“This is all just so fucked up,” was the first thing I mumbled when I felt myself enter consciousness. Immediately, memories flooded back into my brain, hitting me like a train.

The lockdown, Candace’s outburst, the gun shot, the pain, Bree, nothing.

The last thing I remember seeing before my memory fuzzed out was Bree’s hands and then her face. There was so much red—it was a mess. A painful, crimson colored, mess.

I looked around the room I was in, seeing that I was alone. No Bree, no one at all. I frowned and sighed, a shooting pain throbbing in my abdomen.

“Anyone?” I croaked, a sad tear slipping down my face. It hurt so bad—the wound in my stomach and my heart. My body remained tense—it was impossible to relax with the pulling sensation in my abdomen. I rested my head back, my chin pointing to the ceiling as I clenched my eyes shut, wishing that I were anywhere but here.

I laughed irrationally. Of course, the day before I get to begin my life as a saner, happier person, I get shot. Those kind of things don’t just happen normally, but of course when they do happen, they happen to me. Maybe I was being selfish—I was lucky I was alive, I guess. But I was also a complete idiot. I should have just listened to Bree and remained hidden with her like we were supposed to, instead of trying to reason with Candace. How were we supposed to explain this to Bree’s bosses? She was technically “in charge” of me… she was going to get in trouble, because of me.

“Damn it,” I cursed, clutching the stiff white sheets with my fists.

“Vic! Holy shit, man!” I opened my eyes and relaxed my head when I heard a familiar voice.

“Tony,” I smiled softly at Tony, who was now standing five feet away from me.

“Dude!” he exclaimed.

“Yes,” I laughed quietly.

“It’s you!” he pointed at me.

“Yes, it’s me,” I laughed, rolling my eyes and giving him jazz hands. “Hi Tony,” I greeted him happily.

“Are you okay? Holy shit, man! We got a call that you were shot! That shit never happens in real life! I swear to fucking god we are living in a lifetime movie!” Tony waved his hands around like a mad man. I’ve never knew he could be so animated.

“I was just thinking the same thing,” I mumbled.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, calming down. I shrugged my shoulders.

“It hurts,” I admitted.

“I'll tell a doctor that you are awake,” Tony said. I nodded thankfully. “And, um, sorry in advance for my mom,” he smiled weakly. I tilted my head in confusion.

“Vic! Oh my goodness gracious, hijo! I’m so relieved that you are okay!” Tony’s mother came bursting into the room.

“I’ll go get a doctor,” Tony mumbled before leaving the room.

“Hi, Mrs. Perry,” I smiled weakly at her.

“I’m so sorry this happened to you, sweetie. You of all people do not deserve this!” she exclaimed sadly, shaking her head vigorously.

“It’s okay. I’m okay,” I said.

“Yes, that’s all that matters. And, on the bright side, you will be released soon and can finally come home. Everything is all set up and we hope you will find it comfortable,” she smiled warmly.

My heart swelled when she mentioned the term home. Maybe that’s what the Perry’s residence will become to me. More than just a place to stay; A home.

“When I’m all healed I can stop by my house and get some of my stuff,” I suggested.

“Yes, of course. But take your time. I will buy you anything you need, too,” she said, and I smiled thankfully at her.

Tony came back in with a doctor, who beamed upon his entrance.

“Good morning!” he chirped happily. I smiled weakly. “Does it hurt?’

I nodded.

“Okay, I’m going to give you some morphine so you can sleep it out. You need all of the rest you can get,” he said, walking over to my IV. “Sleep well,” he said, giving my arm a friendly pat.

“Thanks,” I slurred, the medicine taking effect nearly instantly.

I dozed off quickly, my sleep very uneventful. I guess pain medicine did that: allowing me a mindless, painless sleep.

When I woke up, I was almost disappointed.

I slowly began to remember again, but the thing that bothered me more than the events that landed me here themselves was the fact that I, yet again, did not wake up to Bree.

“Hey buddy,” Tony shot me a toothy grin, and I smiled at him, my eyelids droopy.

“Hi,” I said. I chuckled to myself, finding that my voice was softly high pitched and slurred. “I sound funny,” I informed him.

“Yes, you do,” Tony laughed. “This is what it feels like to be high,” he pointed out.

“Cool!” I grinned. “I’ve never been high before. Tony, let’s get high together one day,” I said.

“No you will not be getting high together. I hope that it’s just your meds talking, Vic,” Mrs. Perry interjected, causing me to erupt into a fit of painful giggles. Mrs. Perry rolled her eyes and exited the room.

“I lied, Tony,” I said.

“About?”

“I have gotten high before. With my brother, Mike, before he died. We smoked together and watched the UFO’s. We almost had to call NASA,” I reminisced, smiling happily at the memory.

Tony laughed lightly, and I sighed, the euphoric feeling of bliss already beginning to wear off as I realized something.

“Tony?” I asked.

“What’s up? Are you in pain?”

I shook my head. “Where’s Bree?” I asked quietly with a frown. “W-Why isn’t she here?” I asked even quieter.

“She had to deal with some things. She didn’t leave your side the entire time, until Dr. Crowly needed her,” Tony said.

“Oh,” I said. “Why did Dr. Crowly need her? I think I need her a little more,” I said lowly, and I furrowed my eyebrows and frowned.

“I don’t know. She said she’d be back as soon as possible. That was a few hours ago. I bet she’ll be here any minute,” Tony smiled reassuringly.

I nodded slowly, kind of pissed off that Dr. Crowly took Bree away from me. Maybe I was being a tad selfish, though: what if Bree was currently getting in trouble for what happened?

