Glass Hearts

Beth walks into the room with a little cup containing two pills and some papers for me to sign. Zoe had brought me a change of clothes earlier this morning and I am completely grateful for it. I didn't realize that I actually have people who truly care about me until this whole ordeal happened. It brought everybody together. Disaster and a life threatening situation brought everybody together. I feel as if I have gained a whole new family. A better family.

"I see you are feeling a little better today." Beth smiles brightly at me and I return it with a small smile of my own. Beth has been nothing but nice to me since the incident with the other nurse. She has brought me ice cream and a DVD player so I didn't have to watch what was on TV. Austin went out and bought a couple of movies for us to watch; when I say a couple movies, I mean he came back with all of the Harry Potter movies, all of the Star Wars movies even though he has them all, and all of the Halloween movies. How he got them all so quickly is beyond me and why he bought so many is really beyond me but it made my heart swell when he walked back into the room with the movies, candy, and a stuffed owl. He has to be the sweetest man ever.

"A shower really makes a person feel human." I giggle a little bit, taking the pills she hands me. I have always hated taking medication but this pain that's coursing through my body makes me want to curl up in a ball so I gladly take it. Beth hands me the papers to sign before she checks my vitals one last time. Eager to get out of this place, I quickly sign them. The door opens as I hand Beth the clipboard, revealing an extremely happy Austin.
"Good Morning, Princess. All ready to go?" Austin asks, placing a kiss on the top of my head. I nod and smile brightly. I have been ready to go the moment I woke up in here. Hospitals were never a friend of mine and never will be no matter what happens to me.
"She's free to go." Beth says while cleaning up the room a little bit. "Faith, do not forget to take your antibiotics orally twice a day, one in the morning and one at night, then have your doctor friend give you your shot of vitamins in the morning at the same time everyday for a month. Pain medicine is only for when you need it or every six to eight hours." She instructs me through my medication regimen once more before helping me off of the bed. "Take care of yourself." She gives me a gentle hug and whispers in my ear, "Do not let that one go. He's a very genuine man, very caring, and one of a kind." My smile spreads from one ear to the other from her words and my heart grows two sizes.
"I won't let him go ever. He means the absolute world to me." I whisper back, winking at Austin. He gives me a confused look but shakes his head, laughing a little. Beth gives me a tight squeeze before letting me go. "Thank you for everything, Beth." She nods, walking out the door. Smiling, I turn to Austin. "I really don't want to be in here longer than I have to be so let's go."
"I agree." He laughs, walking over to me and surprising me by scooping me up in his arms. "Don't even argue with me. I know you're still exhausted. Luckily, today is an off day so you can just rest up before tomorrow. I know I can't stop you from doing your photography work so I'm not even going to try." I laugh because he's right and wrap my arms around his neck, resting my head on his shoulder. My leg could be shattered and I would still go out there, on crutches or in a wheelchair, to take pictures. He is also right about me being exhausted, it's going to take a long time for me to be myself again and I just hope he is ready for the long road ahead of us.
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The car stops behind the tour bus and a feeling of relief washes over me. I wasn't gone for long but in the situation I was in, it felt like an eternity. A smile creeps onto my face as I unbuckle my seat belt and reach for the door but Austin stops me by taking a hold of my hand. I turn slightly in my seat to face him. A gorgeous smile is present on his face and his eyes are sparkling in the late morning light. My heart skips a beat as I take in the sight before me; it feels like the first time I laid eyes on him. I don't give him the chance to speak as I wrap my hand around the back of his neck and pull him towards me. He doesn't fight me at all, instead he cups my cheek in his hand and presses his lips to mine. I've kissed Austin more times than I can count but this time feels like the first time I have ever laid my lips on his.
My stomach does somersaults; while my whole body tingles. It is in this moment that I know I am in love with this man. My fragile, glass heart is his and I hope he doesn't shatter it to pieces.
He pulls away first, smiling from ear to ear and his eyes are so bright, shining in the sunlight. I can see so many emotions swimming around in his eyes; the one that is most evident is love. His thumb strokes softly against my cheek causing me to sigh happily.
