Broken Bridges & Tattered Hearts

Freedom...At Long Last

Freedom . . . At Long Last

:: Samantha ::

The smell of overly used disinfectant made me jump up from the uncomfortable, rock slab like bed. The annoying beeping of a monitor buzzed in my ears. I raised my hand to block out the brightness of the light that could rival that of the sun. Wires made me jump and I realised that they were IV lines.

I groaned.

I was in the hospital.

The door burst open with a loud bang and suddenly I was engulfed in a pair of muscular arms.

"Don't ever make me worry about you again!"

Naturally, I was dealing with my very overprotective brother. Normally, I would have pounded him on the head for being like this but I knew he had a good reason this time. Wrapping my good arm around his neck, I took in the scent of his familiar Axe perfume. I had to be extremely careful. My injured arm was wrapped in a sling.

"I missed you too, Zane," I whispered in his ear.

He pulled away, his face sagging with relief. "I'm glad you are awake."

"How long was I out for?"

"Four days. When the ambulance brought you in, you were...quite hysterical. They had to sedate you before you went into surgery. The doctor says that the bullet didn't hit any major arteries or anything vital. Your head is fine. You'll just have a bump for a couple days."

I sighed, leaning back on the bed while Zane made himself comfortable in the armchair next to the bed. Four days. I wondered what I missed in those four days.

I shook my head. Right now, I didn't want to know what happened. I just wanted to see my family.

"Hey, where is everyone?" I asked.

Zane chuckled. "Oh, they went to the gift shop."

As soon as Zane said the last word, the door to my room burst open and my entire family tumbled through it; all of them talking a mile a minute.

"Mom!"

I smiled as my son bounded up to my bed, wrapping his arms around my neck.

"Hey, buddy. I missed you so much," I groaned lovingly.

"I missed you too, Mom," AJ said as he smiled at me. He reached up and placed a huge white teddy bear that holding a red heart in its hands that said 'Get Well Soon' next to my leg. "This is for you."

I laughed. "Thank you."

"So you're still alive I see."

I looked at my sister who was standing at the edge of my bed with my niece in her arms, Lucas standing next to her with a huge grin on his face.

"Sorry to burst your luck," I replied with a hint of a smile on my lips. "Were you expecting me to be dead?"

Jordyn tilted her head and shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe. If you did die, that means your necklace collection would belong to me. We all know that is worth a fortune. Imagine all the Jimmy Choos I could buy."

I broke out into a big grin. "I missed you too, JJ." I looked over at Maya who was unusually silent. "Do you have something to say?"

Maya fidgeted before she broke out into a loud groan and pushed past AJ, snaking her arms around my neck. "Don't ever scare me like that again, missy!" She yelled once she pulled away.

"I promise."

Looking at my family, I was so glad to see them again. They meant too much to me for me to just lose them like that.