39-Sweet Escape-1

I woke up a lot earlier than Zach did, most probably because he'd been given a lot of painkillers which had knocked him out for the better part of the day. Smiling, I tried to wriggle out of his tight grasp on my waist but his hold only tightened. His deep breathing told me that he was still asleep so gently I pried his hands off of me and with one kiss on his forehead I left the room. Last night I'd slept more peacefully than I had in a long time. It was like I'd finally come home, like I was finally safe. Having Zach's body entwined with mine, his body heat seeping into my skin, my face buried in the crook of his neck, it was everything that I knew I had been missing out on. A giddy, happy expression made its way to my face when I realized that many such nights were to follow now that everything between us was cleared. I used the hospital bathroom to make myself look a little more presentable. Bruce had brought a bag of necessities from Zach's house so I was able to leisurely brush my teeth, wash my hair and face and even change clothes. Once I was done, I made my way to the doctor's office; he'd said he'd update me on Zach's condition in the morning and the thought of it had hounded me in my dreams last night. Turns out I had nothing to worry about, Zach's surgery was successful and the blood loss was no longer a problem. The doctors said that he needed to stay under observation for about two weeks just so that they could make sure that he was properly healed and that there were no other internal injuries. It was when I was about to head to the cafeteria to get some coffee that I saw them. My aunt, uncle, Danny and even...Carter? I hadn't used this hallway to leave so I hadn't seen them before but apparently they'd been here for a while. The elder ones were sat on a bench, with Aunt Ophelia leaning her head on Uncle Collin's and both had their eyes closed. Carter and Danny were sprawled on two different benches and they too were asleep in rather awkward and painful-looking positions. "They drove through the night and got here an hour ago." Bruce came up from behind me; startled, I jumped and could feel my heartbeat accelerate. He gave me a sheepish smile and backed away. Carefully I walked on over to where my aunt was asleep and tapped her lightly on the shoulder. She jumped the second I touched her and whipped her neck in my direction. "Oh honey, you're okay!" she exclaimed and hugged me tightly. Uncle Collin wasn't as affectionate but I could see relief in his eyes too; he gave me an awkward hug and after a couple of questions, they left for the cafeteria. Then I turned to face the two boys who were now up too. Danny grabbed me in a bear hug, "I'm sorry," he muttered in my ear and I knew he was apologizing for trying to set me up with Carter. I gave him a smile. "It's okay. I shouldn't have shouted at you like that." "But I was wrong wasn't I? Your bodyguard told us everything; I can't believe Olivia could do something like this." He grimaced at her name, like she was something filthy and I could relate to the feeling. "Yeah well, I'm glad it's over now." I sighed and pulled away. "So you're going back to him?" It wasn't something I really needed to think about. The answer was a big fat yes; now that all the misunderstandings had been cleared, there really wasn't any reason for me to not go back to him. "Yeah, I think I am." He looked like he was about to say something but then stopped himself and simply nodded. "Okay then, I'll catch you later. Carter actually wanted to speak to you alone." For the first time ever, I turned my attention to the blonde-haired boy who was leaning against a wall and smiled at me nervously, giving me a small wave. A pang of guilt shot through me. I was such an idiot, leading him on like this, like he actually had a shot. I should've told him earlier considering the circumstances in which he'd found out. It wasn't every day you found out that the girl in your Chemistry class, the one on whom you had a crush, was married. "Hi," I said shyly as I walked towards him; he straightened up and behind me I could hear Danny's footsteps as he walked away. "Well this is awkward." Carter scratched his ear and stared at the ground. "It doesn't have to be. I'm sorry, I should've told you," I replied solemnly. "Nah, I'm an idiot. You were never interested and I kept hitting on you and you're...you're married!" I cringed at the way he said that word and he must've realized too since he shot me an apologetic look. " I didn't mean it like that, it's just that I'd thought of a lot of reasons explaining why you wouldn't go out with me but this really wasn't one of them. You don't even wear a ring or anything." I looked at my empty hands, remembering where I'd left my wedding band. "Yeah well things weren't going well for some time but now it's all okay." He raised an eyebrow and placed his hand on my shoulder. "You sure?" "Yes I'm sure." I smiled and he nodded. We talked quite a bit after that; he listened with wide eyes as I told him my story. It would be an understatement if I simply said that he was bowled over; the guy was in a state of shock and I had to hit him pretty hard on the shoulder to make him snap out of it. "You've got to be kidding me!" I laughed and shook my head. "Nope, true story." He still looked completely baffled but pretty soon, the pity came into his eyes; I hated that look. I hated it when people saw me as some kind of victim when I really wasn't. "So what are you going to do now?" It seemed like a repetition of Danny's question and I didn't know why people thought I'd pick anything else over being with Zach. That didn't make sense because if there weren't any misconceptions anymore then why would we not be together? "Well right now, I need to stay with him, make sure he's okay and when they let him go home I'll move back to the city."