*CHAPTER 45*

*CHAPTER 45*
"How's our favorite patient doing?"

I squinted my eyes open to find Jenna standing in the doorway beside Malcolm who was sporting two cups of coffee, drinking from both. I eyed them blearily for a moment, blinking through the exhaustion.

Malcolm was in the same clothes from yesterday, though somehow, even after sleeping in a hard chair all night, he didn't have even a hint of dark circles under his eyes, and his hair was still perfectly styled. I couldn't even spot a single wrinkle in his t-shirt. The only indication of the long night he'd had was the shadow of a beard forming on his jaw.

I couldn't help but be reluctantly impressed by that fact. On the other hand, I could tell I looked like death. Shifting on the bed, I could feel the raw skin I hadn't felt yesterday, the aches up my back from where I'd landed on the pavement. My mouth still tasted like glue and smoke and I could see the shadow of my hair sticking up in all directions like a hedgehog's spikes.

My movements catching Jenna's eye, she turned in my direction and hurried over to my bed, "Oh, honey," she sat on the edge of the bed, pulling me into a hug. The light, floral scent of her shampoo wafted around me as her warm, surprising strong arms wrapped around me in a gentle squeeze. The soft material of her shirt pressed into my cheek. She stayed like that for a long moment, rubbing a soothing hand up and down my back, "I'm so glad you're okay," she said into my hair.

After a surprised moment, I tentatively let my arms wrap around her and hug her back. At her easy affection, something pinched in my throat, something hot filling my eyes that I quickly blinked away. I hadn't had a hug like this in so long—probably since my mom. I didn't want to think about that though, letting myself relax into warmth of the hug. After another long moment, she pulled back from the embrace to look at me. Really look at me.

There were tears in her own eyes as they flicked over my face, taking me in. She smoothed a comforting hand over my hair, "How are you feeling today, hon?"

"A bit better."

She nodded, "That's good," she peeked over my shoulder and out into the hallway, before looking back to me, "I technically shouldn't be back here right now since it's not visiting hours," she rolled her eyes playfully, "even though I work here, they're so strict on the rules. I tried to stay here last night with you two, but they wouldn't let me. I snuck back here anyway because I wanted to bring you both a few things."

She pulled a leather duffel bag onto the bed between us, "Clothes for both of you, tooth brushes, hair brushes, lotion, chapstick, everything I could think of. But let me know if I forgot something. Also," her reached into the front pocket of the bag, "I brought one of my own special concoctions." As she held it out between us, it looked like a few clear plastic tablets with a dried herb blend mixed inside.

"I knew they'd have you on something for the pain, but this is something I came up with myself to help the healing process along. I had Richard try it once when he had to get stitches and it seemed to do the job, so hopefully it'll do the same for you. You can take two every four hours."

"Thank you," I said as she tucked the plastic bag of pills into my hands.

"Of course," She reached for the binder at the end of the bed, flipping it open to scan the contents, "You're chart's looking good, your readings are looking normal, so I imagine they're mainly keeping you for pain management and observation. They'll probably take you in for a few scans later. Oh! And also," she bent down again, to reach for something on the ground, "Penny stopped by after she left yesterday, she asked me if I could bring these by for you," she placed a large flower arrangement on the table beside my bed. There were flowers in shades of yellow, peach, and and white that had my heart aching a little bit more at her thoughtfulness. It was doing that so much I beginning to wonder if I should have it checked out.

"That was really nice of her," I blinked at the beautiful flowers. The sweet floral scent drifting over to me.

"She was there at the house when everything happened, and she was really worried about you."

"Will you tell her thank you for me?"

Jenna smiled softly, "Of course, honey." Another peek out into the hallway, a regretful expression pulling over her face, "I should probably sneak back out of here before your nurse comes back in. I'll come back over during visiting hours though. Do you need me to bring anything else when I come? I'll bring some lunch by later. Text me if any food sounds good to you."

"Thanks Aunt Jenna," Malcolm said, still sipping from his coffee cups by the door. He'd turned to face the hallway during our exchange to give us a semblance of privacy, but he took a step back into the room as Jenna stood up from her spot on the bed.

"I'll see you both later," she leaned over to squeeze my shoulder gently with a warm hand. She paused by Malcolm on the way out the door squeezing his shoulder as well and with a stern look said, "And try not to cause any more scenes Malcolm, sweetie."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Malcolm said blandly, "I've never caused a scene a day in my life."

She grinned at him, giving him one last pat on the back before sneaking out into the hall.

"What scene was she talking about?" I asked, leaning back into the bed, to eye him as he crossed the room to one of the duffel bags Jenna had brought. He unzipped it, rifling through it before put it over his shoulder.

He stood, ignoring my question and going to one of the tables. He put a cup of water in front of me, and opened a pack of crackers and an unopened container of yogurt, "They're going to bring breakfast by for you soon, but eat this if you're hungry. I'm going to take a shower,"

Before I could say anything else, he slipped into the adjoining bathroom, shutting the door behind him with a click. My lips tipped into a small smile before grabbing for the water he'd left out, reaching for it with my arm that wasn't tangled in wires and cords to sip at it. I heard the water in the shower come on in the bathroom as I picked up a cracker to nibble on.

I unzipped the bag Jenna had left on the bed beside me, to find the chapstick and hair brush she'd left. Combing through my crazy hair until it felt smooth, and putting some lotion on my face. Those small actions had me feeling exhausted, but I already felt a little more human than I had, so it was worth it. I pushed the bag onto the floor for later.

I leaned back into the mountain of pillows Malcolm had set up for me last night, letting my eyes drift shut. The shuffling of footsteps in the hallway and the quiet knocking on the door had my eyes popping back open.

Two police officers stood in the doorway. I'd be lying if I said that the sight of them didn't make everything in me turn numb, my heartbeat racing.

"Kassie Montgomery?" One of the officers asked. He had graying hair, a handle bar mustache.

I nodded, hesitantly,"That's me."

They shared a look before stepping more fully into the room. The other officer took his hat off, holding it between his hands.

"We're here because we have some something important we need to discuss with you."

"Okay." I said hesitantly.

"It's about your uncle, David Montgomery."