Chapter 29

I felt weak and as if my body was incredibly heavy when I woke up. And I could only remember bits from the past ... two days? I had talked to Pete in the hospital and we had come to his flat and that's when my memory was already limited. But now I was free of the painkiller influence which also resulted in me feeling the immense pain in my head again that I had suffered from right after the accident already. The pain was the only thing that made me get up so I could find Pete and the medication.

I stumbled out of the bedroom and found Pete in the kitchen, it smelled delicious but at the same time, simply because it was a penetrating smell, it made me feel sick. I turend on my heel and tumbled into the bathroom, holding my hair back just in time before I threw up into the toilet that was open, luckily. I heard quick steps and someone holding my hair back for me. I hated that Pete had to see me like this but he had been through it with Ashlee before, he was probably not new to it. "Sorry" I coughed and stood up straight. "I feel like shit." My voice was husky and I tried to stand on my own two feet, tumbling over to the sink and grabbing my toothbrush and my toothpaste that Pete had apparently unpacked. "Give me a minute" I mumbled and Pete put something next to my toothpaste on the sink. "Thanks" I said and brushed my teeth so my breath was minty fresh again, then I took a painkiller and made my way into the kitchen again. Pete had turned off the stove by now and it smelled of food only slightly. I noticed that also all the windows were open now too but before I could even shiver, Pete handed me a hoodie. I noticed it was one of his, the one he had just taken off in fact because he was standing in front of me shirtless. My eyes almost popped out of my head, he looked so good. I was still dizzy and confused but I could surely appreciate Pete not wearing a shirt. I quickly pulled on the hoodie, it smelled so good, it smelled like him.

"How are you?" he asked and led me to the couch where I immediately fell backwards. He smiled and I closed my eyes, smiling too though. "I'm getting better" I said. "I feel much better actually, now that I've slept for so long." There was a rumbling coming from my stomach and Pete grinned. Before I could get up, he already went into the kitchen. "I'll get you something" he said and returned with scrambled eggs, some toast and a cup of tea. "Thank you so much" I said with a warm smile. "Hey, it's the least I can do after getting you in such danger." I shook my head quickly. "Pete, it wasn't your fault. It could've happened to anybody" I assured him, I really didn't want him to beat himself up about it. "After all, we're both fine and Hemingway's fine too." I smiled. He ran his fingers through his hair. "Yeah but it could've been different, Charlie" he sighed. I kissed his cheek and rubbed his arm affectionally. "Hey but it wasn't. Everybody's fine so don't worry. Please don't be mad at yourself, I forgive you." "So you admit that there's something to forgive me for!" I rolled my eyes and laughed, still having a hard time not staring at his chest. "I am not discussing this" I said and tried to focus on my plate.

"What do you wanna do today?" Pete asked to change the subject straight away. "I don't know, when do we have to go the label?" "Whenever you feel like you're capable." I raised my eyebrows. "It's absolutely up to you, we can go if you want." "Yeah but if you're feeling too weak, I don't want to push you to work, it's fine." I shrugged. "It's entirely up to you." He took a deep breath. "Alright, I thought since it's such nice weather, we could see some sights. Do you feel fit enough for that?" "Once I've showered. I feel all down and dirty anyway, I think I need to get ready and get out to make me feel better anyway, you know?" He nodded. "Okay then, take your time. Whenever you're tired, we can still go back here." I nodded too. "Thank you. And also, this is a nice flat" I sat with a smirk. He smiled too. "Thank you."

I finished eating, then disappeared into the bathroom. I tied a plastic bag around my cast and took a long and relaxing shower, washing the blood out of my hair and all the negative feelings and remainings of the accident off my body. When I stepped out of the shower and dried my body, I already felt much better. I wrapped a towel around myself and opened the window. I brushed my hair and let it dry while I brushed my teeth again and did my make-up. It felt good to make an effort again after a few days, I loved that. I put some lotion on my body and changed the band aids, just like the nurse had told me. Some wounds on my head started bleeding again but I stopped it right away. I hoped it would heal soon and not leave scars but for now, I was just happy that not more had happened.

I put on my underwear, dark jeans and a green blouse, then stepped out of the bathroom, my hair almost dry. "Looking good, Miller" Pete said, he was sitting on the couch with his legs resting on the table and watching something on TV. I sat down beside him cross-legged and he muted the TV immediately, looking at me. "Do you feel better?" I smiled and breathed out. "Yeah, I actually do, much better." He smiled back. "I'm glad." "What about you?" I asked. He nodded, pressing his lips together. "Surprisingly good as well." "Great! See, it wasn't that bad." He took a deep breath, obviously not wanting to discuss it again either now. "What about your car?" I asked. He gulped. "Smashed, absolutely nothing to do about it." I raised my eyebrows. "Oh, I'm sorry. Guess we'll have to fly back then" I said even though it scared the hell out of me. Pete put his arm around me. "Hey, no, we'll figure something out, I'm working on it. But we're not getting on a six-hour-flight if it scares you, okay?" I took a deep breath. "Are you sure? It'd be so much easier, I can just knock myself out." "No, Charlie, you have taken enough medication and everything that probably wasn't good for the baby either. Come on. I don't mind." I looked up at him and kissed his cheek. "You're the best." He blushed and directed his attention towards the TV again.

Suddenly, I heard footsteps and Hemingway appeared in the living room, running up to me, waving his tail. He hopped onto my lap and I started stroking him carefully to not mess up any of the bandages. "Hey, survivor" I said and kissed his forehead. Pete watched us and I leaned back, cuddling Hemingway close to me. "When do we have to leave?" I asked Pete. "About an hour, I've booked the ferry for Ellis Island." My eyes widened. "That is amazing!" "Is an hour okay?" "Let me dry my hair and we can leave right now!"

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Quick question: I'd have a lot more ideas to make this more interesting and not like perfect world right away, what's your opinion? Should it come to an end or should some more stuff happen?