Stop Me If You've Heard This One Before (Girlxgirl)

Chapter # 21

Talia's POV

I woke up to a brightly lit room. The ceiling was white with tiny little specks of black and my eyes burned with the contrast. It was even too bright behind my eyelids and I reached up to sheild my eyes before letting out a whimper as I felt the tug of something sharp in my arm.

I opened my eyes and saw a needle taped to my arm, hooked up to an IV bag. It was a clear liquid and I wondered what it was and why I was hooked up to it.

I looked around the room. It was a small room with one window overlooking the city. It looked like I was on the fifth or sixth floor. I used to love staring out of the windows from high up. My mom was in the hospital a lot so I would always run right to the window when we went to go and visit her. Dad always hated it but my step dad didn't mind, he said it was cute.

It was broad daylight, so I knew not that long had passed by. I looked towards the door when it was opened and my step dad came in holding my brother in his arms. He smiled at me and held up a teddy bear.

"Ev picked this little guy out for you in the gift shop." I reached out my free hand and took the bear, holding it against me, needing to embrace something, glad that Evan thought of it. I smiled at him before wincing at the sharp pulsing pain in my head.

"What happened?" I asked, my voice sounding like my vocal cords had been thrown into a bag with some rocks and shooken up. My step dad sat beside me.

"Well, kiddo, you had a seizure." I frowned. "A what?" He sighed. "A seizure. Doc says it happens to people who have had recent concussions and or head injuries and even sometimes stress. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, right?"

I didn't react. It was better not to when he thought you were hiding something. "He says its because of the brain undergoing too much trauma and because of swelling in the brain. Too much pressure."

I thought back to all those times Lucas slammed my head into walls and hit me in the face. I just wanted to cry. I wanted to give up, lay down and cry my eyes out. He was everywhere, the source of all things wrong on Planet Talia.

"They're keeping you here for an MRI and X-rays. Is there something you would like to tell me, Tal?" I shook my head only to have a sharp pain shoot up and down my spine.

"Alright, honey, just get some rest then." I grabbed his arm. "Mom," I said in a panic. "She's alright. Stable." I whimpered again.

"I was going to visit her. I was right there, I was there, I promise I was, I swear it." He smiled sadly at me. "I know Talia, I know. But she's okay, more concerned about you than anything else. She's pissed that the doctor won't let her up, even in a wheelchair, to come see you."

I felt my lip quavering and I bit down on it. "But is she mad? Mad that I wasn't there sooner?" He narrowed his eyes in confusion. "Why would she be mad?"

"I've been a shit daughter. I haven't been home and I've left you guys all alone with Evan and I've just been terrible." Tears flowed from my eyes. His hand was stroking my face softly, moving my hair from my face. "No! Are you kidding me? We're both thrilled you've been out with friends, Talia. You're mother was starting to think you traded them all for books."

I smiled a little. Sounded like something my mom would say to me. "And you could never be a shit daughter, Tal. Maybe I speak for just myself, but I have never thought of you as less than a perfect daughter, a godsend. My only regret is that you aren't biologically mine."

"Who needs biology when they've got you?" I asked and he grinned. "See? There's my girl. You get some sleep, okay?"

My eyes slid closed and I dozed off to sleep for a bit, only to wake up every now and then because of the pain in my head and my stupid thoughts.