Nova's POV

My whole body felt like a tonne of bricks. My head was pounding. I brought my hand up to soothe the pain, groaning as I do. "Nova?" I opened my eyes, looking for the panicked voice.

Sitting across from me is Grayson. He looks like shit, his hair is ruffled everywhere, bags under his eyes as if he has never seen sleep. He smells a bit too, not that I would tell him that. "Are you okay?" Are the first words that sound from my horse throat.

He chuckles, his head falling between his hands as he shakes his head. He looks up at me with relieved eyes. "Seriously? Nova, you got shot and you're asking me if I'm okay." I feel my cheeks burn as he sighs.

"I guess so..." I trial off, only now looking down at myself. Wires go through my hands and arms, a drip beside my bed. The oximeter clipped to my finger, reading my pulse. "What happened?" I ask, confused.

Grayson runs a hand through his hair roughly, his eyes darkening as he looks down. "Some wanker fucking shot you." He grumbles, his knuckles turning white as he clenches them tightly. I place my hand over his, his warmth soothing my cold hands. "I nearly lost you, Angel." He mumbles.

I rest my forehead against his, "But you didn't, I'm okay." I whisper. He closes his eyes tightly, keeping my hand in his. We stay like that for a few minutes, basking in each other's company as if we've been deprived off each other for weeks.

"How long have I been here!" I ask, suddenly aware that I could of actually been here for weeks. Grayson pulls away but keeps his hands clasped around mine.

"Five, nearly six days."

"What?!" I shout, my voice waking up Kelly and Liam who sit on a couch on the other side of the room.

"Nova!" Kelly's up and charging towards me in a second. I'm to shocked to ask her where she was as I was searching for her, my mind coming up with the worst possibility's.

"You've got to be kidding me?" I ask. There's no way I've been out for that long.

"What's wrong?" Kelly asks, her eyes looking over me frantically.

"I've been out for nearly a week." I look around the small hospital room, the thought now settling in. I've been shot, in the hospital for nearly a week. My father's going to kill me.

"Fuck." I curse.

"What?" Everyone's around me instantly. Grayson's hand tightening around mine.

"My family. Do they know? Have they been here? Oh my, god there going to kill me." I say breathlessly.

"Calm down. They know and they've been here as much as they can." Kelly reassures me, her hand griping tightly in mine.

"Oh..." I sigh, I glare down at the bed watching my toes wiggling, as if I need to make sure I can still feel them.

"Oh good you're awake." I look up to see a doctor coming in. She smiles kindly at me, holding a chart In front of her. "Can we have a minute alone?" She asks. Liam and Kelly nod, bidding me a goodbye as they walk out of the room. The doctor looks at Grayson who acts as if she's not there. I sigh and turn to Grayson. Giving him a stern look he pouts, but hesitantly leaves.

"Right, let's have a look shall we?" She takes out any unnecessary wires and tubes, also taking off the oximeter from my finger. She checks my vitals and goes on about stuff I have no idea about. I nod my head when needed and faking a smile as she talks.

"Okay, everything seems to be fine. Your wound is healing well, that's always a good sign. Your vitals seem to be looking good as can be. Make sure to reframe from any physical activities, and also keep up with sleep. Your body is still healing so be careful with it." I nod my head at her, my hand itching to push myself up off from the bed.

"Is there any questions?"

"When can I leave?"

"We'll have to see how you're doing...if well then you'll be out perhaps, Tuesday."

I sigh. Tuesday. That's another five days away. I can't stay here for another five days, I'm going to go mad. "Thanks." I mumble as she leaves me alone in the small room. I bask in the silence, my mind running a mile a minute. But being here, it's slowing down those thoughts, the silence comforting me.

With all my strength, I push my weak body off from the bed. My bare feet meet the cold floor, goosebumps travelling across my skin. My legs wobbling slightly as I hold my self up. Carefully, I move my foot into a walk. My legs shake violently with every step, the muscles being awoken after so long. Walking, which was such a natural thing, seems to become a difficult task. My wobbling legs moving at a slow pace, sweat starts to form on the back off my neck, despite my cold figure.

I stop, taking a breath and looking at how far I've gotten. It's dampening, for such a struggle and effort I put in, I haven't seem to move as far as I would of liked. Pushing myself further, to at least get to the bathroom that's in front of me. Determined to make it, I ignore the muscles in my leg screaming at me to stop and to let them rest, but I ignore it.

