily swayed, easily manipulated. 

"Oh," I said.

"Trevor told me she tried to kiss him that night. The only difference is that he didn't," Audrey explained. "Look, I didn't want to tell you this right now given the pain you just went through."

Owen spoke up, "but I knew you would want to know sooner than later."

"Thanks."

"I'm going to head out now," Audrey said. Within a second of saying goodbye, she disappeared leaving Owen and me.

"Can I be alone for a couple of minutes?" I asked Owen. He nodded, but before he left, he walked next to my bed.

He put his hand on my shoulder. "You're going to get through this. I love you, Nat."

"I love you too," I faintly said as he left the room. 

I was too rash and too hurt to realize the truth. Trevor took a sledgehammer and aimed it my heart, but I was blinded by my ego. I wanted to hurt him as much as he did to me, so I broke up with him. It was my fault as much as it was Veronica's and Trevor's.

Now all I wanted to do was see him and apologize, but a part of me was holding myself back. My heart wanted to be with him again, but my mind was ordering me to avoid facing Trevor out of embarrassment. If it weren't for me, we could still be together.

The thing is, Trevor should have told me that my accusations were false from the moment I asked him. He should have denied it, Trevor should have never let me leave. He let me go knowing that the reason behind our breakup was completely false. Trevor couldn't stand up for the way he was feeling for me while I let a photo control my feelings for him; so if a lie built from desire and revenge could effortlessly break us up, was our love even worth fighting for?

a/n And now you all know the truth behind the picture. What do you guys think will happen in the last two chapters? Will they get back together? What do you think about Natalia's thoughts on how easy it was to break them up? 

Don't forget to comment and vote, it's greatly appreciated!