The hand.

Chapter fifteen

They both instantly turned to me and she dropped her hands to her sides.
"I was just checking to see where it hurts" she smirked.
I hate her already and we've only just met. I don't like that she was touching him like that. I don't know why but it really bothers me.

"As far as I was told,he was a broken rib. I think I know enough about the human skeleton to know the ribs aren't that low down" I retorted.
She gave me a dirty look and left.

"I just spoke to the nurse and she asked what happened,so I told her you were attacked but couldn't see who it was" I smiled, pretending like nothing happened.

He smiled and grabbed my hand,giving it a light squeeze.
I sat down on the edge of his bed and just looked down at him. It was silent until he spoke up.

"I'm glad you came in when you did,that nurse was making me feel really uncomfortable" he said with a slight look of disgust on his face.

"Yeah she seems to have taken a liking to you" I smirked.
"Ew,gross" he laughed,giving me a slight shove.
I laughed too until he stopped laughing and went serious.
"I could never like someone like her. She seems like the kind of person who would just throw herself at anyone."
I laughed at this.
"She DID throw herself at you" I pointed out,laughing harder now.

Just then,we were interrupted by the same nurse who called me out before.
"Is it alright if I speak with Zac?" She smiled politely.
Why can't the other nurse be more like her? 
I gave him a reassuring smile and walked out,closing the door behind me.
Deciding they could be a while,I went to get a coffee.

It's been 30 minutes and now I'm really bored. I went to check a few minutes ago and they weren't finished yet.

I decided to call Alicia before I die of boredom.

*ringing*

Al: Hello?
Au: hey,it's me.
Al: oh hey! What're you up to?
Au: I'm stuck waiting for.....a meeting to be over and I'm bored.
Al: oh lol how long is this meeting?
Au: dunno,it's been half an hour now but I'm not sure how much longer it's gonna take.
Al: come on,half an hour isn't THAT long.
Au: it is when you're curious.
Al: true! Listen I gotta go now,don't over work kay?
Au: oh believe me I'm not,I've been sitting doing nothing for ages!"
Al: lol bye
Au: bye

I put the phone down and sighed.

It was another 10 minutes before the nurse came over to me.

"We really need you,I tried for 45 minutes now and he refuses to speak" she said slightly frustrated.
I can understand her frustration,he did it to me when we first met.

"Alright,maybe if I'm in the room,he might answer you" I suggested. 
She agreed and we walked back to his room.

We walked in and he kept his back to us,ignoring us.
"Zac?" I spoke up. He turned around when he realised it was me.

"Answer the questions please,it won't take long if you cooperate" the nurse practically begged.

"Dr Summers will be in the room if it helps" she added when he didn't answer.

He sighed and gave her his full attention.
"Can you remember anything about your attacker?" The nurse asked.

"No" was his response.

"Are you sure? Would you recognise his voice or anything?" She asked desperately trying to get  answers that could help her solve the mystery.

"No" he said again.

"How did they hit you?" Was the next question.
He looked down,silently as if he didn't want to think about the painful memory.

She was about to speak again when I moved to sit next to him and spoke up. "Take deep breaths" I encouraged.

He did as I said and started.
"I was walking on the street when he just came at me from behind and pulled me on the floor." He cleared his throat and continued.

"Then he punched my repeatedly and kicked me in the ribs and then he.....um....and he....h-he d-dragged me by my h-hair and he um.... he....dragged me across the ground,over broken glass.... and he...."
That's when he started full on sobbing.
I wanted to hug him but I couldn't with the nurse in the room. It's 'inappropriate'.

"He what?" The nurse urged.

"He k-k-kicked my head and l-left" he choked out.

The nurse wrote this all down and thanked him before leaving.

As soon as the door closed,I pulled him into a tight hug. Not tight enough to suffocate him but tight enough to let him know I'm here for him.
He cried harder and started to thrash around and was getting more upset by the minute. He's reliving it. I hugged him tighter to stop him from getting out of my grip and hurting himself. I lightly pushed his head to my chest.
"Listen to my heartbeat and try to breathe in time with it" I said soothingly.
It seemed to work and he calmed down.

"When did he get you?" I whispered.
"Not long after I left your house"

I felt bad before but now I feel way worse. I let my anger get the best of me and look where it got us.
I should've let him explain instead of jumping to conclusions.

Zac doesn't like to talk when things get too much for him. His dad breaking in again must've upset him and me accusing him of working with his dad must have gotten too much for him. That's why he didn't answer me when I was accusing him of the worst.
Instead of thinking it through,I let my anger take control and blind me so I took his silence as meaning that he was in fact working with that monster when I should have realised he couldn't and wouldn't ever do such a thing.

If I would have thought things through better instead of just acting out straight away,we wouldn't be in this hospital right now.
It's all my fault.
'Breathe deep' I told myself. The last thing we need is for me to have a breakdown.
I took deep breaths but it wasn't helping that much.
I leaned closer into Zac and hugged him tighter if that was even possible and he squeezed me tighter too. I breathed in his sent and slowly felt myself calm down.

I've come to realise that Zac needs me but I need him too.