How To Love Her

Chapter Eighteen

~~Sophia's POV~~

Blinding light hit Sophia's eyes as soon as she opened them. All was quiet. Too quiet.

She felt so stiff, as if she hasn't moved for months. Her throat and mouth felt as though one hundred cotton balls has been lodged in.

Then everything rushed back to her, the dinner, the shooting, that god-awful dream. Only it wasn't just a dream, or just scene her brain made up. It was very real. Hidden deep inside the depths of her veins. Everything you could see, but not clear enough.

In the end, despite all of that, her mind landed on one thing: Emilia. With this, she pushed herself to move a little more, twisting her neck. And there she was, sitting in a chair too far for comfort. Her hair down and all over the place, her sleeping position fixed as a tense rigid figure, very uncomfortable.

"Em?" Sophia croaked out, her voice dryer than the driest desert. She clears her throat, trying to say her name louder.

"E-emilia" Finally, Emilia starts to stir. She rubs her eyes and pushes her hair out of her face as she looks up to where Sophia is laying.

"Soph? Am I hallucinating?" Emilia looks at Sophia through squinted eyes, a confused look on her face.

"Haha, no it's really me. I'm awake." At that, Emilia's eyes widen and she stands up, rushing over to Sophia.

~~~~~~~~~~

"You were out for three weeks. I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. I will find these people who did this to you." Emilia kisses Sophia's hand gently, laying her head down on Sophia's shoulder.

"It's not your fault. Don't blame yourself. They did this to me, not you." Sophia glances to her side, noticing how Emilia pulled away completely, her head down. "What is it?"

"For a long time people have been after me and my business...my family. I knew something like this-" she motions between herself and Sophia,"-couldn't work. Wouldn't work and yet I let myself fall. I let the feelings I had for you grow and now look at you. Hurt." she lets out a dry chuckle," all because of me. Everything I touch that means so much to me. Something always happens." Sophia notices how Emilia's eyes began to water, a tear spilling over. She had never seen her cry before or look so defeated.

"Hey, hey..come here." Sophia sits up slowly, trying to hide the pain she felt, and she grabs Emilia's face gently. "It wasn't your fault. What we have here is something strong and I'm not letting this take over. I would never blame you for something like this. We will find those who did this and stop them from attacking again. Just stick with me." Sophia rubs her cheek and wipes the tear away, leaning over to kiss her forehead.

"When can I eat?" Sophia frowns thinking about the last time she ate pizza.

Emilia rolls her eyes and cracks a small smile, "Always thinking about food, huh?" Sophia smiles and shrugs playfully.

Soon after, the doctors come in to check on Sophia's vital signs, sharing out information on Sophia's status.

"You lost a lot of blood but the glass shard didn't hit or pierce any vital organs. Everything seems to be fine, and you can be discharged from here but you cannot do any extensive activities. No running, lifting, sex-" Emilia interrupts him, "I think we got it doc. But thank you."

Dr. Jacobs laughs and nods, "Well you should be fine to go and shower. Be careful with the stitches and if you need any help the nurses should be here for quite a while. Okay? Any questions or concerns?" He looks at Sophia expectantly.

"Uh...um...are there certain foods that I shouldn't eat? And how long should it take me to recover enough to not feel this pain?" Sophia bites her lip, eyes wide as if she's afraid to hear the answers.