Wait for me to come Home

Chapter 66

They kept Lisa in hospital for a week, but by that point she was physically well on her way to recovery. She'd suffered a slight infection in her burns, from days of exposure to dirt, but after almost two weeks on antibiotics and other pain medications her burns were healing nicely, and broken bones could be fixed, so they discharged her. Jennie was hesitant to let Lisa come home, but after seven days of nightmares and screaming, she thought that it might help Lisa to be in a familiar bedroom. She might feel safe; she might know that she was home while she was sleeping, and that might make her nightmares a bit better. Perhaps things would get better once she was truly home.

That last week had been the best and worst time of Jennie's life; she was grateful for every second that she spent with Lisa, knowing how precious they were. Yet she was worried sick, and every time Lisa would jerk away from her touch, or wake up screaming, it hurt Jennie to think about how much pain and suffering Lisa was going through. She wished more than anything that she could trade places with Lisa, or take her pain away. Anything to make it easier for her. Over the week that Lisa was in hospital, Jennie hadn't left her side. She'd slept in a chair in Lisa's room every night, and relied on her mom to bring her clothes and food. The only time she moved was when Lisa needed to use the bathroom, otherwise, she just sat by Lisa's side, reading poems to her or watching her sleep. For the most part, Lisa was silent, laying in the hospital bed and staring at Jennie as she listened to her talk. Sometimes it felt like she wasn't there, not mentally, and Jennie didn't know how to help bring her back.

The day that Lisa went home, it was raining, and Jennie had never appreciated the dreary weather so much before. She wanted things to be as different as possible to Afghanistan, in the hope that Lisa would feel like she was safe, and not be reminded of anything over there. She turned away from the window as the bathroom door opened and Rosé wheeled Lisa back into the bedroom. She was fully dressed in some of her clothes that were at Jennie's place, and she looked more like herself, except for the dark circles under her eyes and the gaunt look of her face. Jennie gave her a small smile as their eyes met.

"Are you ready?" Jennie asked her, zipping up the bag full of the things Chaerin had brought in over the course of the past week.

"Mom's just asking them to get her discharge papers ready," Rosé explained, picking up Lisa's coat and helping her put it on, much to Lisa's irritation.

"Let's go home," Lisa softly said, as soon as Rosé finished zipping up the front of her coat. Jennie gave her a small smile at the thought.

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They thought it'd be a good idea to take her home to Midvale, so that Lisa could have some quiet time in the countryside, away from the hustle and bustle of the loud city. Chaerin had Jennie's jet readied for them, and was staying in National City to manage the company while Jennie was away. The flight felt longer than it was, and Jennie kept anxiously looking at Lisa to make sure the flight wasn't too much for her, but by the looks of things, it was uninteresting and boring to Lisa, who stared out the window the entire time. A few hours later they found themselves in Yuri's living room, each holding a cup of tea as they watched TV. Lisa was laying with her feet in Jennie's lap, scratching Kuma's head as the dog lay curled up on the floor next to Lisa. She didn't talk. She just stared at the screen, but her gaze was unfocused and she wasn't concentrating on the cooking show Yuri had put on – it was the safest option they could think of. Cooking shows weren't exactly full of sounds of warfare or loud noises. As they all sat in the living room, Jennie kept sneaking glances at Lisa out of the corner of her eye, just to make sure she was okay. As her eyes flickered over to Lisa yet again, her look was met with a sigh.