Page 18 of #Beautiful

His hands cover mine, and the tears turn into sobs that make the entire side of my head hurt. It isn’t but a moment before Declan is crawling into the hospital bed next to me and cradling me to his chest, and I’m just a big old blubbering mess. It’s moments like this that remind me of when Declan and I first met. When I was cowering in an alleyway because the fireworks sent me into a flashback and I couldn’t breathe. They way he held me when I hurt myself to ease the guilt, and how he supported and pushed me to over come everything. . .

“If I tell you stuff, will you just listen?” I sit up some to see his face, his brows pulled together. “Just let me get it all out, and then you can say whatever you want?”

Knowing flows into his eyes, and he readjusts so that I can sit up better, my legs draped over his lap. He takes my hand and rubs his thumb back and forth across my skin, and I just start talking. Everything from the moment we had the first issue last year, all the way up to last night in the bathroom. He asks questions, and it takes hours, us only stopping for the doctors to come in and check me. I knew they weren’t going to get my discharge ready quickly, if at all. Knowing that lady, she might keep me here for observation.

Right now, and as long as Declan can stay, I don’t mind. This is the only place we can probably talk about these things where we both have to stay calm, and we can have privacy from our housemates who are, undoubtedly, waiting to give me a tongue lashing.

“I’m assuming he is your overnight visitor?”

I look up to find the same rude doctor from earlier. “Yeah, since I told you to discharge me and you haven’t which might be against the law, but I’ll find that out tomorrow.”

“Lena,” Declan says under his breath as he squeezes my hand before bringing his eyes to the doctor’s. “Lena won’t be staying overnight. You can either discharge her as she requested, or I can go talk to the hospital’s Director of Risk Management.”

The doctor scoffs. “You realize someone with an eating disorder as bad as hers isn’t going to just stop. You’ll bury her in less than six months if she continues the way she has been.”

I swallow the lump in my throat, but Declan just squeezes my hand again and gives me a soft smile before turning his attention back to the doctor. “Whatever the risks are, Lena is the patient and what she does with her health is her choice. No one has a right to take that from her, not even you. I will do everything I can to make sure she gets into treatment to get better, but you can’t force her to stay at this hospital or to check herself into a facility if that isn’t what she wants to do. Now, please discharge her so we can go home.”

The doctor stares at Declan for a few minutes, her eyes narrowing as a smirk takes over her lips. “And who exactly in the hell do you think you are? Or do you have a medical degree and know what’s best for the patient?”

“He knows the laws,” a deep voice behind the doctor says, “so I suggest you listen, otherwise I can have my attorney here within the hour.”

She turns, and my eyes widen with a smile at Declan’s father standing in my doorway. He takes a step forward, the doctor moving farther into my room, and the second person that steps in from the hallways wipes the smile right off my face as I put a death grip on Declan’s hand.

“You called my dad?”

Declan gives me a sympathetic look. “Lena, you know I had to, babe.”

Sighing, tears well in my eyes again, and I stare at the bed.

“My daughter may have an eating disorder, Doc, but she can still make sound decisions, and if she says to discharge her, I suggest you do so,” my dad says in a deadly tone.

I glance up in time for the doctor to swallow hard and give him a sharp nod before leaving. My dad can be pretty intimidating, and so can Mr. Harp. I imagine I’ll be on my way home within the hour. Casting my eyes back to the bed, several footsteps come farther into the room.

“Son, why don’t we give Lena and her dad a moment,” Mr. Harp says. “Your mother is in the waiting room with Darcy anyway. She’d like to see you.”

Declan leans over and cups the side of my face, forcing me to meet his gaze. “I love you, Lena. We’ll get you through this, I promise.”

The first tear falls as I nod, and he leans in to softly kiss me before getting out of my hospital bed and following his dad from the room. The door clicks shut behind them, and it’s quiet enough that if a mouse farted, I’d hear it right now. Eventually, my dad lets out a sigh and more tears fall from my eyes with it.

“I’m sorry, Dad.”

“Oh, honey.” His arms envelope me and pull me to his chest, and that’s when the flood gates open, and I cry like a baby . . . Just like I did after the shooting, after Cameron’s funeral, after Declan’s accident. . . All the pain has free reign, and I don’t care because no matter how bad I screw up, my dad has always had my back.

And sometimes, when you’re trying to figure things out, you just need a hug from your dad.

Chapter 16 - Declan

My mom stands as I step into the waiting area, opening her arms as I get to her. Leaning down, I give her a tight hug and sigh. I get that I’m about to turn twenty, but my parents and I have been close pretty much all my life. I’m not ashamed at the fact that isn’t changing into my adulthood. Lena is close with them, too, and her dad—and of course, we’re all close with her grandparents. I figured they’d call Lena when I told them what happened. I didn’t expect her father to jump on the first red-eye out of Virginia with my parents hopping in their car and heading here to meet him, apparently.

I guess this is better than having a family that doesn’t care.

“How you holding up, sweetie?” Mom says as she disengages from our hug, but keeps her hands on my arms.

“I’m okay, Mom,” I say with a quick, tight-lipped smile, “just worried about Lena, ya know?”

Mom nods and sighs. “You two really can’t seem to catch a break, can you?”

I humorlessly chuckle. “Ain’t that the damn truth.”

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