"What's on your mind, babygirl?" His voice is raspy but gentle at the same time. I smile, not knowing how to put my feelings into words. It is hard telling someone that you're in love with them. Even though he said he loved me when all the guys rescued me from Ian but that could have just been an in the moment kind of thing. The last time I told someone I was in love with them, it turned out in me almost dying so my trust issues are horrible and I'm just so scared of falling in love again. I couldn't stop myself from falling in love with Austin though.
"I don't know how I want to say this." I start off, looking down at my hands, messing with the rings on my fingers. My nerves kick in hard and my hands start shaking a little. Looking back up, I go to say something else but loud screaming from outside cuts me off. I turn around and look out the window to see Zoe, Leanna, Katie, and Rue running towards the car. Austin starts chuckling, dropping his hand from my face onto my thigh.
"Whatever you were going to tell me, I want to hear it later." He says, pulling my attention back to him. I smile and nod, disappointed that I couldn't just tell him now. "They are so happy for you to be back but as soon as it's night time, you're all mine." His smile grows as he leans in and presses his lips, gently against mine before the door, to my side of the car, is pulled open. I twist around and step out of the car.
"Faith! We missed you so much and we are so happy that you're okay." Zoe pulls me into a hug first, being careful since I'm still in a lot of pain. I wrap my arms around her, loving the feeling that people actually care about me.
"We were so scared for you." Leanna has tears lining her eyes but she weakly smiles at me as I hug her. I pat her back, telling her that I'm okay now. She nods and pulls away, wiping the tears from under her eyes. Katie doesn't say a word as she wraps her arms around my waist. They were all terrified that I was going to die and worried for me. Nobody, but Maddie, has ever been that caring about me until I met Austin and everybody else. When Katie pulls away, I turn to Rue, who has her head hanging down and standing a little bit away from us.
"Rue, I'm okay." I say lightly, walking over to her. She looks up and tears are streaming down her face.
"Faith, I'm so sorry that I couldn't stop them from taking you. I feel like it's all my fault because I was supposed to look out for you while we went away from the party." She squats down and sobs into her hands. I slowly sit down on the ground beside her, wincing in pain from the gashes on my thighs.
"It's not your fault, Rue. Nobody could have stopped them from taking me. They took us off guard but you know what? He's never coming back for me. None of them are." I pull her towards me, rubbing her back. "I am so grateful to have such loving and caring people in my life now. I love all of you and wouldn't blame any of this on you or the others, okay?" Her sobs turn into sniffles making me hug her tightly.
"You're like a sister to me, Faith, just like the other girls. I'm so sorry this happened to you but I'm so happy you're going to be okay." She quickly wipes the water off of her face and smiles to me before giving me a gentle hug.
"Let's get her in the bus and out of the heat, girls." Austin's voice breaks us from our hug and I just now realize how hot it is outside. Rue stands up and walks over to the girls as Austin stands in front of me. "Come on, princess." He smirks down at me, holding his hands out to help me up. The pain medicine, from earlier, is wearing off, letting the pain course through my body. I pull my legs up as far as I can, reaching out for his hands. He pulls me up quickly so it doesn't hurt me too much but it's a sharper, more excruciating pain. A loud whimper escapes my lips before I can stop it. Austin looks at me with a worried expression. "Did I hurt you, baby?" I shake my head because he really didn't hurt me, I was just stupid for sitting on the ground.
"I-I'm okay. Shouldn't have sat down on the ground." I force a smile, trying to shut out the throbbing pain in my thighs and along my ribs. He doesn't say a words as he wraps an arm around my shoulder and kisses my head. We slowly walk back to the bus due to my limping but when we get to the bus, he picks me up, careful not to irritate my injuries. I hear a lot of hushed voices while I'm being carried up the few steps.
"Look who's back!" Austin shouts, setting me back on my feet. Everybody cheers, running to me. All of the guys try to talk to me at once so it sounds like a bunch of mumbles. "Guys! Chill." Austin must have felt the same way as I did so he told them to calm down. As Aaron starts talking to me, my attention is caught by fiery, red hair in the background. Tears line my eyes from all of the emotions hitting me at once. I cover my mouth and look up at Austin, placing my free hand on his arm. He's already staring down at me with a huge grin of his face. "It's okay, baby." He rubs my back, trying to calm me down. I whirl around, staring past the guys.

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