Chapter 78

I woke up in a hospital bed. The room was dark, I was sticky with sweat, and my hands both felt heavy. Ethan was holding one of my hands, the other was tangled up in the blankets. It was stiff, hard to move.

I released my hand from Ethan’s grip and started stroking Ethan’s cheek. His breathing shifted from slow and consistent, indicating he was waking up. I ran my thumb against the high point of his cheek, relishing in the soft skin of his face.

His breath hitched and his eyes fluttered open. The icy blue met my gaze, and I sucked in a gasp, just happy he was still with me.

The pads of my fingers lingered on his face, absorbing every second of the intimate moment. When he smiled, the skin around his eyes crinkled and I found myself smiling back at him.

Ethan was so attractive, I felt like there were times I forgot to appreciate it. I took a lot of things for granted, Ethan’s kindness and absolutely beautiful face were definitely some of those things.

“How are you feeling?” His voice was thick with sleep. He had overnight stubble lining his jaw, and he had subtle bags under his eyes.

He looked worried.

“I’m okay,” I admitted with a small smile, “I definitely didn’t love being in an accident, though.”

“That was the scariest phone call of my life,” Ethan coughed a few times after he spoke, trying to clear the sleep from his throat.

I kept one hand on his face and untangled my other from the blankets to reach for the glass of water that was sitting on the bed side table. When I reached out, I noticed the bright pink cast around my hand and up my forearm.

A gasp escaped from my mouth, Ethan’s eyes perked up and he saw what I was looking at.

“Your wrist was shattered in the accident,” Ethan told me, he looked down at the mattress as though he was guilty. “You had to get stitches on your left shoulder, too.”

I stretched that shoulder, suddenly very aware of the tight skin and the stinging in my muscles. Everything hurt, nothing hurt. I couldn’t understand what was going on in my body, and my thrumming pulse hammered in my chest.

Ethan handed me a clip board that was filled with the doctor’s notes.

“She said that everything else is clear, your brain and your kidney testing came back clear. Your arms are the only thing that took any real damage.” Ethan rubbed an arm comfortingly up and down my arm, the one without the stitches.

I was grateful to only have cut my shoulder and broken my wrist, though as I looked at the clipboard I realized how damaged my wrist actually was. It was shattered completely, they had to do surgery to reconstruct the bones so they would heal properly.

The stitches were holding together a six inch cut, deep enough to scratch the bone. I had to put the notes down, I was at risk of throwing up what little liquid was in my stomach.

I think that’s when I truly started realizing the severity of the situation. My breathing grew heavier and rapid.

I thought back to the headlights pointed directly at me. The way they didn’t swerve, and didn’t stop. The feeling of impact. The crushing of the metal around me, the shattering of glass, and the splintering of plastic.

I remembered the feeling in my stomach as the car was thrown several feet and how it landed on the side. The lurching in my stomach and the memories of the accident caused my breathing to hasten.

I couldn’t catch my breath. I gasped over and over again, hyperventilating, and clutching my heart over my shirt as tears poured from my face.

Ethan sprung up from the chair by my bed. He reached over and climbed into the hospital bed, embracing me fully, and whispering small comforts in my ear.

“You’re okay,” He cooed over and over again, “You’re safe. I’m here, it’s over.”

It took me a few minutes to get my breathing under control, my heart and tears followed closely after. Ethan’s presence and the pressure of his embrace soothed my emotions. I closed my eyes and the fears melted away.

“Thank you,” I sniffed after a few minutes. “I don’t know what got into me.”

“I do,” He pressed a kiss to my temple, “You were scared yesterday, you got scared tonight. It’s okay.”

I laughed halfheartedly, trying to pretend like I was better off than I was. I just wanted to forget everything that happened and start fresh.

Forgetting would be hard to do with the cast and stitches serving as physical reminders, though. The car would need fixed too and-

The car.

I forgot that Ethan got me the car. He bought it a mere month ago. I hadn’t even driven it long enough to require an oil change.

“Ethan!” I gasped, making him jump away from me slightly so he could look at my face.

“What is it?”

“I destroyed the car!” I cried out, the tears from earlier returning at full force. “It was so beautiful and I ruined it, I’m so sorry!”

Ethan stroked my hair, soothing me as much as he could. I was practically inconsolable, though.

“You didn’t ruin it at all,” Ethan breathed into my hair, “Ava, listen to me, you did nothing wrong.”

I let out a loud sob, “But the car is gone, you spent so much money! I’ve let you down.”

“Ava, please,” He held me out at arms length and looked into my eyes, “Don’t feel bad, I’m just glad you’re okay.”

I nodded my head, though the tears didn’t stop. I felt terrible. I saw that one car run the light, I should have noticed the other one. I should have looked twice. I should’ve done something different.

I let Ethan down, whether he would admit it or not.

“Ava,” His sweet, soft voice shifted to something more serious. “You need to answer some questions about the accident for me. Do you think you can do that?”

I sniffed deeply and took a long inhale, “I can do whatever you need me to. I’m so sorry.”

Ethan fought the urge to tell me to stop apologizing, but he didn’t mention it. He rolled his head to pop his neck, and looked into my eyes.

“I need you to tell me what kind of car hit you.”

I thought about it, but all I could remember was the view of the headlights barreling towards me. I couldn’t see the body.

“I have no idea,” I admitted sheepishly. “I couldn’t see. Why?”

Ethan pinched the bridge of his nose and got out of the bed, “It was a hit and run, right? No one tried to help you or stop?”

I nodded, “No one stopped, no.”

“I don’t mean to alarm you,” He paced back and forth at the foot of the bed. “I think that there is more to this hit because of your position as my Luna.”

I cocked my head to the side and gave him a quizzical look, “What are you getting at, Ethan?”

He sighed and sat at the edge of the bed, “I think that the accident was more than a simple hit and run. I think someone intended to fatally wound you.”

I grit my teeth and looked down at the cast on my arm, “Are you sure?”

Ethan swallowed, “Someone is trying to hurt you, Ava, and I don’t know who.”