A/N:

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

Chapter Twenty-Four

My eyes fluttered open and again, I was blinded by the bright light in the familiar white room. Suddenly, all the memories of yesterday came back to me.

I let out a sigh of relief. I'm not dead.

"Vee, you're awake?" My gaze flickered from the ceiling to Bella. "Yeah, I'm awake," I whispered. She took water from the bedside table and placed the glass on my lips.

I grabbed the glass and chugged down the water. I then placed it on the table after that. "How long have I been asleep?" I asked her.

"It's only been five days," she replied. I nodded at her. "Well, should I call Dr Hailes now?" I instantly shook my head.

"No. Not yet. Has Danny been here?" I questioned. I think we needed to talk about what happened. It's not something we can just forget and put behind us.

"Yes. He has. He recently left, actually," she answered. I slowly nodded. "And Nathan?" She had a sad look in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Vee but no. He hasn't come here even once. He says he doesn't want to see you." I frowned. "Doesn't want to see me?" I repeated, more to myself.

"Yeah. But I don't think he meant it in a bad way," she tried assuring me. "How can he not mean it in a bad way? I got shot, Bella! And he doesn't want to see me?"

"I–I'll just go call the doctor." With that said, she walked out of the room leaving me alone. I sighed. Why does Blue Eyes not want to see me?

Did his mother convince him about me being a gold digger and stuff? Does he not love me anymore?

A lot of questions flooded my mind at that moment. Seriously though, I need to talk to Danny about a way forward. He's the only one who knows what I know.

I need to call him. Or I'll just ask Bella to call him. It is really an emergency.

"Hello, Vanessa," Doctor Hailes greeted. I didn't even notice she was here. And we were alone. Maybe Bella was outside.

"Hello, doctor," I greeted back. "You can call me Lisa," she offered. I smiled at her and nodded.

"So, all I'm going to say is you're going to be fine. We managed to remove the bullet on your leg and luckily, it was only centimeters away from your bone. You did lose a lot of blood but we managed to get a donor. I noticed the bruises on your face and chest, too. What really happened? Were you mugged or..." She trailed off.

I shook my head. "I'm sorry. But I don't want to talk about it, right now. However, no. I wasn't mugged."

She nodded, understanding. "That's okay. But I do hope you don't come back here, again. No more getting yourself hurt, yeah?"

I smiled. "Okay, Lisa," I agreed. "Good. Now, I'll see you later about you getting discharged and all that, okay? Get some rest," she said before turning around and walking away.

I think I could be good friends with Lisa. Maybe I might ask her to go out sometime.

Just then, Bella walked in. "I called Zanniah. She said she'll inform the others. And Danny too," she told me.

"Thanks," I thanked her. "Vee...what really happened? You called me that day and when I answered I heard nothing. I thought you dialed me without knowing so I let it go."

"But there was that unsettling feeling in my stomach. So, I stopped whatever I was doing and drove to your apartment. When I arrived, you were lying on the floor passed out, with your pants drenched in blood and a black eye. First person I called was Nate but he just dropped the phone. I then called Danny but he didn't answer. I decided to bring you here myself," she told me.

My heart clenched. Nathan really doesn't care about me anymore. And Danny, it's understandable why he didn't answer his phone.

Tears brimmed my eyes and I found myself looking back up at the ceiling. "So tell me. What really happened to you?"

I sighed, sadly. "I can't tell you now. But as soon as I can, I promise I will," I croaked. "What do you mean you can't?! Someone shot you, Vee! You're my best friend!"

"Sorry. But really, I can't. Like you said, I'm your bestfriend. You're my best friend. Just trust me, okay?" She reluctantly nodded.

"I'm sorry but I have to leave now. My mom and dad have been worried sick about me. I have to go home," she said. "It's okay. Danny is coming anyway," I reassured her.

She gave me one last smile before she left. A tear fell from my eyes and I instantaneously wiped it away. Don't cry, Vee. Don't cry.

"V–Vane?" I heard a small whisper. My head whipped to the side, only to see Danny taking slow steps towards me.

His bruises were starting to heal. Overall, he looked fine.

I gave him a weak smile. "Hey, Danny," I whispered back. He immediately engulfed me in one of his warm hugs.

"You're okay." He said it as if it was the most unbelievable thing. I rolled my eyes and chuckled, rubbing his back.

"Yep. I am totally fine. I told you our plan would work. How did Heather react?" The question made him pull away.

"She thinks you're dead," he bluntly replied. My eyebrows pulled together in confusion. "Oh?" I said but it came out more as a question.

"Yes. Knowing she was going to make sure, I asked Doctor Hailes to play along too," he told me. "And she did?" He nodded, responding.

"I'm glad your parents are going to be okay. I'm glad I'm okay too," I joked. He cracked a smile. "Thank you, future cousin-in-law. No other person would have done that. My cousin is lucky to have you."

My face dropped. "Speaking of Nathan. Where is he?" I asked Danny. He sighed and sat down on the chair next to the bed.

"I told him everything," he whispered. My jaw dropped to the ground and my eyebrows rose to the sky. "You what?!"

"I had to. He deserved to know what his mother was doing to you. And now, we just discovered that Heather is keeping tags on him."

I closed my mouth shut and brought my eyebrows back to their rightful place. "That's why he can't come see me," I thought out loud.

"Precisely. It's hard for him, you know? He's a total wreck without you," he told me. I don't want to hear about Nathan's vulnerability right now.

"Aren't they keeping tags on you, too?" I changed the subject. He shook his head. "Nah. Heather doesn't really care much about me. But look, Nathan will explain more when he comes to see you. I have to go."

"When will he see me?" I asked. He smiled down at me. "Soon," was his response before leaving me alone. Well, that was not the response I was expecting.

How was I supposed to know when soon was?! I wanted to scream that at Dan-Dan but he had already gone. I huffed and threw the covers over me.

I didn't even notice it was nighttime. It's my first time looking at the window. I closed my eyes, trying to sleep but my phone receiving a call made my eyes fly open.

I reached under my pillow and answered the call. "OMG! Vanessa, you sure know how to scare us, these days!" I winced at the tone of voice.

"Zanniah?" I inquired. I could almost see her rolling her eyes. The image made me chuckle a little. "No, it's an alien from outer space with the same voice as Zanniah–YES! Of course it's me!"

I couldn't help but laugh at that. "The sisters and I booked a bus. Oh! And Nick, too. Look, early in the morning we will be there. Expect us. You are definitely receiving a scolding from me, little sissy," she told me.

"Sorry," I whispered. "You better be sor–Imi, leave me alone! Go back to your dad! As I was saying Vee. Wait, what was I saying?"

I smirked. "You were saying you love me and you miss me," I lied. I heard her scoff. "Nice try, sister. Goodnight, okay? Be safe!"

Safe from what?

"Oh...okay, thanks? And goodnight to you too." She dropped the call after that. I sighed and placed my phone under the pillow, again.

I fell asleep with only the thoughts of Nate, Heather and death flooding my mind.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N:

--°Sauce°