Chapter 8

Stella's POV

I open my eyes and see only white. White everything. Ceiling. Walls. Floor. It's so quiet in here. But something is beeping.

I turn my head on my right, feeling a sharp pain hitting my forehead while doing that. But I'm used to pain.

I look at the cannula inside my arm and then at the heart monitor. My heart beat starts going up and beating faster and faster every second.

The door opens and two doctors run inside with sister Woodhouse. My eyes widen, seeing her here.

"There there Estelle, you're gonna be just fine," she says.

My eyes widen in horror and I start breathing faster and my heart beat goes even faster. Did I imagine all of this? Was this just a dream in coma or something?

I start wiggling, not caring about the pain what's hitting me everywhere. I start hearing so many nuns and they just keep appearing in front of my eyes, coming out of nowhere.

I take a big breath and scream as much as possible. I scream just like in animated movies when the glass breaks. I wanna cover my own ears but can't. Now everything gets dark and cold again, I can only hear myself screaming even more and warm tears on my cheeks.

That's when I see it. A bright light, blinding me. "Stella," I hear someone say, but I'm not sure who, cause I'm still screaming.

I feel him lifting me up and the warmness. He kisses my forehead and holds me against his body.

"Shhh," he says loudly and I stop screaming immediately, recognizing his voice. It's Rich. I start sobbing, wanting to tell him how sorry I am, but no words are escaping.

"Shhh. It's okay. You're gonna be fine," he says and presses his warm lips against my forehead again. I feel his tears dropping onto my face and his arms tightening around me while he starts running towards something.

"I found her! She's alive!" he yells and I hear many people shouting my name.

Alive? Of course I'm alive.. Why shouldn't I be? It's only been like an hour or so.

And I black out again.

*Time pass, 40 minutes*

I open my eyes and can actually see something. It's little lighter outside and I see Rich still carrying me.

I let out a quiet sob and his head turns to me. "Hey," he says with a worried face, "You'll get warm in a minute," he says.

Now I realize I'm shaking, "Maxy," I manage to sob out.

"You want Max?" he asks.

I nod while crying. He wipes my tears away and kisses my forehead, what is hurting like hell.

"In a minute, baby. He was looking for you in the other place in the woods and he'll be here soon," he says worriedly.

I feel a sharp pain in my forehead and I wince. He looks at me worriedly "Where?" he asks, knowing that I'm in pain.

"Forehead," I cry out.

He brushes some hair off of it and sees something, making his eyes widen, "Fuck," he mumbles, "The ambulance should be here already," he says to me and I see many lights now. We probably reach the road, cause I hear many people shouting my name.

I see Max's face in front of me, his hands spooning my face, "Thank god," he sighs in relief and kisses my forehead.

I take my arms away from Rich and put them around Maxy's neck. Rich gives me to him and he takes me. I wrap my legs around his waist as tightly as I can, but it's still loose since I don't have any energy nor strength.

He holds me securely and I put my head onto his forehead. He has stopped moving now.

"They should be here already," he says to his dad madly.

"I know," Rich answers the same way.

I'm still sobbing and crying. Max kisses my forehead, "Shh, it's okay. You're safe with me," he says quietly.

I can't calm down. Everything is hurting and I wanna say that I'm sorry. But no words escape my mouth, only really big sobs.

"Shhh," he says and starts swaying with me a little. I keep sobbing.

"Baby, breathe with me, okay? Just like at nights," he says and I nod weakly and try to do it.

When I have bad dreams at nights, what happens basically every night, he is the only person who can help me at nights.

"Shhh," he keeps saying it since I'm still not calm, "Stelle, look at the sky," he whispers so I do it and start to calm down. The sun is rising and we're both looking at it as he's trying to get me to calm down.

In a few minutes, when I've calmed down, he kisses my cheek, "I love you," is the last thing I hear before blacking out again. Gosh I wanna say it back. It was the first time.

*Time pass, 4h*

I open my eyes. It's the imagination again. Exactly the same dream gain. The nuns screaming at me. And I start screaming for them to shut up and stop.

My eyes go open soon and I see Max, Rich, and El all around me, looking anxious, trying to wake me up.

I start crying immediately. "Gosh, what's wrong? Why were you yelling?" El asks, scared. I can see that I'm in the hospital.

I try to control my breathing. Max puts his hand on my cheek and starts caressing it, making me calm as always.

"The same one?" he asks. I nod. I've seen exactly the same thing before. Many times. He sighs and kisses my forehead, but I can't feel his lips, meaning that I have a bandage on.

"Honey how are you feeling?" Rich asks.

I sigh, "I'm sorry," I say sadly, looking at him.

He pokes my stomach with his index finger, making me smile. "It's okay, don't worry," he says, smiling a little.

I sigh and look at El. He smiles sadly, "I want for you to meet someone," he says.

I furrow my eyebrows, "Who?" I ask.

"Soon," he says as a doctor comes in.

"Hi. You're up. How are you feeling?" he asks, pulling a cannula out of my arm.

I furrow my eyebrows as he does that, "Sick," I say.

He sighs, "Yeah. You were in the woods for 2 nights, so," he starts and I interrupt.

"What?" I ask in shock, "But it.. What day is it?" I ask, afraid to know actually.

"2nd," Max says.

I groan, "School is in 3 days?" I ask. He sighs and nods.

"It's cold outside. You have a fever, bruises from falling, blood from that as well and... We have to have a surgery," the doctor says, not wanting to say that.

