06

I'm staring at her. 

I'm watching her with a very careful eye, arm propped up on my leg and palm against my cheek while I sit on the hospital bed. I can't look away, it's impossible to do so when I'm worried. I mean, it's not every day you find your mother laying unconscious on the living room floor.

" Your eyes are going to pop out if you keep on staring," my mom teases, but I can't return her humour.

" Stop. I'm fine, I'm okay," she says, the warning clearer in her tone though her features soften at the sight of my worry.

" Until I hear it from the doctor, I won't take any chances," this causes her to sigh and slump in the bed.

Right when I'm about to ask mom about what happened, the doctor enters, holding his doctor's board and file. " Mrs Davies?"

" Miss Davies," my mom corrects, a blush on her cheeks.

 Ooh I think someone is finding a certain blue eyed, dark haired and tall doctor attractive.

" Right, sorry......" He says, moving around and checking in his file, the machine and all that doctor stuff.

" Doctor, is there anything wrong that we should know about?" I ask, getting off the bed.

" No, not really. Miss Davies, has anything been stressing you lately, maybe something happened ?"

Instead of answering, her head is down and she looks a little distracted.

" Mom?" I call her, making sure that she looks at me.

" Huh ?"

" The doctor asked you a question. "

" Oh, uh no not really, just that I've been a little worried about my daughter, who was almost assaulted the first time we moved here, that's all," she says, not meeting my eyes.

I lean forward, resting my hand over hers and giving it a squeeze of comfort. " Mom, it was only that one time and I'm pretty sure it'll never happen again, " I try to reassure her.

" Well I can understand the constant concerns of a parent, but Miss Davies you need to take it easy. Now I'm not assuming anything but....." He pauses, creating a lengthy silent moment. " The level of stress that your body is under, says more than what you're telling me, and I don't want to pry or make you uncomfortable. So I'd just suggest that you take it easy from now on."

" Yes take it easy...." I put emphasise on the words, quirking my brow at her.

" Yeah yeah yeah. Like I said, I'm fine, I'm as strong as an ox."

" Sure you are," I roll my eyes playfully before turning to the doctor, who watcheU us with kind us.

" So doctor, can I take her home?" I ask.

"Not yet.  I'd like to keep her for the night," he trails off, making me frown.

" But I thought ---------- "

" Don't worry , this is just for precaution, nothing more," I nod like I understand, when in reality, I am really worried about my mom.

" Hey sweetheart, do you mind giving the doctor and I a moment alone?"

" Uh yeah sure... I'll be right out," I step out, respecting her request.

Right out, I make way to the waiting room, where I notice Ethan sitting in one of the chairs.

" Ethan?" I call him.

" Hey..." He rises to his feet, hurrying towards me and once in reach, he pulls me to his arms. I welcome his embrace , realising how much I needed him right now.

" How are you doing?" He asks above my head.

I shrug in response, pulling him flush against me and just loving the feeling of being in his arms. After some time, we pull apart and he leads me to the seats.

" Wait, how did you know I was here?" 

" I found out from someone who lives close by, who saw you leave with the ambulance." He explains.

I guess mom and I have been too busy to really take in the move.

" What happened?" He asks.

" After arriving home, while coming from the kitchen, I saw her lying on the floor. I didn't think, I just called the ambulance when I realized that she was not waking up." I finish, looking up at him.

I don't know what is it about Ethan listening to me, that brings a sense of comfort and a reassurance that I am heard, but I appreciate it so much.

" Do they know what ------------- "

" Apparently she's under a lot of stress. I don't even know what could be stressing her out so much. " I let my frustration of not knowing, out.

Another squeeze on my hand, breaks through my thoughts and let's me know that he's still here. " She does tend to over work herself and worry too much, especially concerning you"

" Right!" I agree, now on my feet and pacing up and down. "She needs to take it easy, take care of herself. I must make sure to not stress her at all, yeah," I nod to myself,

" Support, that's what she needs." I nod , taking in his advise .

" I hear you."

" What are you thinking ?" He must have noticed that have gone to my head again.

" I feel that there's more to this, I don't know, maybe I'm trying to find something that's not there. It's just that ever since the move, it's like something has been bothering her," I quickly say,

" It hasn't been long since both of you moved here. A lot happened before that, remember that,"

" Yeah, must be," I trail off, not completely convinced. " Hey, thank you for being here," I mention, placing my palm against his chest and offering a small smile.

" There's no place I'd rather be," he places a kiss on my forehead.

And it is so true, I was not aware about how much I needed him here. so close, with me.

" I think we should check on her." I suggest.

Leaving the waiting room, we head back to my mom's room. I feel a hand on my arm, the moment I am about to open the door. " Why didn't you call me when you needed me?"

" What ?" I ask in confusion.

" Earlier, you had a stranger take you home. Why?"

At first I blink up at him, feeling a little lost about what he is talking about, but when I do understand what he means, I answer. " Because he was there." 

I answered truthfully. I believe that this is the simplest way to explain why I gave Ryan the go ahead to help me. 

Walking closer to my now sleeping mother, not wanting to wake her, I search for something to write on. Finding an abandoned piece of paper and luckily a pen, I make a small note to mom.

Placing a lingering kiss on her forehead, I whisper out the words ' I love you ' to her. 

Leaning back to look at her, I frown once noticing a mark on her neck, one similar to mine.

This has my heart slam against my chest.

Could this bruise be the real cause ?

No, I can't think like that, mom is just stressed.

I move away from the bed, and finally turn to Ethan once I recover from the slight surprise of what I have just seen. He makes me aware that he has been watching me and that makes me a little nervous on whether he noticed or not. 

With a nod, he leads me out by hand, without a word.

The drive home is a silent one indeed, with music playing softly in the background. Through the travel, my thoughts drift back to my mother and the bruise. That bruise alone has fuelled my suspicions. 

I hate questioning or doubting my mom, I mean she hasn't even told me what happened yet. I need to wait for her to mention something.

It's just that after crossing dangerous territory the first time of being in this town, I'm kind of on high alert. 

Gosh, I don't like this feeling.

Arriving home, I let out a sigh and turn to Ethan, so as to thank him for being here, but he gets out of the car instead. I watch him come over to my side and open the door for me.

Frowning, I step out of the car and stand in front of him.

" You should -------- "

" No, I'm not going anywhere, " he says, taking my hand and pulling me towards him.

" You're staying?"

" Yes I'm staying, I won't leave you alone," he says, kissing my knuckles. " Never," he declares.

I nod in appreciation, closing the space and wrapping my arms tightly around his neck.

" Thank you." I say against his neck.

I yelp when I'm suddenly picked up and I have no choice but to wrap my legs around his waist.

" Ethan I can walk....." I say through a fit of giggles, when he starts peppering kisses against my neck.

" Shut up woman and let me take care of you," he says, laughing at me when I squeak after he spanks my butt. 

The first smile of the day makes it's way on my face.