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Infraction Chapter 1
I woke to throbbing pain throughout my body, a pounding headache, and the sound of my name. It was faint, but growing in intensity as it moved toward me.My eyes opened, and I looked around, seeing the door of what I recognized as a hospital room.“Lila! Lila!” Nathan’s voice cried out. It was a frantic, panicked tone I had never heard before.“Lila!”“Mr. Thorne! You need to return to your room!” was screeched at him by who I assumed was a nurse.“Lila!”“Don’t pull that out,” another voice scolded.“Lila!” he wailed, and it sounded like he was on the verge of tears.It was clear he was ignoring the nurses as his search for me continued; they were threatening to call security.“Lila!” he called out again, desperation flooding his tone. He was louder, only one room away.My chest tightened, and my heart began beating at a furious pace.Seconds later, his hands appeared on the doorway, bracing himself while his eyes searched for me.I gasped when I took in his appear
Infraction Chapter 2
It was a fun-filled morning in the driest sense.I awoke in pain—something I knew was going to be my constant companion for the months to come. As soon as the nurses knew I was awake, they pumped me full of more pain meds. The drugs helped, but made me a little on the loopy side.Not what I needed to be when my first guests of the day arrived: police officers. They’d come to take my statement in regards to the accident, and unfortunately I was unable to recall anything. The last thing I remembered was running out to my car in the rain and then waking to Nathan calling my name in the hospital halls.They asked me where I was headed, did I see the van, was it still raining, what color was the light? Standard questions, but I was getting more and more annoyed with their attempts to get some answers out of me other than the only one I had: I don’t remember anything. They weren’t going to jog my memory.Got in the car, woke in the hospital. End of story.It surprised me when th
Infraction Chapter 3
I stared at the speckled ceiling tiles, counting each irregular dot in my boredom. I’d been at it for hours.There were 516 on the tile directly above my head.I felt like Edmond Dantes from The Count of Monte Cristo in that moment, in his cell on Château d’If.If there was a hell, I was certain I was in it. Half crazy, all broken, pain radiating through all of my body and soul.Nathan’s words didn’t help. I’d accepted that he didn’t want me, that he was through with me. Part of me wanted to run into his arms, but another part reminded me of the pain from his heartbreaking note.Round and round I went with myself, neither side winning. The only thing I could do was count the holes, since I had no answers. I was halfway through the tile to my right, the fourth in my dive into crazy town, when a light tapping on the door drew my attention. I glanced to the door with my eyes, not wanting to move my head, and found the heat had been turned up on my hellish fire.“Can I come i
Infraction Chapter 4
In and out. In and out.I felt like my hospital room was a revolving door. Strange that it took a car accident for me to feel wanted for once in my life. Then again, half of them were Nathan’s family, people I’d just met.The people who came did so because they wanted to see me. They were worried about how I was, if I was bored, and some were worried about my future with Nathan.Nathan’s whole family was very kind and set on keeping me entertained, keeping my mind off the pain when I was awake. The meds kept me pretty sedated, but almost every time I woke, someone was there.Sarah, Erin, Teresa, and I could be found playing cards from time to time, or some game someone brought in. Movies came and went, and I was now caught up on many of the recent blockbusters. Well, those I didn’t end up falling asleep watching, which, thanks to all the drugs, was quite often.Nathan was always there in some capacity, with the exception of work and sleep. Many times he was running errands
Infraction Chapter 5
I awoke groggy, my head swimming, eyes unfocused.“Nathan…” I mumbled. My eyes refused to stay open, my head lolling back and forth. “Nate!”My breathing was hard. Where was he? I needed him.“Shhh, I’m here, baby,” he called, his voice rough. I felt his hand on my cheek and then sighed, leaning into the warmth.“Take me home,” I said weakly.“What?”“I want to go home.”“Oh, Honeybear, soon.”“Please.” Tears began to stream down my face. “I want to go home. Take me home.”My eyes opened a tiny bit, and his brow was scrunched up, sadness etched in his features. He looked up at something, and a voice chimed in letting me know we were not alone.“It’s the drugs,” Dr. Morgenson’s familiar voice said.Dr. Morgenson had been in and out during my stay. We had mini sessions together. To most, it would look like a normal conversation, but what was actually going on was Dr. Morgenson playing his Jedi mind tricks on me. Some worked, others didn’t, and I was always left feeling
Infraction Chapter 6
We lay there for a while, me absorbing everything, Nathan taking in my answer. I scratched at one of the scabs on my thigh and looked down. My legs were hairy and had bothered me all week. It shouldn’t have, but what else did I have to think about after I was done counting the dots on the ceiling? It hit me that I was home now; I could bathe.“Nathan,” I began, breaking the silence. “I want a shower.”I turned to look at him, and he nodded. “Okay.”Climbing off the bed, he moved to my side and picked me up, carrying me into the adjoining bathroom. Once there, he sat me down on my good foot, careful not to bang my bad leg on anything before stripping me of my clothing.“Hold on to my arms.”It was then I got my first good look at myself in a mirror.Just when my bruises had finally disappeared, I had a whole new horrifying set.My face was just as bad off as I thought. Black and blue had turned to yellow and purple and covered the left side of my face from where I’d hit t
Infraction Chapter 7
I awoke warm and in pain, struggling to gain a full breath. There was a squeeze around my chest constricting me even further. I opened my eyes and turned to find Nathan’s closed ones in front of me. His arms were wrapped around me, our legs entangled. We had both drifted in the night, our bodies not fighting the pull as they crawled to find each other.“Nate.” I was quiet as I tried to rouse him. As much as I loved being wrapped in his arms, it hurt to breathe and my bladder was screaming at me, as well. “Nathan, I need to go to the bathroom.”My chest tightened over the fact I needed help doing such menial tasks, but I couldn’t walk yet, even on crutches.He made a cute noise before snuggling further, mumbling something I couldn’t understand. “Nathan.” I tried again, this time stroking his cheek, hoping my touch would stir him.His eyes fluttered open and a lazy smile spread on his face. “Mmm, Honeybear.” His voice was sleepy and he snuggled in again, his eyes closing.Hi
Infraction Chapter 8
Dr. Morgenson wasn’t soft in handling us, despite all that had happened. He made good on his threats from the outburst at the hospital, and now we were both in a more intensive therapy program than before.We planned to meet twice a week; once would be an individual session, and the other would be a joint session. The individual sessions were to make sure we both got back on track after months away. He said the joint session was to help us understand each other better and to make sure we opened up and communicated.The day of our first joint session came, and my stomach was fluttering with butterflies circling within, my nerves skyrocketing.Nathan came into the bedroom in the early afternoon and picked me up to take me into the living room where Darren was waiting to start our session. It was decided that having our therapy in my home would be less of a strain on my mangled, healing body than trying to transport me back and forth to Darren’s office. My stomach was in knots
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