Page 108 of Broken

“Hmmm?”

“Can you open your eyes, princess?”

For him, I’d try, but it was like dragging them through mud for my lids to open. Taking a few seconds to adjust to the light, I looked around the room.

There was a small table with a lamp at my side, its soft illumination lighting up Annie’s face in the chair next to me. Jet was standing behind her with his hand on her shoulder. They were both smiling down at me, but their expressions seemed sad. My brow furrowed at the confliction, but I looked past them at the rest of the room.

There was a built-in seat in front of a window, the blinds closed as was the door that was slightly off-center from my bed. Every free surface on this side of the room held flowers, and to the other side behind Tucker more were placed around a sink, the colors vibrant as the fresh floral scents filled the room. I wondered for a moment where they were from, but another harsh beep sounded in my ears, and I winced as I looked up near my head, finding a machine lit up with various numbers and lines.So, that’s where it’s coming from.

My gaze shifted to Tucker’s, anxious to look into his eyes. I’d saved the best for last, or so I had thought. He smiled down at me, but it wasn’t a true smile. It didn’t reach my favorite whiskey eyes. All I saw there instead was pain and sadness.

My brow furrowed, and I lifted my hand from Tucker’s to place it against his cheek. The movement was harder than I’d expected it to be. I was so sore.But why?

“What’s the matter, whiskey?”

“How are you feeling?” he asked, ignoring my question.

I thought about the throbbing in my head and how it hurt to move. Hurt to breathe. “Like I’ve been hit by a truck,” I offered, not wanting to mention that something else felt very off. Partly because I wasn’t sure what it was, and partly because a piece of me told me I didn’t want to know.

I heard Jet’s soft laughter in the background, but Tucker just gave me a wry smile.

“Where’re Mom and Archer?” I asked, slowly turning my head towards Annie. It wasn’t like Mom not to be here if I was hurt enough to be in the hospital.

“Archer’s at the Thanos’, and Mom just ran down to the cafeteria for food. We didn’t think you’d be up just yet. Babe, why don’t you text her?”

Up just yet?Something in the words caught my attention. “How long have I been out?”

“Almost a week,” Jet answered, sending off the text.

“Almost a week!”Holy!“What day is it?”

“Thursday.”

My eyes widened as I stared at Jet. “Thursday?”

He nodded.

How could it be Thursday? The last thing I could remember was being at the championship game. The sharks had won after Jet’s amazing play…

“The doctors had to keep you sedated for a while, sis,” Annie explained. “You fractured the base of your skull. They had to watch your brain for swelling.”

“I hit my head?”

“Yeah.”

Well, that explains the major headache, but what about everything else?

“That’s not all I hurt, though. What’s wrong with my ribs?” I tried to reach for my ribcage with the hand Tucker wasn’t holding. “And my arm?” I added in alarm, realizing it was in a cast. What else is wrong with me?

“Calm down, Izzy. You’ll be okay,” Jet soothed. “Some of your ribs are bruised, but you broke your arm and your ankle.”

I stared in shock, trying to take it in before moving my hand to Tucker’s. He stroked my palm, avoiding the wires. “What happened to me?”

Jet and Annie looked at one another, not sure what to say.

“Tucker?”

“You don’t remember?” he asked, sounding hopeful.

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