Chapter 20

It has been two incredibly uneventful weeks that I've spent in this hospital.

To say I'm happy to be leaving would be an understatement.

The nurse says that my ribs should heal in two more weeks which therefore means that I still have to rest.

Charlotte has already warned us about the impatient paparazzi that are waiting outside the hospital.

"What are you most excited for?" Avery asks me as she helps me pack my bag "To sleep in my own bed again" I quickly answer which causes her to laugh Hospital beds are okay.

But my bed at home is so much comfier.

There is a knock on the door before Charlotte walks into the room carrying a hoodie and a pair of leggings.

Avery smirks mischievously as she zips up my bag.

"I'll just leave you two alone" she says as Charlotte enters the room Avery stands up from my hospital bed only to quickly make her way out of my hospital room, closing the door behind her.

Okay, that was weird.

"What's her problem?" Charlotte asks as she walks up to me and wraps her arms around my waist Thank the lords that I woke up extra early so that I could brush my teeth before packing up all of my belongings.

Originally, I was going to wait until after I was done packing my bag.

"I don't know" I reply with a shrug as I bring my hands up to gently rest against her soft cheeks I quickly lean in and place a meaningful peck on her soft lips before smiling up at her. Her bright green eyes are currently staring down at my brown ones with nothing but adoration visible.

"Are they still out there?" I ask her with a serious tone as I sit down on the hospital bed She sighs sadly since she already knows what I am talking about as she grabs the hoodie and helps me slip it over my head.

"Yeah, and more are beginning to show up" Charlotte replies informatively I sigh sadly as I push my weak arms through the sleeves of the hoodie.

A con of her coming back has definitely been the paparazzi. They won't leave her alone!

Her and I are missing out on valuable alone time thanks to these pesky photographers.

As I get the black hoodie comfortably situated around my body I immediately smile as the smell of her light perfume hits my nostrils.

"Just so we're on the same page, you're not getting this back" I say as I motion to the hoodie that I am currently wearing She genuinely laughs at my declaration before grabbing the black pair of leggings from beside me.

"That's cute, babe" she comments with an amused tone of voice She thinks I'm kidding.

I'm not.

She expertly helps me pull the comfy leggings up my legs, making sure to lightly squeeze my butt as her hands make their way up my legs.

"I think your butt grew" Charlotte says bluntly with a smirk as she places my backpack on a random chair My cheeks begin to redden as I stare at her with wide eyes.

She did not just say that.

I'm in the middle of tying my shoes when there is a knock on the door. My mom opens the door with a bright smile.

"Come on girls, the car is ready" my mom says nicely as she decides to carry my backpack for me "We'll just be a second" Charlotte responds to my mother who just nods and chooses to wait outside the door "Do you want them to see your face?" Charlotte responds with a serious tone of voice During these past two weeks we've spoken a lot about our relationship.

Whether we want it to be public or not.

We eventually came to the decision that we would reveal our relationship when we feel comfortable enough to do so.

I shake my head at her.

I expect them to eventually find out what I look like, I don't plan on keeping our relationship a secret forever.

However, that doesn't mean that I want them to figure out my identity as I'm leaving a hospital.

That would not be the most ideal situation.

Charlotte nods her head before she carefully brings the hood up and over my head.

"Just try to keep your head down and I'll help you with the rest" she says with a small smile as she hands me a pair of dark sunglasses I nod my head at her as I begin to put the sunglasses on.

Let’s hope that there aren't too many paparazzi.

-

Leaving the hospital was way crazier than I expected it to be.

As soon as Charlotte and I passed through those sliding doors the flashes began to hit us from all different directions.

There were, of course, the few of them who were yelling questions at us but I could barely hear them since everyone else was yelling also.

"We're almost there" Charlotte whispers near my ear as best as she can since there is a hood covering my ears along with the fact that there are photographers yelling at us I instinctively tighten my hand around her arm when a photographer gets uncomfortably close to me.

"Can you please back up" Charlotte asks with an annoyed tone but it comes out more as a demand The photographers seem to understand that she's not in the best mood as they back up but continue to snap photos of us.

As we arrive in front of an SUV my mom opens the door for us. We thank her as we climb up and slide into the car, me having much more difficulty than Charlotte of course.

When Charlotte and I are comfortably inside of the vehicle my mother closes the car door which Charlotte locks immediately after.

She situates herself so that she's blocking the photographers view of my face.

My mother quickly enters the car before speeding off.

