Page 40 of Jay

“They say that talking to an unconscious person does help. I’ll be back later to check on her again,” the unfamiliar man’svoicesays.

I feel warm hands wrap around mine and squeeze. “Baby, I need you to wake up. I need to see you, Kitten.” Jay? Jay! I scream in my head again, but he doesn’t hear me. The darkness is coming again, and I let ittakeme.

* * *

Light hurts my eyes,so I blink rapidly, trying to focus on my surroundings. I take in the pale green walls and the dodgy picture hanging on the wall. I blink some more, and the room becomes less blurry. I look over towards the window and see a figure sitting in the chair. I try to lift my hands to rub my eyes, but pain shoots through myrighthand.

“Ow,”Iyelp.

“Shit, Cass. Are you okay?” A familiar voice comes from the side ofthebed.

“Rich?”

“Yeah, honey. Chris just popped out for some coffee. Your parents haven’t long left either. Let me get the doctor, okay.Stayput.”

“Not like I’m going anywhere,” Ismartback.

“Funny.” I can hear the amusement in his voice. I take the time to take a body count of injuries. I look down at my right hand and see that I have a plaster cast on it. I must have broken my wrist. My head is banging like a rock band is using the space as a practice area. My body aches, but my injuries seem to be minimal. I go to shift my body, but pain slices through myrightside.

“Ohmygod. Ohmygod. Bollocks,” I practically scream. Rich and a doctor comes running intotheroom.

“Miss Dawson, are you okay?” the olderdoctorasks.

“My side,” I say through the tears. Rich is at my side inseconds.

“Chris is on his way up, and he phoned your parents. They are on the way also. Just breath, Cass. The doctor will explain the injuries.” He takes a hold of my hand and strokes his thumb over my knuckles, soothing me. A lump forms in my throat at the memories of Jay doing that while we sat and watched movies. Where is Jay? Does he know I am here? Oh God, what if he doesn’t care enough to come and check up on me? A sob breaks free and Rich sits on the bed and puts his arm around me, holding megently.

“Miss Dawson, do you know whathappened?”

I nod my head. “I was in a car crash. How badly hurtamI?”

“You have a concussion, which attributes to the headache I’m sure you’re feeling, as well as the twelve stitches that run along your hairline. The police said that you must have hit your head on the window when the car flipped. The bruising will fade over time, and so will the soreness of the jaw.” I take a deep breath, forcing the crunching sound out ofmyhead.

“As you have already spotted the cast, you can see that your wrist is broken. It’s a clean break, so you will be in a cast for six to eight weeks. Now, the pain you felt when you tried to move is caused by the three cracked ribs that you have. They will take a while to heal, because cracked and bruised ribs are worse than broken ribs. But you will heal completely. Do you have anyquestions?”

I shake my head. I just want to cry, and see my parents. “I will leave you to it. If you need anything, just press the call button.” I nodmyhead.

“Thank you, Doctor,” Rich says. We sit in silence for a few minutes until my best friend comes crashing throughthedoor.

“Stupid bloody lifts. I got here as soon as I could. You okay?” Chris asks. I nodmyhead.

“The doctor just left, and he explained everything to her. She’s in a little pain, but she is a tough cookie.” He squeezes my shoulder. I love this man, he is perfect forChris.

Chris walks over to Rich and kisses him. You can see the love between thesetwomen.

“Thank you for being here for her. I love you, Richard Perkins.” I gasp and reach for my ribs. Ouch, that hurt, but it was worth it. Rich stands and pulls Chris in for a big hug. This is an amazing moment. Chris has been waiting to tell Rich that heloveshim.

“I love you, too, you big idiot. About time you told me.” I chuckle, but the pain hits me and I wince. They break their kiss when they hear me wince in pain. My throat clogs up with emotion at seeing how in love these two are, and my love life is in ruins. The man I love ripped my heart out and Hulk smashed it into a million pieces. I need to move on and repair myself. I need to stitch myself backtogether.

* * *

Ispentfour days in the hospital because of the concussion and my cracked ribs. Chris and Lila have been handling Cassie’s Cuts, and they will for a while yet. The cast will stop me working, and so will the rib injury. Chris and Rich have moved in with me for the time being, claiming that I need to be wrapped in cotton wool because I kept trying to move and hurt my ribs more. Okay, maybe they were right in that instance. I like doing things myself, but after the pain in my ribs, I gave in. Four days in the hospital and three days home, and still nothing from Jay. The no contact just makes a solid case that he is done with me and is happy withRachel.

God, I hate that woman, and I don’t hate often. The only one that has come to see me is Addy, but she didn’t bring up Jay in our chat. I was both happy and disappointed. He hurt me, but I can’t turn off my feelingsforhim.

“Right, missy, do you need anything before we head out?” Chris asks. I am making them go out on a date, because they deserve it. They have been taking care of me, and now they need some time tothemselves.

“I am fine, babe. Now, you two young lads go and have some fun. Go home and shag like wild rabbits, and be as loud as you want.” I wink at them. Chris chuckles and Rich looksmortified.

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