Saved By You

Chapter 8

Just as Mack had said he got me out of the hospital early, but not after listening to an hour of instructions and making sure’s about me. He didn’t seem to mind, when usually he hated long lectures especially if they’re ones to do with other people, he was practically buzzing with happiness I almost started laughing the middle of doc’s lecture. She shot him a pointed look and eventually we left. The only bad thing was that I had to sit in a wheelchair!

‘Oh, and a little heads up, my parents skipped work today just to see you, so uh… yeah,’ he says glancing at me slightly before looking back at the road. The radio was on and of course I said nothing, still annoyed of his blackmail to get me here but mostly because he let me live.

Was I really that annoyed with him though?

He took the long way to his house so we didn’t have to go past my street and house seeing he lived in the same block as me; walk distance.

That’s how we knew each other. When I was little I always went for a walk and one time we bumped into each other in a playground.

Best friends ever since. Until my…

‘Claire, you know I'm not sorry about what I said and did right?’ he asks cutting my thoughts off and glancing at me properly now that there were no cars on the street and we were turning into his driveway.

I looked back at him as we pulled into the driveway before looking away again and getting out of the car slowly, ribs still slightly throbbing. Turned out four ribs on my left were bruised and the other bruises around my body were now slightly fading, but memories of course, did not.

I looked over at the porch and his parents came toward me as Mack got of the car, the both of them practically ignoring him and rushing to my side.

Nadia, his mum, gave me a warm, welcoming hug which lasted for longer than it usually would have, but for her, I wasn’t really surprised and she didn’t seem to wanna let go even with my bony stiffened body in her arms. After her, John loomed over me, arms out about to hug me but of course I cowered away, shrinking and taking a step back until he realised I was scared of him.

He frowns, eyes flashing hurt before looking at Mack beside his mum shaking his head as if to warn his dad. He turns to me again with a smile though and kept his two meter distance. ‘Claire, it’s been so long. I’ve heard so much about you,’ he starts with a warming familiar smile that made me have second thoughts about that hug of his.

I dropped my gaze suddenly feeling ashamed that I rejected the man who was practically like my second father back in the days when I hung with Mack. Back when things weren’t so bad and when my family was close enough to count as one.

‘Come on darl’, I’ll show you to your room,’ Nadia says softly as if I were a piece of glass that could break as she gently touched my elbow with her finger tips and guided me into the foreign house, one that was once my second home but triple the size of mine where I could once walk around with my eyes closed and know every hiding spot.

‘Ah, here we are,’ she says, voice like a soothing sigh. I finally look up after keeping my head down, hair covering my face as I usually had it.

I come in to a room with light purple walls and a beige-y coloured ceiling, a walk-in wardrobe and toilet and bathroom beside it. I gaped. Wondering why the hell they would give me such a big room that was almost double the size of my lounge room and a bed almost half the size of my old room back home… home.

A laugh that sounded like soothing wind chimes and music fills my ears and startles me for a second when I turn again to face Nadia.

‘Oh sweetie, you’re such a big girl now. I'm surprised I haven’t seen you around anywhere. I'm sorry I haven’t come to your house to say hi… it just… it didn’t really feel right… y’know after…’ she trails off and I got her drift.