Without You(50)

I pulled back and saw Colt quickly wiping away his tears. I nodded my  head and looked down at what Grace was holding. She had Lex's doll.

"Emma," I whispered as I looked up into Grace's eyes.

She smiled and nodded her head. "Come on, let's get back before she wakes up."

We weren't that far from the hospital, but it felt like an eternity  before I was walking back through the emergency room doors. I overheard  as the nurse told Lauren, Libby, and Taylor that Alex had been moved to a  room.         

     


///
 

As everyone walked to the elevator to head up to the floor where Alex's  room was, Libby grabbed my hand. I peeked down at her, and she smiled at  me. My heart instantly felt better from just having Lib here with me. I  closed my eyes and waited until the elevator door opened, and we  exited.

We walked up to the nurses' station. A nurse told us that only two  people could visit at a time. Colt and I looked at each other.

He nodded his head. "Let's go," he whispered.

I looked back at Libby.

She nodded her head and mouthed, It's okay.

Colt and I stopped at Lex's door and looked at each other. I glanced  back at the door, pushed it in, and walked inside. Colt followed, and he  walked directly up to Lex as I held back.

He started crying. "Oh God. Oh, Alex. I'm so sorry … oh God, I'm so sorry." His body was shaking as he cried harder.

I closed my eyes and opened them again before I walked around the bed,  still not looking directly at Lex. When I got to the other side of her, I  took a deep breath and looked at her. My heart slammed against my  chest, and a feeling I'd never experienced before washed over my body. I  bit down on the inside of my cheek to keep from crying. I was afraid  she could hear us. My heart had never beat so fast and so hard in my  life.

I looked at her swollen face and swallowed hard. Her right eye was black  and blue and three times the normal size. Her lips were busted open.  The whole right side of her face was bruised. I put my hand up to my  mouth and attempted to hold back the sobs wanting to come out.

Colt looked at me and shook his head. He turned and walked out of the room as I tried to regain some sort of composure.

Thirty seconds later, Libby walked in. She looked at Alex and started  crying as she made her way over to me. She turned me to face her, and  she wiped away her tears.

Taking in a deep breath, she whispered, "Be strong for her right now. Do you hear me, William Gregory Hayes?"

I quickly nodded my head. I somehow reached deep down inside me and  pulled out the strength I needed to settle down. I would be here for  Lex.

I'll be the strength she needs right now.

Taking in a deep breath, I turned back to face Lex.

I took her hand in mine. "Lex, baby, I'm here now. I promise you, Lex,  you're safe. I love you so much. Please wake up for me, baby."

I needed her to hear the love in my voice. I needed her to come back to me.





"Lex, I love you so much. It's time to wake up now, baby."

Will …



"Alex? Baby, please wake up now. Grace brought you Emma. Oh, Alex. Please, honey, wake up."

Mom …



"Hey, baby girl. Daddy's here now, Little Bear. You're all right."

Daddy …



My face hurt. My body hurt. I just wanted to sleep, but everyone was talking to me.

Will …

I need you, Will.

Someone took my hand.

"Lex, I'm right here."

Will …

I forced my eyes to open, and the first things I saw were his beautiful  blue eyes. I attempted to smile, but my entire face hurt like hell.

"Will … " I said in a raspy voice. "I hurt so bad."

He nodded his head. "I know, baby. I know." He leaned over and did something.

"Yes?" a voice answered from what sounded like an intercom right next to my ear.

"She's awake," Will said.

"Thank you, Mr. Hayes. I'll let the doctor on duty and her parents know."

I looked around. Where am I? What happened?

"Where am I, Will? I just remember needing you. I was so scared, and I needed you."

His eyes filled with tears. He looked away and then turned back to look  at me. "You're in the hospital, Lex, and I'm here. I'll always be here  for you."

The nurse came in, took all my vitals, and gave me some medicine.

"The doctor will be in shortly, Ms. Mathews." She smiled sweetly at me before turning and leaving.

I was about to ask Will something when I heard a door open, and I slowly  turned my head to see my mother and father walking in. They both had  fake smiles on their faces to hide their fear.

