Unintended Consequences

Chapter 10

This chapter is dedicated to toriatobin ! With her thoughtful feedback, I was able to significantly improve the first 10 parts of this story. Check out her story, First There Was You for a great read!

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"Charlotte......Charlotte...? Come on it's time to wake up, miss." Who was that? Whoever it was—they were going to have to take a freaking number. My entire body had melted into the lumpy surface below me. My eyelids were tight and heavy, as though they were sealed and weighed down by some unknown force. Not to mention, this guy was standing at the end of a tunnel trying to make me wake up. Nope, not happening sir.

"Is she always this hard to rouse awake?" I heard the annoying man say.

"Uhm... Yeah honestly, couldn't tell you," A deeper voice responded.

"Oh!" Mr. Annoying laughed, "I just assumed as her brother you'd know." My brother? Ollie was here? Why is Oliver here... Wait. Where is here? The man's voice became clearer and louder as he spoke, as though he was now walking to my end of the tunnel. It rattled around in my brain, pulling me from my slumber no matter how hard I clung to the peace.

A harsh white light blinded me as I regained consciousness. I blinked rapidly to clear away the fuzzy film of spots that were currently blocking my view. As everything around me came into focus, the room I was in flashed into my view. A large window. Industrial blinds. White walls. A plastic pitcher of water on a table. Archer propped up in a chair?

The final image prompted me to open my eyes wider. Archer was sitting next to me in a stiff wooden chair. His brown hair was rumpled on top of his head, and a five-o-clock shadow prickled his jaw. He was wearing dark jeans, a white t-shirt, and a red plaid button-down. They were wrinkled and creased as though he had been in them for a while. His eyes—that stared intensely back at me—had dark circles underneath of them. What was Archer doing here?

"Wha...t," I croaked at him. Archer's brows snapped together in worry at the sound of my voice. Seriously what was going on? A squeezing pressure dropped my attention to my lap. It was then that I noticed Archer was holding my hand in his. Just as I registered the calloused large hand warming my own, he yanked his back.

"Hello Charlotte, glad you could join us," Mr. Annoying spoke again. My head spun as I turned to my right to see an elderly man, with grey hair, glasses, and a white lab coat. Oops... Dr. Annoying?

"Do you know where you are Charlotte?" The man continued. I took another glance around. This time, I noticed the heart rate monitor and IV drip next to the bed.

"Hospital?" I wheezed.

"That's right," Dr. Annoying said with a smile. "Do you know why you are here?" His face stiffened into a more serious look as he asked. Fear prickled my senses as I tried to remember why I was here. What could have landed me in the hospital with Archer Johnson of all people holding my hand? It had to be bad if Archer was trying to comfort me. The florescent lights and anxious thoughts worked together to make my head throb.

I scanned my body quickly. There were no visible casts or bandages. My body didn't hurt at all either, it just felt weighed down. My throat was a little sore, but besides that, I couldn't feel any injuries. Why was I here? Anxiety flooded my stomach as I tried to decipher why I ended up in the hospital. I whipped my head over to Archer to see if he had any answers and he seemed to read the frantic question in my eyes.