Glass Hearts

I was still sitting outside when the girls pulled up. Zoe was the first one to jump out of the car. She looked like she had been crying all day, but to think about it, who wouldn't be crying?

"Austin, where is she?" Her voice cracked and she sniffled, walking up to me.

"Trauma Unit." I couldn't say anymore or I would break down again. All of the girls were standing in front of me now, staring at me. "The guys are inside." My voice was nothing but a whisper, as I answered their dying question. They all walked inside, except Zoe. She sat down beside me and stayed quiet for a minute.

"I brought you and Alan some clothes to change into." I could tell she didn't know what to say right now so changing the subject was inevitable. My eyes stared down at my worn down Vans, trying not to break down again. "She's going to be okay." Zoe spoke softly, trying not to strike a nerve but that too, was inevitable.

"Do you believe in love at first sight?" The question was out of my mouth before I could stop it. Zoe snapped her head over to my direction, raising an eyebrow. A small smile slowly made its way across her lips.

"Of course I do. The very first time I saw Alan, I fell in love instantly." Her smile grew bigger and she patted my knee. "What happened when you first saw her?" She was talking about Faith but didn't want to say her name. I stared down at my, bloody, hands.

"My heart swelled with joy, my hands became sweaty, and I couldn't stop smiling. I've never felt butterflies in my stomach until I looked into her eyes. She took my breath away and I was actually nervous." A smile finally spread across my lips. "Then when she kissed me, I knew she was the one." My eyes shifted to Zoe's and her smile was bigger than before. "I know I just met her, but damn." She giggled.

"You never know what the future will hold, but I can see you guys getting close and being together. Just be patient, Aus." She stood up and held out a hand for me. I took ahold of it and stood up. "I would hug you but-"

"I know. So those clothes you were talking about?" I laughed and she reached in her bag to grab them. "Thank you. You can go to Alan now." She nodded and walked inside. I let out a deep breath before walking inside. My hands were shaking as I walked to the restroom, knowing everybody was staring at me. I kept my gaze on the tile floor and tried not to completely broken but that was nearly impossible in this situation. The, possible, love of my life could be dying and I can't do anything about it. All I could do was hope and pray that she would be alright. Pray that her bright blue eyes would open up to mine. Pray that her heart kept beating. Pray that she would wake up and still be here for me. I sound completely selfish but I can't help it.

I stepped into the restroom and stared at the man in the mirror. Blood covered his clothes, his hair sticking up in different places, blood on his hands and arms, and puffy red eyes. I didn't recognize myself. I didn't look like Austin Robert Carlile. The man staring back at me was broken and bloody. Sighing, I turned on the water and started cleaning the blood off my hands and arms. The water turned pink as the blood washed off my skin. My stomach churned at the sight and bile rose in my throat. I swallowed it back and scrubbed harder. I couldn't stand the site of watching her blood spiral down the sink.

After all of the blood was washed off, I peeled off my blood stained shirt and jeans. I didn't care about the blood on my stomach. I was way too exhausted to try to scrub that away at that moment. Right as I was pulling on my shirt, there was a knock on the door followed by Alan's voice.

"Austin?" I sighed and opened the door.

"Yeah?" My voice was raspy from all the crying.

"You can go see her." His voice was quiet as he spoke.

"What? Is she awake? Is she okay? What room is she in?" The question flew out of my mouth before I could stop them.

"Room 5. Trauma unit. They didn't say anything else. An older nurse said Faith was asking for you." My heart fluttered in my chest as Alan spoke. I didn't listen to anything else after that. I patted him on the back and took off running towards her room. My feet didn't stop until I reached her room.

"What happened, Miss?" A man's voice was heard as I stood outside her door. I stopped myself from opening up the door.

"I-I don't remember. I just want Austin in here." Faith's voice was scratchy and pained. I took a deep breath and opened the door. My eyes instantly landing on her. Her eyes were wide at the sight of me. I ignored the police officer in the room and walked over to her bedside. "Hi." Her voice, even though it was raspy, sounded like an angel talking to me.

"Hey." I choked back the sobs as I looked down at the beautiful woman in the bed. A bandage was secured on her left cheek, covering the gash. Her hand reached out for mine and I gently took ahold of it. "H-how are you feeling?" A small smile tugged at her lips at my question.

"I'll be fine, thanks to you." She pulled her gaze from our hands to my eyes, which had never left her face. Those bright blue eyes of hers were still as bright.

"I should have gotten there sooner." I whispered dropping my gaze to our hands. She squeezed my hand and was about to say something but someone else cleared their throat. I whipped my head up to look at the police officer.

"I'll be back later for questioning." He quickly said and walked out. I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding.

"Austin." Faith's voice was louder this time. My eyes quickly snapped back to her. She had a smile on her face. "Thank you." She tried to sit up properly, resulting in a whimper. I rested my hand on her shoulder.

"Just rest, please." I pleaded. She nodded and squeezed my hand again.

"I...ummm...I'm sorry." She whispered, looking away. I pulled my chair closer to her bed and gently moved her face to look at me.

"What are you sorry for?" Tears brimmed her eyes as she stared into my own. A lump formed in my throat at the sight of seeing her about to cry. I swallowed it down, wanting to be strong for her.

