She must have been wearing rings when she hit my hands, because I had several bleeding wounds on them, and I felt a sting on the side of my forehead. I touched it with my finger, and when I looked at it again, there was blood there.
“She hurt you a lot,” the boy clarified.
“I would have hurt her more,” I replied through gritted teeth.
“I knew you would, that’s why I took you out of there. Besides, you had your chance and you wasted it,” he reminded me, making me regret not taking it when I could.
“I didn’t want to go that far. Besides, what do you care? It was my fight, not yours.”
“It wasn’t worth it, Celina.”
“That’s for me to decide, not you. And… ‘Celina’? How do you know my name?”
“Everyone knows you, you’re Donovan’s girlfriend,” he stated quite confidently, “speaking of which, please, don’t tell him to kill me.”
“I’m not his girlfriend, we’re friends and…” – when I made a move, a brutal pain was felt where Jessi kneed me – “God! That bitch did it well!”
The blonde quickly moved to hold me. “Should I take you to the hospital?”
“What? No. It’ll pass, just… Leave me.”
Two steps and I was already lying on the floor, writhing in pain. It hurts. Damn it. I could barely breathe without wanting to cry.
The blonde put one arm behind my back and the other behind my knees to lift me. He was carrying me quickly out of the changing rooms. I didn’t complain, I could barely breathe. The pain was shattering.
I had a great need to shout Donovan’s name to the four winds, I needed him, and there I broke down, tears came out of my eyes, I felt alone. I longed to be in his arms and not in those of this stranger.
Suddenly, I felt stupid for the scene I caused a few minutes ago over a simple “I like you”, but the truth is that it made me very happy for a few brief seconds.
For a couple of weeks, I have cherished the moments when I am with him and he doesn’t have to run for his job, I cherish even more that he prefers to be with me and his mother than out doing his thing with God knows who.
I have never been as happy as when I am with him and his mother, never, and that worries me.
I don’t know if this is just physical attraction.
It shouldn’t be like this, this was not part of the plan.
The plan was to have no friends, no relationships; just study; find a job and look for my mother.
“My mother. My mother.”
I must repeat it a thousand times more until it is engraved in my damn head.
I repeat it.
It doesn’t work.
“Remember Shawn. He hurt you and nobody has ever helped you, the present is no exception.”
But Donovan did help me.
“He’s a drug dealer.”
He does it for his mother.
“He has anger issues.”
I have them too.
God! I find every damn justification not to get away from him!
I didn’t know what was more painful, the pain in the center of my stomach or the stabbing pain in my heart being aware that I wanted him.
I really wanted him.
***
It had been a long time since I had been in a hospital, at least not since my last incident in Norwich. The blonde forced the doctors to attend to me right away, it was amusing to see him arguing with his angelic face, nobody took him seriously, I wouldn’t have either.
They forced me to call my aunt, which I definitely did not want to do, considering her daughter was the reason I was here.
The doctors didn’t care, they wouldn’t check me out until there was an adult present, so I had no other choice, unless I wanted to die on this stretcher.
“What happened to you?” my aunt screamed as she saw me in a fetal position, my face buried in the thin mattress.
“A girl hit her, and hit her hard,” the blonde said for me. Was he still here?
Jessi was unstoppable, I thought I was the one who had so much pent-up anger in our relationship, but obviously I was wrong. She was furious and I’m sure that if I hadn’t covered myself with my hands, I would now have a black eye and several bruises along with cuts produced by her rings.
“Who?” she wanted to know.
“Nobody,” I hastened to say reluctantly.
The blonde looked at me strangely, he was fully intending to tell my aunt who did it. It made no sense to do so, what could she do to her? Besides, it would only make things worse. If Jessi tried to touch me again, I would defend myself, I didn’t need my aunt to do it for me.
When the doctor examined me, he felt my abdomen and pressed on it to see how serious the blow was. The scream I let out when he did so startled him. That already gave him an indication that I was practically agonizing on the stretcher.
He gave me an ultrasound and a CT scan, I had no idea what they were for, but I couldn’t even speak to complain or ask.
The doctor gave me medications to decrease the pain and swelling, but they still hadn’t done the effect they should.
I was observed for a few hours, the blonde went to get my things from the institute at my aunt’s request, and she stayed by my side all the time, she didn’t say much, but she seemed worried.
I barely felt pain anymore and I was able to sit up when I heard noises outside the room. “You can’t go in there! You’re not family!” ordered a nurse outside the room, and then Donovan appeared in the doorway absolutely agitated. “I’ll call security right away…”
“No, don’t do it, he’s my friend,” I pleaded with the nurse as she was about to pick up her phone. With a nasty expression towards Donovan, she left, and he came closer to me.
He knelt on the floor to be at the level of my knees. He was kneeling before me, I never thought I would see this. He looked genuinely worried. “How are you?” he whispered looking me straight in the eyes.
“They just medicated me, I’ll be better,” I let him know so he would change his expression. “How did you know I was here?”
“I looked for you in the three closest hospitals. I ran out of the institute as soon as I heard that Jessi had hit you and that they had brought you to a hospital.”
“Jessi?” my aunt screeched behind me. I had forgotten she was here.
Damn.