The Mistakes That Brought You Here

Bridget’s POV

“You are very lucky Bridget. There could have been some pretty bad damage to your wounds. Luckily, the bleeding has all stopped now, and you need to rest for a few weeks. Your dad stopped by and asked that we send you home so we’re going to. On the condition that you’ll have a nurse with you 24/7 just in case anything happens.” The doctor explains to me, so I roll my eyes slightly. Gabe had caused me to tear a few of my stitches or something, I’m really not sure. I swear this doctor guy just speaks gibberish. Now I’ll be stuck with a nurse all of the time. Great…

Lucas and I haven’t really talked since the whole thing with Gabe, and now I’m not sure when we’ll be talking again. It’s ridiculous, but my dad blames him for all of this when it’s really Tony’s fault. But I guess it’s good that my dad knows everything now. Before I can respond to anything the doctor has said, my mom comes bursting through the door so I look up at her in shock. This is the first time she’s been here that I know of, and I really didn’t believe that she’d show up. “Bridget! I can’t believe all of what your father has told me!” She whispers, and settles into the chair next to my bed. Well that’s not what I was expecting… “I’m so sorry I ever doubted you baby, I’ll make it up to you. I’ve been horrible to you for the last four years, you deserve so much better! I’m a terrible mother.” She adds, and stares at me with tears forming in her eyes.

Shaking my head at her, I force a small smile onto my lips and answer, “It’s fine, mom. You didn’t know.” I mutter, and she grins back at me. I knew she’d get over this quickly. I glance at the door, to see Lucas stepping through the threshold, with a confused look on his face. I guess I’d be confused if I saw my mother in here too. “Hey, I was wondering when you’d be back.” I smile at him, and look back at my mom to see her giving me a knowing glance.

Standing up from the plastic chair, my mom replies, “Well, I’ll stop by your dads in a few hours, once you’re settled. I love you Bridget.”  She smiles, before brushing past Lucas.

Lucas and I stare at the door until it swings closed before finally looking back at each other. “Hey Sunshine, how’re you feeling?” he asks, and I can’t help but notice the fatigue in his voice and the dark circles under his eyes. He looks terribly tired. I motion to the chair beside me, and then watch as he saunters up to it before sitting down quickly.

“I’m fine. I get to go home today.” I smile, and he smiles back but the smile doesn’t come anywhere near his eyes. “When’s the last time you’ve slept?” I ask him, and he just shrugs in response. What the hell is that supposed to mean? I’m guessing he’s barely spent since everything happened, which isn’t good! He needs rest just as much as I do; he did get shot too! “Do you think my dad would let you stay at his house for a few days? I mean, that way you have a nurse around just in case and you can get your leg to heal.” I smile up at him, and he just nods at me in response. “What’s wrong?”

I watch as he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before looking me back in the eyes. “I’m afraid of being with you Bridge. You’re so perfect, and now you’re hurt. What if I hurt you again?” he asks, with worry written all over his face. He’s so sweet!

I lift my palm up and press it against his cheek before answering, “Babe, nothing is going to happen. It’s not your fault that I’m hurt, and it’s not your fault that my stitches were torn. The doctor said that it’s pretty common, so just relax. I promise I’m going to be ok.” I smile at him, and he pulls his hand up to mine and covers my hand with his. I’m so ready to just be able to be happy with Lucas, instead of worrying about what my dad is going to say, what Ryan is going to say, all of that crap. I love these moments when no one else is around, it’s like we’re the only two people in the world.

Lucas interlocks our fingers, and pulls the back of my hand to his lips before dropping our hands to the side of the bed. With a new smile on his face, Lucas changes the subject. “I bet you’re glad that you’re getting out of here, yeah?” He asks, and I just nod back at him in response. I can’t wait to get all of this behind us, especially since Lucas now knows almost all of my past.

“Ah, Lucas, I’m glad you’re here too.” My dad smiles, as he, Taylor, Brandon, Nathan, and Ryan come into the room suddenly. I guess this means it’s time to go home! “We have an announcement to make, and I wanted everyone to be here. Luke, you know you’re part of the family too, so I wanted you to be here too. Taylor and I have decided to renew our wedding vows, so that everyone can be at this wedding.” He smiles, and I feel my eyes prickle with tears. Maybe I should have told the truth to start with, and I wouldn’t have lost the last four years with my family, and Lucas.

With a smile on my face, I reply, “Dad, you don’t just have to do this because of me, don’t get me wrong, I think it’s great, but I don’t want to be the only reason for this.” I reply hesitantly. Taylor and my dad exchange a glance for a moment, before she steps forward and sits gently next to me on the bed looks down at me with a smile playing on her lips.

Lucas’ POV

After about twenty minutes, Bridget’s finally situated in a wheel chair, and we’re all walking her out to Michael’s car, while the nurse pushes the wheel chair. In a way it sucks that she’s going home because I won’t be able to spend the night in her room anymore. Since the shooting, I’ve spent every night with her so it’s going to be strange not seeing her wake up every morning.

“Here we are.” Michael sighs, as we get up to his Escalade, and everyone starts helping Bridget into the car. I can tell Bridget’s still uncomfortable moving around because she winces whenever she moves in the slightest, but hopefully it won’t last long.

Once she’s settled in the car, I move to her side and speak to her, “Well, I guess I’ll see you later. I better head home for a bit… check on my dad. Call me once you’re settled in and everything.” I smile at her, trying to let her know that I don’t want to be without her.

