Right Realm, Wrong World (Book 4 of the Enchanted DVD Player tetralogy)

Hospitalized

For the next 14 hours, I stay at the hospital, hardly leaving Lloyd's side. He keeps drifting in and out of consciousness, and the doctors say he has some internal bleeding, three broken ribs, and probably a concussion, but he has a high chance of a full recovery.

Somebody knocks on the door, and I turn to see Kai, Jay, Cole, Zane and Nya all standing in the hallway. They look to me as if asking permission to enter, so I nod.

"Here," Kai says, handing me my backpack. "You left this at base. I noticed your clothes are in there, so I thought you'd want it."

"Thank you," I say. "Is that the only reason you came down here?"

The entire team suddenly averts their eyes, as if ashamed.

"We, uh... we made a mistake," Cole says. "We treated Lloyd awfully, and now look what's happened."

Nya bites her lip. "We all wanted to apologize, but it doesn't look like he's awake."

"He's doesn't spend a lot of time fully conscious," I say. "You can stick around for a while, though. Maybe he'll wake up."

The team looks delighted at that idea, so they all go find a place to sit. I rummage through my knapsack, thinking that now would be a good time to change into some clean clothes, but my hand grasps around the haunted DVD player.

I suddenly have a strange thought: what if the DVD player sent me here? Maybe this how I ended up in Ninjago City with no recollection of the past. The more I think about it, the more I agree with the idea.

My thoughts wander to the other version of me I met a while ago. The gears in my brain start turning as I wonder if this DVD player has something to do with her and her two friends' arrival.

"I'll be right back, guys," I say, then I leave the room. I head outside of the hospital, trying to think of where that troublemaking trio could have gone.

I wander down the streets, looking through the window of every building I come across. I'm about to call it quits when I spot the three of them in the park, having a loud discussion. They notice me heading towards them, and rush to meet me halfway.

"What the heck happened here?!" The other me asks. "We're gone for a day and the whole city falls apart!"

"Really? You're not gonna say hello?" I joke.

"Oh. Sorry. Hello. Now what happened to the city?"

"Garmadon, what else? But don't worry; things are under control now. In fact, I don't think we'll be worrying about these attacks anymore."

"Oh?" The other version of Lloyd asks. "Why's that?"

"Garmadon found out who was under the mask. He hated the fact that he hurt his own son, and now he feels like conquering Ninjago isn't worth anything anymore. He turned himself in to the police."

"Is Lloyd okay?" The other version of Zane asks. "We saw the ambulance take him away."

"He will be," I assure them, then I change the topic. "I came out here looking for you because I was wondering if this—" I hold up the DVD player "—can be of any use to you."

All three of their mouths drop. Their response is all I need to know—I take the shocked y/n's hands and place the DVD player in them.

"Take care," I tell them as I walk away. "And stay out of trouble!"

———————Luh-Lloyd's POV—————-

The first thing I see when I open my eyes again are the bright, fluorescent lights of the hospital room. I groan and close my eyes again; they're giving me a headache. The last thing I remember is seeing y/n beside me, as beautiful as she ever was, but the haziness of the memory makes it feel like it was only a dream. 

"Lloyd, you're awake!" someone says. I turn to see Nya standing by the window. 

She and the rest of the team rush to my side, all talking at once.

"We're so sorry, Lloyd!"

"We shouldn't have let you go out alone!"

"I know we said some pretty mean things, but we didn't mean them!"

"I brought cake!"

I covere my ears with my hands; the noise is too much for me. They all seem to get the hint, and quiet down. 

"I speak for all of us when I say we screwed up," Kai says. "You don't have to accept our apology, but we want you to know we're sorry."

That being said, the five of them get up and head for the door. 

"I forgive you," I mutter sleepily, turning my head towards them. 

Judging by their sighs of relief, I assume they heard me. Once they're out of the room, I notice someone else is leaning against the door frame. 

"y/n?"

She smiles, making my heart flutter. "I'm glad to see you're awake again."

"What... what happened?" I try to sit up, but she gently pushes me back down. 

"You're father almost killed you, but then he saw your face and agreed to go to jail," she replies nonchalantly. 

I try to laugh, but it hurts my chest. 

"Speaking of him, he told me to give this to you."

y/n hands me a piece of paper. It's covered in dirt and it's ripped on one side, but the handwritten words are still legible. 

Dear Lloyd,

I'm so sorry for everything. I'm a terrible father, and I knew that from the beginning, but I never knew to what extent. I wish I could rewind time and change all that has happened, but I don't have that power, unfortunately. I don't know what else I can do to say I'm sorry, so I've admitted defeat and gone to prison, in hopes that everyone's lives will be better in my absence. 

I wish you the best,

Your father

I look up from the letter, stunned. "He wrote this?"

y/n nods. "I saw him scribble it down before being shoved into a police car."

I sigh, setting the note on the table beside me, then I reach for her hand.

 "Thank you... for saving my life."

 "I couldn't let you die," she says, sitting down next to my bed without letting go of my hand. "You mean a lot to me, Lloyd."

"You mean a lot to me too," I whisper, biting my lip, trying not to cry. "But it wasn't just today... If I hadn't met you, I think I would have... ended it."

Tears start rolling down y/n's face, and then I couldn't hold mine back any longer. 

"Lloyd..." she mumbles quietly. "I think... I think I love you."

Those words fill my heart with so much happiness. All of my pain disappears momentarily, giving me enough strength to sit up. I run my right hand through her hair, and then I kiss her ever so gently. 

"I love you too."

------------a/n----------

I don't know why but this chapter was really hard to write... maybe because I'm a terrible romance writer.

*screams into a pillow* 

Okay, I'm good now.

Thanks for reading!