"Why?" I ask.

Max pulls my hand away from my ear, that I was poking, cause it's itching. I feel something moving in there so I start trying to get it out from there, but Max pulls my hand away again.

"Don't, something's in my ear," I say and try to get it out again. I feel that something moving again and I wince and try to get it out.

El pulls both of my hands away and holds them down, "You have some things in your ear. That's why you need a surgery. They didn't come out other ways," he says.

"They?" I ask, with widened eyes.

"Sp—" Max starts, but El puts his hand on his mouth, releasing mine, so I start poking my ear again.

"Spiders, okay," I say and El sighs, looking at Max.

"What?" he asks him.

El rolls his eyes, "Obviously, she's afraid of spiders," he says.

Max raises his eyebrows and looks at me, "Seriously?" he asks.

"I'm afraid of everything, what did you think?" I ask, trying to get those spiders out of my ear with tears.

Max sighs and takes my hands into his, "Sorry," he says and kisses my temple.

I sigh, "Help me," I whine.

They chuckle sadly. Max presses his lips against my ear, making an electricity go through my head and forget about the ear.

"Stella, you want something to eat?" Rich asks.

I look at him and nod with a little smile, "Okay," he says and kisses my hair before going out of the room.

"I'll, um... Get someone," El says and I nod.

He sighs, "I'm sorry," he says sadly.

"Not your fault," I mumble.

He sighs and touches my hair before going out of the hospital room. I look at Max.

"Can you come here?" I ask with a painful voice and shift on the bed a little.

He smiles sadly, "Baby, I can't. The doctors would never allow it," he says.

"Who cares?" I whine, "You're the leader of a gang and so am I, they can't tell you what to do," I say.

He smirks at me, "Move," he says.

I grin at him as he climbs next to me. I climb into his arms. He pulls me close to him and we both sigh in relief.

I snuggle my face into his chest and he kisses my hair, starting to fondle it, "I love you," he says.

It makes my heart beat five times faster and my mouth form a big smile. I look up at him.

"I. Love you," he says again and kisses my forehead.

"I love you too," I say and he starts to smile so big. With mouth AND eyes.

He cups my cheek and kisses me passionately. It feels so good. I kiss him back, trying to put everything into that kiss.

I hear someone coming into the room, but we don't pull away.

“Mhm," El coughs.

I smile against Max's lips even more and pull away. We smile at each other for a second and then look at the door.

My eyes widen, seeing El standing there with a little boy on his lap, in his arms, and a raven-haired woman standing next to them, holding my brother's hand. I sit up.

The boy has our eyes and our golden-brown hair. Wow he's beautiful.

"Look, the reason why I couldn't come and see you," El starts as they reach the bed, but I interrupt him with a tight hug, hugging him and his son.

The boy giggles as El hugs me back and kisses my hair.

"I had to choose if I get to see them or you," El says sadly as we pull away, "And I'm really sorry, Stella, but you would've done the same," he says.

"No," I say and he sighs, thinking that I'm mad, "If I were you, I would've come away from that stupid army you're in and be together with my son and wife and maybe adopt my sister," I say the ending with a smirk.

They all chuckle at me a little and I look at the boy, "What's your name?" I ask.

"Noah," he says with an angel's voice.

I sigh and smile a little and then look at the woman, who's smiling at me.

"Hi. I'm Sam," she says.

"Stella," I say and we hug as well.

When we pull away, she looks into my eyes and sighs, "You look so much like him," she says and looks at El for a moment.

I look at my brother, "No," I say.

"You do," Max says and I roll my eyes.

"How old are you?" I ask Noah.

"4 and a quarter," he says.

I smile a little, but then sigh and look back at El sadly, "I'm sorry," I say.

"It's okay," he says, holding Noah as he sits on a chair between my bed and the chair that Sam is sitting on.

"No. I shouldn't have said all those things to you," I start, now with tears, "And I shouldn't have run away. I just had a panic attack and didn't know what to do and I fell in the woods and I didn't know that it was two nights and," I start spiraling until Max puts his hands on my shoulders.

"Calm down," he says. I sigh and try to breathe deeply.

"And stop doing that," El says and pulls my hand away from my ear. I didn't even realize.

"When's the surgery?" I ask after a few minutes of talking and Max helping me to lie down.

"In a few hours," Sam says.

I sigh, "It better," I say and keep trying to get these things out of my ear.

The doctor comes back into the room, "Don't do that," he says to me and pulls my hand away.

I sigh and he sits down into a chair with wheels and starts checking all the machines attached to me.

"Mr. Collins, you can't be in here," he says to Max, pointing at the bed.

"Try and stop me," he says back, his arms around me protectively.

The doctor rolls his eyes and looks at the heart monitor, "How are you feeling?" he asks me.

"Hungry," I say, making everyone laugh. That's when dad comes back into the room.

"Feeling better?" he asks me and sits down into a chair.

"Maybe after that," I say, pointing on the Bobby's bag he is holding.

He smirks, "You're the only person I know, who's hungry with a fever," he says and then looks at Max, "Well.. The second one I know," he says, making us chuckle.

He puts the bag on the edge of the bed and Max takes out a cheeseburger.

"What about me?" I ask as he starts unwrapping it.

"Your one hand is clearly busy and your another one has tubes inside and it's broken," he says.

I sigh and he puts the burger in front of my mouth, as my back is against his stomach, his arms around me.

I take a bite and he kisses my hair before taking one himself.