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“Don’t worry about it. I’m glad I finally got to meet him. The circumstances suck though. Seriously, Kennedy how are you feeling?” It is taking a lot for me to stay awake at this point.

“Tired, Dad. I am trying to stay awake though.”

He leans over to kiss my cheek and my eyes start to close. “You need rest baby girl. Your brothers are on their way and we are going to stay the night at the hotel down the street. I’ll be back first thing in the morning. Love you.” I peel my eyes open. “Love you, Daddy.”

I can feel that I am scared, but I don’t know why. I’m walking down the street on my way home from work. I keep looking around like I’m looking for something. My heart starts to race and I begin to walk faster. It is taking far longer than normal to make it home. I feel like I’m not moving. I begin to run. I can see my apartment complex and I run faster. All of a sudden, I am grabbed by my hair and slammed into a wall. “NOOOO!”

I open my eyes gasping for air. I am franticly looking around.

“Right here, baby. Look at me. I’m right here. Your safe, I won’t let anything happen to you. It was just a dream.”

My eyes finally focus on Campbell standing over me. My head is pounding, heart is racing and I can feel the sweat on my forehead.

“It was so real. I was so scared.” I confess looking up at him.

“I know, baby, but I’m right here. I promise I won’t let anyone hurt you ever again.” He kisses my forehead. “How do you feel?”

Not only is my head killing me, but now because of that dream I’m feeling nervous. “Not so good.”

He kisses my forehead again and leaves the room, returning before I have time to question where he went. “They are going to bring you some medicine baby.” He sits back down in the chair next to my bed and grabs my hand with the cast.

I turn my head, which wasn’t the best idea. “How long was I asleep for?” He looks at his watch.

“Almost five hours.” It felt like I had only been asleep for minutes.

“Did I wake you with my dream?”

He gives me a grin. “No, beautiful.” My eyes widen.

“You haven’t been to sleep yet?”

“No, baby I haven’t. Making sure you’re okay is more important than sleep. Besides, I haven’t seen you so I’m making up for lost time.” Only he could get me to smile while being in so much pain.

After the nurse quizzes me wi

th questions again, she gives me a shot in my IV. I don’t bothering trying to fight the sleep this time. I close my eyes and drift back to sleep. I have no idea how long I have been asleep, but I can hear Campbell talking to someone.

“She slept most of the night. The doctor scheduled another MRI for some time today.” He is quite so I assume he is talking to someone on the phone. “No. When I spoke with the nurse before, she was pretty confident that the results would be fine. She said that because Kenz can answer all the questions that she believes the pain is from the external injuries.” He is silent again then he chuckles. “Me too, man. What time are you guys coming up?” It must be Young or Dick. “Okay that sounds good. Don’t forget to give that list to Maddie so she can get it all together before you head up here. Speaking of Maddie. Hello?” He laughs and I hear him walk closer to me. When I feel his lips on my forehead, I open my eyes. He smiles at me. “Good morning beautiful. How are you feeling?”

I take a minute to figure that out. First thing I notice is that it is light outside, and while the brightness hurts my head I can say it’s not as bad as last night. “Morning. I think I may be in a bit less pain. Who were you talking to?” He pulls the chair close to my bed and sits down.

“I was talking to Young. I told him to give the girls a list of stuff to bring up for you. I also talked to the nurse earlier and the doctor scheduled another MRI for later today, but you heard all that didn’t you?”

“Yes. How is it possible that I am still tired? How long was I asleep this time?”

He sips his water then looks at the clock. “You need your rest baby. Your body is healing, the best thing for you is sleep. You slept six hours this time. I’m not going anywhere baby, you can go back to sleep.” My heavy eyes make the decision easy and I drift back to sleep.

When I wake up my dad and brothers are there. This time I am feeling more rested and manage to stay awake to talk with them for almost an hour.

“Baby girl, I can see you’re getting tired. We are going to head out anyway. I’ll be back later after you have your tests done.” As much as I want to argue because I love having them here, I can’t. The nurse gave me a shot earlier and even though it was a lower dose, it is still making me sleepy. I try to stay awake until they all leave but I lose the battle.

I wake up again to laughing. I open my eyes and see Maddie, Becca, Dick, and Young are here. They are laughing with Campbell and it makes my heart swell. I’ve missed this so much.

“What is this a party?” Everyone snaps their heads toward me. I smile when the girls come rushing over. They are hugging me, crying, and telling me how much they love me.

“Alright, give my girl some room to breathe.” They slowly pull away wiping their eyes.

“You scared us Kenz.” Becca says.