“I’ll let you be,” Tony patted my arm before turning around, exiting the room.

I sighed, turning my head so half of my face was pressed into the pillow that my head uncomfortably laid on. It smelt sterile. Too sterile. Not fluffy, warm, and happy. The desire to go “home” spiked high, and it gradually increased with every waking minute in yet another form of hospital. I just wanted to be okay; safe; secure; home.

“What are you thinking about?” I turned my head to the source of the soft voice that quietly spoke a few feet away from me.

“I can’t wait to get out of here,” I said so quietly that I was merely mouthing the words.

“I know,” she patted my hand sympathetically. As her hand retreated, I gently grabbed it, holding it hostage in my own. She smiled. “How are you feeling?” she asked, scooting the chair she was sitting in closer, so she was only a few inches away from me.

I immediately felt calm, warm, and happy. Home.

“Better, now,” I grinned at her.

She gave me a bittersweet smile, and it was then when I noticed that tears were brimming her eyes.

“Don’t cry, Bree,” I said softly, releasing her hand and outreaching mine to wipe away the tear that had snuck out of its place and onto her cheek. My face twisted and I dropped my hand uselessly, finding that my arm was so weak it might as well be jelly.

I slowly scooted away from Bree in the bed, making room. I didn’t know if this was risky, but I did it anyway. “Come here,” I murmured, patting the spot next to me. She weakly smiled, trucking hair behind her right ear as she carefully and slowly laid down next to me. The bed sunk in a little, but it didn’t cause my injury any pain.

She rested her head on my shoulder left shoulder, and now I was able to more successfully dry her eyes of tears. “Don’t cry,” I repeated, resting my right palm on her exposed left cheek.

“I can’t believe this happened,” her voice broke. “I’m so sorry this happened to you,” she cried softly.

“No, Bree. It’s okay. I’m okay, see?” I kissed her forehead. “It’s my fault, anyway. I should have listened to you,” I frowned slightly. “No,” I said before she could respond. “Let’s not play the blame game. What happened, happened. We can’t undo it. We just have to deal with it,” I said.

“You’re right,” she breathed, her breath tickling my face. “It just sucks. You are the last person on earth who deserves this,” she said.

“It’s okay. What happened with Candace? Oh, and Dr. Crowly?” I asked anxiously.

“Candace was arrested, and they are sending her away to a tighter facility. What she did was not excusable, even if she was in a bad state of mind. It’s one thing to accidentally punch someone in the face, but it’s another to intentionally bring in a fire arm and actually use it,” she explained. I nodded, simultaneously wondering what inspired Candace to bring in the gun.

Tyler. I wondered who Tyler was… Maybe she kept “seeing” him and felt threatened. That sounded like a plausible situation.

“And Dr. Crowly… I hate that bitch,” she muttered, causing me to let out a chuckle. “I quit,” she said quietly.

“You quit? Bree!” I exclaimed, astonished.

“It’s okay. I’ve been thinking about it for a while, actually. I’m still going to go to school for psychology, but that specific internship just wasn’t for me. I couldn’t stand the way they ran that place. They had so many internal problems that I noticed—problems that I’m definitely going to report,” she said.

“But doesn’t that look bad? Quitting right after what happened?” I asked. I tried not to sound blunt about it, but she knew I was just being concerned.

“Well, once they see my report for my reasoning, it will all make sense. And I wasn’t going to be in trouble, anyway. The situation was completely out of my control, according to Dr. Crowly. I think she thought that Candace broke into the room or something, that you didn't voluntarily go out into the hallway, and that I didn’t let you go out into the hallway, though. I think we can continue to let her think those things, though,” she smirked, and I laughed.

“Nobody would understand, anyway. If it weren’t for that fucking gun, we could have successfully helped her out, I’m sure,” I figured, and she nodded in agreement.

“You’re probably right about that,” she sighed. We sat quietly for a moment, deciding not to continue dwelling on what could have happened. “How are you really feeling, though?” she asked.

“I’m okay,” I said honestly. “It hurts a little, but I’m really okay,” I promised. She nodded, leaning up and kissing the corner of my mouth softly. I loved it when she did that. I turned my head so I could kiss her fully on the lips.

“I thought I was going to lose you,” she mumbled quietly, reaching up with her left hand and smoothing out my hair on the right side of my head. “Please don’t ever leave me,” she whispered and closed her eyes.

“Never,” I whispered back, resting my head on her forehead. I wanted to pull her into me, to hold her tightly, but my wound was still overly sensitive. So, instead, I settled on keeping our foreheads connected, loving the way she breathed softly on my face.

I wouldn’t dare admit it out loud—not yet—but I also settled on keeping our hearts connected, loving her.

Notes

HERE HAVE ANOTHER

I just couldn't leave y'all amazing people hanging for too long again, so I managed to squeeze in a quick, short chapter :)

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And thanks so much for being so patient. And the comments from the last update made me happy (sorry for not getting back to you individually...) I see you and I appreciate you and I love you all. And, honestly, I don't say that updates "kind of suck" for attention or for you all to tell me otherwise, It's just my own personal view that I feel like I need to ramble away and share. Maybe the update itself was fine, but the process of writing it was drawn out and made me feel like it was all random and unorganized and not good, but that's just my personal opinion. I was just dying to update, so i guess i felt like I had rushed through the chapter, that's all.

I didn't mean to rant up there, my bad ^^

But thank you all, seriously. It means a lot

Hopefully more soon, but I really would like to write for "Starry Eyes".

*sighs** school should be illegal