I nearly collapse through the door of the bathroom as I finally make it. My body falling onto the toilet as I collect my breath. I reach out to the sink next to it, turning on the cold water and splashing it across my face. The cool water soothes my sweaty form. Using the sink as leverage, I look at myself in the mirror.

Bags sit under my eyes, my skin sickly pale and my lips chapped. I look weak. I hate it. I lift up my shirt, my abdomen wrapped in a white bandage. I carefully peal away the bandage enough to see the wound. It doesn't look as horrific as I thought. Me assuming it would be a gaping hole with blood oozing out of it. However, it's not.

One would be able to tell I was injured, perhaps not shot, the skin around it is bruised a dark purple almost black and a stitched line that will for sure leave a scar, a big and deep one. I wrap the bandage back around the wound and pull my shirt over it, covering my eyes from the ugly wound. I push myself off from the sink and walk back to my bed.

The journey is just as hard and tiring as it was getting here. My legs are slowly regaining their strength. Slowly, very very slowly. Somehow I catch my foot on thin air, and go tumbling down onto the floor. "Nova!" Grayson slams the door open and rushes over to me. Picking me up he sets me down into the soft bed. I groan, the impact of the fall but also because it's discouraging to me. "What were you thinking?" Grayson asks as he sits in the chair beside the bed.

"I need to get up at some point. I'm fine." I mumble, tucking my legs back under the blankets. He sighs deeply, running a hand through his hair. I know I'm in for it by the look of irritation on his face. However, he doesn't get the chance to speak as someone enters the room. I look up and see my family carrying bags of food.

I smile as Jake enters stuffing his face with chicken, my mother telling him to not be rude and wait until the others arrive, my father is the first to notice I'm awake. "My baby girl." He sighs with a relieved smile. My mothers eyes snap to dad then to me, widening as she rushes over to me.

"My sweet girl!" She crashes me into a hug, her sent bringing a smile to my face. She hugs me tight, looking over my face as she strokes my hair back. "Thank god you're okay." She smiles at me.

"I'm fine mum." I smile at her. She continues to keep hold of me as Jake comes over, hugging me tightly.

"Thought I was going to be an only child for sec." I crack a smile as he fist bumps me.

"Jake!" My mum scolds him, not taking the joke lightly.

My dad hits him on the back of his head as he passes him. Jake let's out an 'ow', rubbing the back of his head with a frown. I giggle into my dads shoulder as he hugs me. "How you doing?" He pulls back.

"I'm fine guys, seriously." I chuckle, my hands flying.

My mum rolls her eyes before looking at Grayson as if she only just saw him. "Hello, dear." She smiles kindly at him.

"Uh...hi." He shuffles slightly in the chair, pushing his messy hair back.

"Blackwell?" My head shifts to my farther's deep voice as he eyes down Grayson cautiously.

"Yes, sir."

"You look like your father."

"I've been told." He mumbles, his jaw tightening and his knuckles turning white from his tight grip.

There's a tense silence as my father watches Grayson like a hawk hunting it's pray. It's the same look my father gives his victims. "Why don't you go check on Liam?" I suggest softly, glaring at my father who still stares coldly at Grayson.

Grayson clears his throat, standing from his seat connecting his eyes to my fathers. I'm surprised how he doesn't let the intimidating glare get to him. He stands tall, his shoulders squared and, my god, his eyes just as deadly as my fathers. Grayson leaves the room, the door shutting softly behind him.

"Really, dad?" I ask, irritated.

"I don't trust that boy." I roll my eyes at my father.

"He hasn't given you a reason to not trust him."

"Nova." My father looks at me sternly, sitting down on the chair Grayson was once occupying, "That's boys father is a psychopath. He isn't like the rest of us, he takes joy in killing others, no remorse." My father looks me dead in the eyes and says, "He would kill his own family if he wanted."

I stare at my father, my throat dry. Of course I knew what people said Blackwell was like. A monster is what people called him. He only has power because he takes it. People don't respect him nor worship him, their scared. But Grayson, he's different. He cares for me in ways no one else can. He makes me feel no other could even fathom to do so.

Grayson saved my life.

"Grayson is not his father." I say sternly. My father sighs deeply, shaking his head.

"Maybe not. But I can't risk my daughters life, that boy stays far away from you."

"He saved me! I was bleeding out to die, I could of died. But if it wasn't for Grayson I wouldn't be here, he could of left me...but he didn't." I let out a shaky breath.

"I mean it Nova. Stay the hell away from him."

That's the thing.

I don't think I can.

***