"Oh, Alex … baby, I'm so glad you're awake." My mother walked to the side of the bed and took my hand in hers.

I looked over to my father, who was standing next to my mother. "Hey,  Little Bear. There's my girl. I love you, sweetheart, so very much."

Something was terribly wrong. My father only called me Little Bear when  something was wrong or when he was very emotional about something.

"What happened?" I looked at them and then back to Will.

Will peeked over at my father.

"Will?" I asked.

He kept his eyes on my father. Looking back at my father, I saw he was  staring at Will. They both had looks of terror on their faces. I glanced  over to look at my mother.         

     


///
 

My mother swallowed and tried to smile. "Alex, honey, don't worry.  You're okay. You're just a little banged up, and they … well, you … " She  turned away.

"Excuse me, Mr. and Mrs. Mathews?"

My parents turned to face a beautiful lady, probably in her  mid-twenties, with shoulder-length blonde hair. She stood there, holding  a file folder, and I noticed that I was having a hard time seeing. It  was almost like I was looking out of only one eye. I reached up, touched  my right eye, and let out an inner cry.

Holy shit. That hurts like hell.

"Hello, Janet." My mother looked back at me. "Alex, Janet is here to talk to you, sweetheart."

The blonde turned her attention to Will. "How are you doing this morning, Will?"

He smiled slightly and said, "I'm good."

Janet cleared her throat and pointed to the police officer standing next her. "This is Officer Franks."

My mother quickly nodded her head and took a step back. My father held her in his arms.

Why is a police officer here?

I attempted to smile as Janet walked closer to me. Something about her  made me feel … safe and comfortable. It was like she recognized this  strange feeling inside me.

"Alex, my name is Janet. I'm a counselor, and I work for the hospital. I'm here to ask you a few questions. Is that okay?"

"Hi, Janet. Um … sure," I said.

She smiled back. "Alex, do you remember anything about last night? Anything at all?"

"Um … not really. I was at a party with Grace." I closed my eyes and tried to remember.

Damn, maybe I drank too much. I must have fallen and hit my eye-

My eyes snapped open. I frantically looked around the room.

Oh God. Oh God. No … Blake.

"Blake," I whispered.

A warm sensation filled my body as Janet touched my hand.

"Alex, you're safe, sweetheart. He's not here."

I felt the tears burning my eyes, and my head began pounding. "He … he  tried to … I think he gave me something … he … Oh God. He slapped me because I  was fighting him back."

Janet held my hand. "Alex, sweetheart, Officer Franks would like to ask you some questions."

I nodded my head and looked back to where Will was standing.

Officer Franks cleared her throat and took a step closer to me. "Alex,  I'm going to ask you some personal questions. If you prefer, I can ask  everyone to leave the room."

I shook my head and whispered, "No, they can stay."

"I need to ask you something important," Officer Franks said.

I looked back at Janet. I began crying harder as the memories of last night started to come together.

"O-okay," I whispered.

"How much do you remember about last night? Specifically, about your time with Blake Turner?"

I closed my eyes.

Chrissie …

The room was spinning.

She told Blake she gave something to me.

I felt sick.

Blake carried me up the stairs.

Get Grace, Chrissie …

"I asked Chrissie to get Grace. Blake wasn't acting right, and he said … he said … "

"It's okay, Alex. Take your time," the officer said.

I opened my eyes. "He was mad about me not passing out. He ripped my shorts open and put … "

I looked at Will. I slowly turned to my parents and then to Officer Franks. Then, I looked into Janet's eyes.

"I can't … " I shook my head.

Janet looked up at Will and then back at me. She nodded her head.

Officer Franks took my hand. "It's okay, Alex. You did great. I want you  to know that Blake has been arrested. Chrissie spoke to the police and  confessed that she gave you a drug called Rohypnol. Blake had given it  to her. You must not have had very much to drink because you were able  to stay awake and fight him off."

I took in a deep breath as I remembered that I'd dropped the beer  Chrissie had given me. "I only took a few drinks of it. Someone bumped  into me, and I dropped it."