Bitter Kisses (It's Just High School #3) - Thandiwe Mpofu Page 0,75
go douse herself in gasoline and set herself on fire for all I care.
“Are you going to see her?”
“No.”
“I thought you might say that, so I guess this is a bad time to tell you that I caught her talking to Nathan Montague,” a new voice says firmly.
My head snaps up to look at Dad who’s breathing hard and fast in the doorway. Talk about dramatic entrances.
“What?”
“But that’s not all. Nathan has called the police and giving them a statement.”
“A statement?”
“Against you.”
Ah fuck.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Mia
When I come to this time around, I immediately tune in to the raised voices around me.
“So, what about that nasty head bash she has, doctor? It doesn’t look like it’s healing. Is that the reason she’s still not awake yet?” a shrill, urgent and shaky voice is saying from somewhere close. “Or is it the bullet wound?”
“Ma’am…”
“It’s been two weeks!”
I’ve been out for two whole weeks?
When did I hear the things they said before? Did I dream it all?
I remember I was just in Julian’s arms… Oh God, Julian!
I remember the gun shots. The blood spraying everywhere. The screams and I remember my father’s threat on Julian and Liam’s life.
Oh God, where are they? Are they all right? What happened?
“I understand this is frustrating and emotional for you after everything that happened, but Mia—”
“My daughter!”
That catches my attention. I force myself to lie still and listen to the voices speaking.
“Yes, my apologies,” the calm voice continues. “Your daughter is currently in a self-induced coma, which to be honest with you, is a good sign.”
“A good sign?”
“Yes. It means her own body is fighting to heal.”
“You said that before, but she still hasn’t woken up! What’s going on?”
“Ma’am, your daughter suffered an upsetting traumatic experience. She was drugged, shot in the abdomen and not to mention the blunt force trauma blow to the head.”
“Oh God.”
“Mia suffered severe blood loss, a concussion but the extent of it is yet to be determined. So, with all of that, there really is no telling when she’ll decide to wake up.”
I hear Nicky, gasp, then I hear sniffles. She’s definitely crying all over again. Sadness washes over me.
“So, what now?” she mutters brokenly.
“Now, we wait and monitor her recovery,” the doctor says soothingly. “I have to say though, I’m pleased with her vitals for the past twenty-four hours. Her heart is beating strong. We took out the tube that was helping her breathe and now, she’s breathing on her own. She beat the infection in her lungs which effectively shut down the threat of pneumonia.”
“Yes, about that,” Nicky starts, her voice hard now. “Why is that? How could she get pneumonia? The place they found her at was burning down when the emergency services go there.”
I shiver at the reason behind it. I honestly don’t want her to know, but I have no control right now.
“Ma’am, have the police talked to you yet?”
“I—”
“No, the police are doing their investigation,” a new voice steps in and I tense up all over again. “We just got a summary.”
“Well, from what we understand, your daughter was put in an industrial freezer for hours.”
“Oh my God,” Nicky cries.
Shocked silence falls over the room. Ugly and painful images start flashing in my head as I remember the darkness, the water dripping close to my head, the smell of blood, the excruciating pain…
“We, uh, we managed to regulate her body temperature as soon as she came in, so that helped because she suffered a bit of frostbite and there was a risk of hypothermia. As you may know, in severe cases, when nerve endings are extremely affected due to the cold temperatures and this much blood loss, the immediate thing to do would have to be to amputate.”
Gasp.
“But we didn’t have to do that with Mia and honestly, the fire department have all agreed that it’s a miracle that she wasn’t burned at all when they were surrounded by a blazing fire. In fact, Mia didn’t inhale any smoke. Thank God for Julian Fitzgerald.”
My poor heart starts pounding with renewed vigor as those words sink into my soul.
Julian saved me.
He came for me and fought for me.
If it wasn’t for him, I don’t know where I’d be now…
There’s silence, broken only by the sound of sobbing.
“What else happened to her?” Nicky demands.
“Well, uh, the police are right outside,” the doctor says hesitantly. “I think it’s best if they—”
“Oh, for God’s sake don’t elongate my suffering! Just tell me, please doctor.”