“Hey Bro, mind if I ride with you? I’m meeting Manda at that restaurant down the street from your place.” He shrugs, and I nod back at him. Bridget flashes me a smile, before reaching out to shut the door but I do it for her and she smiles at me gratefully. Ryan and I watch as Michael makes his way out of the parking lot, before heading over to my truck and climbing in. “So…” Ryan starts, and I can tell by his tone that this is going to be an awkward conversation. “I haven’t heard the whole story, what the hell happened with Tony?” He asks, and I let out a deep breath as I think about how to explain this.

Clearing my throat, I answer, “Bridget showed me everything that that prick has done to her and I just snapped. Dude, if you would have seen all the scars that she showed me, it’s ridiculous! He used her to do pretty much whatever he wanted. It’s sickening.” I mutter, with my fists clenched around the steering wheel. Just thinking about Tony makes me want to head back over to his place and beat the shit out of him.

With a hesitant look on his face, Ryan replies, “I can’t believe I didn’t realize any of this was going on! I’m such an idiot! I remember one night Bridget came home and I thought she had blood all over her but she said it was nothing. There were a few different things like that. I never thought twice about any of it. If I would have, maybe none of this would have happened.”

“It’s not your fault. She didn’t want anyone to know, so she hid it from you. Even if you would’ve questioned her I bet she would’ve hidden it. You know how she is.” I shrug at him, because he knows it’s true. She’s not the most open person, especially because Tony was blackmailing her too.

Ryan shrugs back at me, while I stare out of the window in front of me. This isn’t fair. Bridget has lost nearly 5 years of her life because Tony is a fucking prick. “I know, I just hate that I let all of this happen to her, ya’know?”

With a sigh, I pull out of the parking spot finally, and head toward my house. “So, what’s the deal with you and Amanda?” I question, because he and I really haven’t spoken in the last few days. I knew they’d been hanging out a lot, that’s normal because they’ve always been really close but I guess recently it’s been a lot more often.

Bridget’s POV

“Bridge, we set up the guest bedroom on the main level so you don’t have to go up the stairs for awhile. Also, your nurse starts in a few days, so Taylor and I thought she could take care of you until then. I’m sure Lucas will want to stay with us too, so we set up a futon in your new room, I know that boy cares about you and that’s the only reason I’m allowing him to sleep in your room. Once you’re better then he’ll have to go back to his own room.” My dad speaks, as I fight to keep my eyes open on our way to the house. I’ve been so doped up on pain medication for the past week that now I can’t seem to stay awake for more than an hour or two.

Smile toward the front seat, I answer, “Really dad? I promise we’ll be good, I’d just like to have Luke with me.” I mention, and I see my dad looking at me in the rear view mirror. “In a way, I’m glad all of this happened, because, I mean, it changed everything.” I slur, oblivious to the drugs impairing my train of thought.

Before I know it, I wake up lying on the bed in the spare bedroom and I see my phone on the bed beside me with a note that reads, “Call if you need anything.” Probably from my dad and Taylor. “Hey you’re awake finally.” I hear Lucas smile, so I turn to look at him to see that he’s lying next to me on the bed.

My eyes trail down his body to see that he’s just wearing his boxers, and he has sexily tousled hair that I can’t help but run my fingers through. Damn this guy is hot.

“Do you need anything?” he asks huskily, but his eyes aren’t looking into mine, but they’re trailing down my body. Glancing down, I see that I’m now dressed in just a baggy t-shirt and the blankets are down around my ankles. I shake my head at him, before sliding closer to him and leaning forward so he can slip his arm under my head. “You’re so beautiful.” He whispers, and I smile before snuggling closer into him.

I could really get used to having Lucas with me all of the time. But I guess eventually he’ll have to go back to work, speaking of which, “How’s Joey?” I ask, and maneuver so I’m looking up at Lucas.

“He’s fine, he’s out of the hospital and back to work now. The shop hasn’t been open much because we’re out sick obviously, and a few of the other workers had family emergencies so they’re out of town too. I’ll probably go back in a few days, he needs the help, and since you can’t go in I guess I’ll have to do it all by myself.” He shrugs down at me, and I look up at him sadly. That mean’s I’ll be alone because he’ll be busy I know he has to go back to school soon too, it is his senior year after all. “What’s going through your head beautiful?” he asks, and I look back up at him to see he’s staring at me intently.

Shrugging, I answer, “Where are you going to college?” I ask, and he shrugs back at me before answering, “I really don’t know yet. I’ve been accepted to a few schools, but the one I really want hasn’t responded yet because I sent in my application late.” He finishes, but doesn’t offer where he wants to go. Does that mean it’s really far away? “I see your wheels turning darling, and no it’s not far away. The one I turned in late was for Tech. I want to stay as close to here as possible now, where as before I wanted to get as far away as I could.”

Smiling back up at him, I reply, “I want you to go wherever you want babe, don’t base it on me.”

“What makes you think I’m staying for you?” he smirks down at me, but pulls me in closer to him and I can tell he’s joking. “I love it here, I grew up here you know that. But before you came back I literally had no reason to stay. Now I do.” He smiles down at me, and presses a kiss to my forehead, making my heart melt. “Now, get some sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up.” He adds, and I obey and shut my eyes since they had begun to feel a lot heavier.