It's been days since I cried to Uncle Dave and today is the day I get to go home. I was questioned by the police the day after Ryder and the boys visited since I was too tired to stay awake that day. It was a process that I did not want to repeat so I left everything else to Uncle Dave. I was beyond relieved that I was finally being discharged because I was starting to feel suffocated with Uncle Dave and Mary hovering all the time. I think they expected me to break down at anytime or harm myself.
I sighed.
I know that they had good reasons to be concerned since even I knew that I wasn't okay. I'm not going to deny it. Every single time I wake up, I just wished I could go back to sleep but at the same time, I was scared to go back to sleep and face the neverending nightmare that kept occuring. The number of times I've screamed in my sleep could not be counted with just my two hands.
I got so much shit to deal with it, it ain't even funny. I'm tired but I can't sleep. I want to move but I can't, due to my injuries. I want to sing and distract myself from my problems but my throat is sore and didn't have a chance of fully healing due to my constant nightmares. All the problems that kept adding up was already starting to completely overwhelm me, which caused me to feel a bit claustrophobic in this cold hospital room. I just want to get out and feel a bit normal before I go insane and actually kill myself in the process.
"Sweetie, let's get you changed so we can leave." My thoughts were cut off by Mary's voice as she walked into the room.
I turned towards Mary's voice and sighed in relief. "We can go now? Really?"
"Mhm, Dave is currently signing the release forms. By the time we are done here, we should be able to leave and go home."
"Finally. I'm getting sick and tired of the hospital food."
Mary paused. "Excuse me, young lady but the only 'hospital food' that you've been eating were my home cooked meals that I bring here everyday. Are you saying you're tired of my cooking?"
I thought about it longer than I should have and laughed when she lightly pinched my cheek. "I'm tired of your soup, just the soup."
Mary hummed in response and I smiled.
I quickly got changed with Mary's help and we exited the room.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold it there, missy."
I sighed heavily at the sound of Uncle Dave's voice a few feet away from us. "What is it now, Uncle Dave? Can't we leave now?"
"Yes, yes you can but you need to be in the wheelchair. You don't expect us to be your support the whole time, do you?"
"Yes, actually I do. Don't you miss carrying me?" I asked, jokingly.
He snorted. "Yes, when you were little but now, I don't think I could carry your heavy butt. So hurry up and get your ass on this wheelchair or we're not leaving."
I paused, then I turned to Mary. "Can he do this? Isn't there a law written somewhere about not being allowed to force someone to do things against their will?"
"There is when it's harassment or something related to that but since this is for your health and well-being, it doesn't count." Uncle Dave happily stated.
I groaned and reluctantly settled myself into the surprisingly comfy wheelchair. I covered my face as I felt myself being wheeled forward and inwardly cursed. This is so damn embarrassing and a total insult to my pride. Not because people might be staring but mainly due to the fact that I know this idiot uncle of mine is having a field day pushing me around like I'm some invalid. Ugh, someone knock me out please.
I was too busy grumbling to myself when I finally noticed that Uncle Dave was talking with someone and that I was no longer being pushed.
"Just make sure she doesn't do any strenuous activities for at least a month and has plenty of rest. Have they given you her prescriptions?" The doctor asked.
"Yes, they have. We are about to pick them up now."
"Okay, I would like to advice you to be in charge of her medications. Make sure she takes them on time."
I furrowed my brows in confusion. Which medications? Does he think I'm too stupid to take my own meds?
"Yeah, don't worry about it, doc. Thank you for everything these past few weeks."
"No problem, I'm glad to be of help. If you have any questions or concerns later on, just call and ask for me."
They quickly finished their talk and I was once again pushed forward.
"What medication was he talking about? You do know I don't appreciate being treated like a child, right?"
"Yeah, well you deserve being treated like one with all the trouble you get yourself into. Don't think you're off the hook just because you're severely injured. Once you're fully healed, you are grounded until I say you're not grounded."
I gasped. "What? No, that's not fair! Mary!"
I quickly turned to Mary, who was walking at my right side and she chuckled. "Sorry, sweetie but I'm on his side and there is nothing you can say that'll change our mind."
I groaned and whined about the unfairness of it all before we finally got seated into the car.
It took about twenty minutes to finally reach home and I couldn't have been happier. I was so close to kissing the ground I stood on with how happy I was feeling to finally be back home.
"Okay, kiddo. Come on." Uncle Dave carefully held me as he led me to my room.
"Uncle Dave," I protested. "I can-"
"Please don't argue with me, Ava."
I stopped at the tone of his voice.
"You're lucky I was able to last this long without completely losing it. Do you know how scared we were when we couldn't find you? What if we didn't find you in time? Do you really not know how important you are to me and to Mary? I know that we're being a bit overprotective but it just can't be helped."
I listened to him as he guided me through the door and placed me on my bed.
He sat beside me and gently stroked my head. "You may not be my daughter by blood but I sure as hell think of you as my own. I'd break every law if that's what it takes to find you. There's nothing I wouldn't do to keep you safe."
I gave him a small smile. "I know. I don't know if I've said this but thank you. I know it wasn't easy taking care of me but you still did your best and I'll never be able to repay you for everything you've done for me. You may not be my dad and you can't replace him, but I have a lot of space in my heart to accept you as my second dad. I always thought of you as my father figure, even though I never call you Dad. I'm sorry that I made you and Mary worry. I'm sorry I always find trouble. I'm just... I'm sorry."
He carefully gathered me into his arms and I finally realized I was crying once again. "You're forgiven but if you ever do this again, you won't just be grounded. You will be locked up until the age of 40."
I chuckled, ignoring the sharp pain from my ribs. "Yes, sir."
He pulled back. "So for now, just bear with us okay? We'll try not to suffocate you with our attention but you have to give us time."
I nodded. "Just don't treat me like I'm broken, okay? I need... I just need a bit of normal back into my life or I'll lose my mind."
He laughed. "I'm sorry but that's kind of hard to do since I'm pretty sure you've been broken since birth. I've been trying to fix you to be like a normal human gi- ow!"
I scowled at him after pinching his waist. "You deserved it."
"Hmph! If you weren't injured, I'd push you off the bed." He said, childishly.
I shook my head. "Okay, get out. I need sleep."
"How rude! Fine, I'm out!" He huffed as he dramatically walked out.
I smiled widely as I shook my head at his silliness. Thank you, Uncle Dave, for always being able to make me smile.
Now that I'm finally back home, I felt a sense of security as I laid on my bed. This is exactly what I needed. The smell of home and the feeling of warmth that comes with it. For the first time in what felt like forever, I was able to easily fall asleep.