When we're finally out of the paparazzi's sight I remove the sunglasses along with my hood.

Charlotte smiles at me as she reaches out for my hand and gently holds it, making sure to interlock our fingers together.

"Do you want to come over to my house?" She asks quietly I instantly smile as I become reminded of all of our insane memories.

"Yeah, of course. Does it still look the same?" I ask her with a small smile as she bring our intertwined hands up to her lips and kisses the back of mine "The downstairs? Yes. The upstairs? No." She replies which makes me laugh I gently lean my head on her shoulder since my rib left rib is starting to hurt.

It is a throbbing pain opposed to a stabbing pain.

"When was the last time you took your pain medication?" Charlotte asks when she notices my pained expression "Last night, I think" I sat since I can't think clearly through this pain If you haven't noticed, I have a very low pain tolerance.

It annoys a lot of people.

"When we get to my house, I'll give you some of it along with a snack" Charlotte says I tilt my head so that I'm looking up at her.

"You sound like a mom" I critique lightly with a small laugh She rolls her eyes at my statement before she leans down and presses a peck against my forehead.

-

"Fuck, I've missed your bed" the words just slide out of my mouth along with a loud moan My eyes widen and my cheeks begin to increase in temperature as I look over at Charlotte.

As soon as Charlotte and I arrived at her house she stayed true to her promise and gave me a snack that I could take with my medicine.

She provided me with a bowl of pineapple chunks which I unashamedly finished in ten minutes before taking my pain medication.

As we were making our way towards her room, she was explaining how horrible it previously looked with the posters and preteen room decor.

When we finally arrived at our destination, her bedroom, I couldn't stop myself from laying on her cloud-like bed.

Of course, I was careful not to land on my sides.

Charlotte is currently staring at me with an unreadable facial expression as she leans against her door frame.

She begins to silently make her way towards me as if she was the predator and I was the prey.

She manages to expertly straddle my hips and gently lean down, so that her face is in line with mine, all the while avoiding my ribs.

She begins to lean down slightly so that the tips of our noses gently brush against each other.

Her usually bright green eyes are a slightly darker green as they continue to intensely stare into my brown ones.

Her long blonde hair is currently serving as a curtain to shield our faces from any curious gazes.

Not that there is any.

Just as she's about to connect our lips she rolls off of me so that she's leaning against her headboard.

"What movie do you want to watch?" She asks me as she turns on her television Ugh.

She was so close.

I was so close.

I just had to be attracted to a natural flirt.

"Aspen?" Charlotte asks as her amused eyes shift down to my flushed face I quickly sit up and stand from her magical bed.

"I'm sorry, I just need a moment" I say before rushing out of her room and towards the bathroom I hear her faint laughter as I basically slam the bathroom door shut behind me.

Oh god.

That was too close.

-

Charlotte and I decided to just watch movies and eat snacks as we relaxed for a couple of hours.

I would've stayed with Charlotte longer if it wasn't for my mom wanting me to come home.

As Charlotte and I depart, with heavy hearts, we promise to call each other before we fall asleep.

I slowly enter the house only for my mouth to instantly water when the smell of lasagna enters my nostrils.

Sweet baby Jesus.

That smell is so heavenly.

I silently close the door and make my way towards the kitchen. I observe my mom as she takes the perfectly made lasagna out of the oven and places it on the counter, alongside a bowl of salad.

"What is all this for?" I decide to ask her as I make my way towards the counter She gives me a bright smile before slipping her oven mitts off.

"I just decided that I would make you some real food since you've been eating ninety percent hospital food for the past two weeks" my mom says I laugh at her disgusted facial expression as she hands me an empty plate to fill.

We silently fill our plates with a decently sized piece of lasagna along with a side salad.

As soon as my plate is filled with the delicious food, I make my way over towards the barstools so that I can thoroughly enjoy my meal.

"Be careful, Aspen" My mom shouts as I try to step up onto the bar stool which causes me to clutch my chest in fear Jesus Christ.

This woman is going to give me a heart attack.

"Mom, I'm fine" I say with a calm tone of voice, hoping that it encourages her to use one too I slowly climb up onto the barstool, wincing as I accidentally hit my rib on the edge of the counter.

"Aspen" My mom scolds again I just close my eyes and breath through the pain as I settle in the seat.

As soon as the pain becomes tolerable, I pick up my fork and begin to eat my lasagna as if I didn't hurt myself a couple of seconds ago.