~*~Zacky's POV~*~

It had been three days since Emily had gotten attacked, and she still hadn't woken up. The doctors said it would take a few days, but it still worried me.

I looked over at her sleeping body, glancing at all the machines connected to her. I didn't like it one bit.

At the moment, Matt and I were the only ones in the room. Everyone else went to go get food. We had been making a bit of small talk, but he knew I wasn't going to be talkative.

"Zee, man, you gotta get some rest," Matt spoke up, looking over at me. "You look exhausted."

Which was only the more polite version of Go to sleep, you look like shit.

I knew he was right, though. I hadn't left her room since she arrived here, until the staff forced me to, of course, and even then I couldn't sleep. And I wouldn't do so until she woke up.

"I'll sleep when I know she's awake," I muttered. "I can't leave her."

It was silent for a second before he spoke again. "You like her, don't you?" He asked me.

I glanced over at him, nodding after a moment. Of course I did. I had since the night Jimmy and I found her. I just hadn't told anyone.

Matt sighed, giving me a light pat on the back. "Just be careful with her, dude. You know what she's been through." He stood up from the chair, stretching as he did so. "I'm gonna join everyone else in the food joint here, you want anything?"

"Nah, I'm good," I said to him. "Thanks though."

"Let us know if anything changes," he said, walking out the door.

I let out a breath, leaning back in the chair against the wall.

"Please just wake up..."

~*~Emily's POV~*~

Beep. Beep. Beep.

God, my head hurt like a bitch.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

I wished someone would shut off their fucking alarm clock.

My body hurt. I couldn't move. Not that I would know whether I was or not anyways; I couldn't even open my eyes.

This mattress was as uncomfortable as hell. And I was cold. Freezing, even. I heard a TV playing on low volume, it sounded like the news.

"Please just wake up." The words startled me. "Please, Em. I miss you..."

Was that Zacky? Why was he telling me to wake up? What happened?

That stupid beeping was still going on, and it was driving me insane.

It took a great deal of struggling, but I managed to get my eyes open. "Someone shut that thing up," I whispered. Even then, my voice sounded terrible. I needed water.

"Emily?" Zacky said again, jumping out of his chair and hovering over me.

"Hi," I said, a bit louder this time. "Am I dead?"

Zacky shot me a small smile. "No, you're alive, don't worry." He sat back down in the chair he was in, pulling it closer to me. "You're in the hospital, though."

What he said shocked me at first, but it started to make sense. The beeping. The uncomfortable bed, and the fact that I was freezing. The strong smell of disinfectant.

"Hospital?" I repeated after a moment. "What happened?"

"You don't remember?" He asked, sounding worried. I shook my head. "You... Your piece of shit father found you. He attacked you, and you've been in a coma for a couple days."

My face fell, realization setting in.

"Hey, hey, hey. It's fine," Zacky said, realizing I was getting upset. He jumped up and took a seat on the bed, trying his best to comfort me. I had to admit, it must have been difficult, what with all the machines attached to me.

"Sorry," I mumbled. "I just... I wasn't expecting that."

"None of us were," he sighed. "Listen, I'm gonna go get a nurse, and I'm gonna tell everyone you're awake, okay?" I nodded, watching him leave the room for a brief moment.

I just dragged these people into even more shit, I thought. What's wrong with me?

In all honesty, I was still terrified. My father found me once, what if he found me again? What if he was roaming around the hospital now, looking for me? He'd try to come at me again, but this time he'd succeed.

Although, he'd most likely be doing us all a favor at this point.

Everyone returned a few minutes later. This made the room packed - something that startled both the nurse and the doctor. The nurse did a quick run-through, making sure my vitals were okay and asking how much pain I was in. I hurt like a bitch, but I tried to play it off. I just wanted to go home.

"Well good morning, Miss Pinney. Glad to see you're awake," the doctor said, giving me a smile. He seemed nice, which was good. "My name is Dr. Lyons, I've been your physician since you arrived here. How are you feeling?"

"Sore," I mumbled.

"Understandable," he nodded. "You took it like a champ, though."

"There's nothing wrong with me, right?" I asked him. "Like, I don't have some weird brain damage?" I heard Jimmy give a small giggle, but shut up when Johnny punched his arm.

"From the tests we've run so far, no." He looked down at a chart on his clipboard. "But as for physical damage, there is a lot. You have a few broken ribs, some which look as though they were before. Your leg is also fractured. There is some damage to the back of your skull, which caused a severe concussion. And there's a large cut on your forehead that required stitches, along with stitches in other areas as well."

"Well Jesus," I muttered. "So, when can I go home?"

"We want to keep you overnight for observation now that you're awake, just to make sure there's nothing else wrong. If all goes well, you can go home tomorrow," the doctor smiled. He mentioned something about visiting hours being over soon, before walking out the door.

After he left the girls walked up to me, each of them giving me a hug. "I'm glad you're okay," Michelle was the first to say, the rest of them nodding in agreement.

"And I'm glad that son of a bitch is getting locked up," I heard Zacky mutter.

"He is?" I asked, sounding a bit more hopeful than I should have been. Not that I didn't have a reason to.

Brian nodded, speaking up before Zacky did. "Yeah, the cops arrested him as soon as they brought you to the ambulance. They might have to get a statement from you too, though," he said.

We all chatted for a little while longer, before visiting hours ended. Every one of them gave me a hug, promising to be here bright and early in the morning.

Zacky was the last one I hugged, and it lingered a bit longer than everyone else's. It was a good thing they were all outside the room, so they couldn't say anything. "I'll see you in the morning, okay?"

"Alright," I sighed, not wanting him to leave.

"Hey now, don't be sad," he said, giving me a smile. "It's gonna be alright." He pulled away from the hug, slipping on his jacket. It may be California, but the nights get chilly. "Goodnight, Emily."

"Night, Zee," I said to him, smiling. Zacky looked around for a second, most likely to make sure no one was paying attention, before giving me a light kiss on the cheek. He walked out of the room after that, shutting the door behind him.

I leaned back in the hospital bed, trying to get as comfortable as I could to sleep before closing my eyes.

God, I'm in too deep.

Notes

Aaaand that's all I have for now. Working on chapter 11 right now, hopefully it'll be up soon.

Let me know what you all think! xx