"For bringing you into all of this mess."

Faith's POV

My eyes felt extremely heavy as I tried to open them. A beeping sound woke me up out of my unconsciousness and back into reality. After what felt like twenty years, I opened my eyes to see I was in the hospital. I started to panic, making the beeping speed up.

What happened to Ian? Where's Austin? Is Austin hurt?

My breathing hitched in my throat as my panic attack set in. Two nurses rushed into the room.

"Sweetie, you need to calm down. Everything is okay. You're safe." The elderly nurse placed her hand on my shoulder and spoke to me softly, trying to calm me down.

"Austin....where's Austin?" I asked in between breaths. The nurse looked at me with a small smile.

"Are you talking about the tall, handsome man with all the tattoos?" I nodded frantically. Her smile grew a little as she spoke. "He is perfectly okay. The last I saw him, he was going to the restroom. Would you like me to get him for you?" I nodded again, a little slower. My heartbeat slowed after hearing he was okay. "Just stay calm. I'll go get him for you." She smiled a bigger one and walked out. I took a deep breath and relaxed a little. The other nurse was still in here. I looked over at her as she checked my vitals.

"Can I..umm...ask a question?" My voice was still shaky from the panic attack.

"Of course." Her voice was higher pitched, kind of like Columbia from Rocky Horror Picture Show. I wanted to giggle but I couldn't find the strength to.

"Is there any news about my...um....attacker?" I choked back tears as the images from earlier came back to my head.

"Actually, there is a police officer here to talk to you about what happened." I stared at this nurse like she just told me I was dying.

A police officer? That means Ian isn't dead. He's still out there.

I took another deep breath and nodded, letting her know I heard her. As if on queue, there was a knock on the door. The nurse walked across the small room to the door and opened it to reveal a police officer. She let him in without my permission and left the room, closing the door behind her.

"Ms. Mason?" His voice was stern and I was a little intimidated. I never had to talk to a police officer in my life and now, I'm alone in this hospital room with him and I have to answer questions when I just woke up not even twenty minutes ago. A throbbing ache started to form in my stomach and cheek. I wanted to throw up as soon as he started talking. "What happened, Miss?" My stomach churned at the thought of what happened. I didn't want to repeat what happened right now.

"I-I don't remember. I just want Austin in here." My voice came out raspy and a little pained, partially because I was holding back tears and the throbbing wouldn't stop. The door creaked opened and the one person I wanted to see was standing there. My eyes grew wide at his appearance. His hair was sticking up everywhere, his eyes were blood shot and very red. He changed his clothes but I could still see that he was haunted by what he saw. "Hi." I squeaked out as he walked over to me.

"Hey." His voice filled the room and I just wanted to hear him talk more. I didn't want to hear the beeping from the heart monitor or the police officer who seemed to be invisible at this moment. I reached my hand out for him before I could think but he took a hold of it, gently. "H-How are you feeling?" A smile tugged it's way at my lips at his question but my heart ached because I could tell he was holding back tears just by hearing his voice shake. I was staring at our hands so I didn't have to see the tears in his eyes.

"I'll be fine, thanks to you." I took a breath and looked up at him. Tears brimmed his eyes and guilt was clearly visible in them.

"I should have gotten there sooner." His voice was nothing but a whisper and his eyes dropped to our hands. I squeezed his hand and opened my mouth to say something but the police officer cleared his throat. Austin whipped his head up to glare at him.

"I'll be back later for questioning." His voice was rushed as he exited the room. A sigh fell from Austin's lips as I brought my gaze back to him.

"Austin." My voice was clearer and louder this time, now that we were alone. I couldn't help but to smile. He looked up at me and a small hint of a smile tugged at the corners of his lips. "Thank you." I tried to sit up to hug him but a sharp pain struck through my stomach, causing me to whimper loudly. Austin placed his hand on my shoulder and stared at me with pleading eyes.

"Just rest, please." I nodded and relaxed against the bed before squeezing his hand once again.

"I...ummm...I'm sorry." Tears started to well up in my eyes and I had to look away from him. I didn't want him to see me cry. The only sound in the room, besides the heart monitor, was Austin's chair scooting closer to my bed. His hand rested under my chin as he gently moved my face so I was looking at him.

"What are you sorry for?" His voice sounded so beautiful but broken at the same time. The tears threatened to fall as I spoke.

"For bringing you into all of this mess." That's when the tears started to fall. He wiped them away as they fell. His rough, calloused thumb ran over my right cheek, since the left one was bandaged up.

"We picked you to be our photographer, remember?" He said with a light chuckle and a smile on his face. I couldn't help but smile, until the gash across my cheek stopped me. He leaned over and lightly kissed my forehead. My heart fluttered at the small gesture.

"What a fucked up way to get to know one another." I giggled a little and he chuckled. I stared at him and couldn't pull my gaze from his face. "What happened to Ian?" Austin's face paled at my question.

"I kinda stabbed him." He rubbed the back of his neck and chewed on his bottom lip. I pulled him towards me and wrapped my arms around his neck.

"Is he...is he dead?" I asked as I hugged him. He lightly hugged me back, trying not to hurt me.

"No. He's here."

Notes