Chasing Chastity (Now on Radish)

Chapter 11

Every day I had visitors, some new, some the same. But I was never truly alone. Peyton came every day, mostly after work. The first week that I was here, he stayed all day and all night. Maddie and Mo had to fight with the hospital staff to even allow him visiting access. Gracelyn and Derek came every so often. She's got bigger and bigger by the day. She and Peyton sometimes cried, and it made me so sad. I just want to tell them I'm alright. I just want to be with my family.

Much to Maddie's chagrin, Natalie came and visit. From what she had told me, Robert sustained a few broken bones and a concussion from the accident. Natalie all but begged for time to visit. She normally came alone, but for some reason, Robert came with her one day. Robert took my hand; his grip was hard. It was like he wanted to rip it from me and take it with him. When he Robert moved to leave, Natalie began to cry. She told me that she'd be back tomorrow, but Robert had other plans.

"We will not return; she needs us to let her to move on." Robert snapped, grabbing Natalie's arm. Natalie refused him, pulling away from his grasp.

"I'll be out in a minute," She growled, throwing him a glare.

"Suit yourself," Robert grumbled as he stalked out.

Natalie knelt by my bed, and began to talk to me.

"I know you're in there, you just can't do anything just yet. This happened to your uncle. It was the hardest day of Roberts life, of all of our lives. But you are so strong, and no matter what, you will wake up, I know you will, you just have to hold on. There are a lot of people here who love you, who want to see you live a beautiful life.

"I want you to know that I love you. Robert only wants you to fight the guilt he has and make himself believe that he is a good person. He still feels a tremendous amount of guilt from the loss of his children, Chastity. Robert is a very, very...weak person, he's so insecure. He won't get custody of you, I'll make sure of it; and, I will return. I don't care how far it pushes me from Robert, you are very important and I love you. Please, please allow me to visit and be a part of your life?"

I wanted to smile so badly, to squeeze her hand in my own and nod happily. Instead, all I could focus on was my hand. I tried to squeeze gently, putting all my energy into one finger. With Natalie's hand clasped around it; I twitch my fingers slowly and methodically. She smiled and nodded, acknowledging my effort to connect to her.

"Good job, Chastity. I'm proud of you, keep practicing. I love you." Natalie stood to leave, pulling something from her bag and tucked it into my bed covers.

"Your mother wanted you to have this," she murmured a smile. Before she turned, I turn the corners my mouth upward. Nancy smiled at my attempt and game me a kiss on the cheek before she left.

Nearly another week went by, and I practiced twitching the different muscles in my body, quickly finding some muscles are easier to move than others. Talking will become a challenge, but it is one that I am not ready for yet. My fingers and eyes were the easiest to move. On a good day, I could almost open my eyes.

When I finally tired myself out, I drifted off in search of sleep. It would not come easily. There's too much excitement jumping and turning through my head. While I was falling asleep, Peyton slipped into the room. He occupied the chair closest to my bed and took my hand. I felt a resurgence of energy when he touched my hand, like he wanted me to try again. Summoning all my strength, I made my eyelids twitch. When Peyton noticed my movements, he jumped in shock.

"Did she move?" He exclaimed, moving towards the door of my room. He called for my family and a nurse immediately. I think he was watching too much Grey's Anatomy.

"Maddie, Mo! Get in here!" He yelled, probably earning dirty glares from the nurses.

"Why? What's wrong?" Maddie spun around the corner her face white. She rushed to my bed, grabbing my hand. The rest of my family filed into the room, crowded around the bed as Peyton grabbed my hand fiercely. Maurice pushes his way next to Maddie, taking both our hands in his. He was fighting the urge to cry, to be brave for his family.

"What is it," his voice shook and another tear escaped.

"She's awake!" Peyton exclaimed, his voice filled with hope and excitement.

"What?" My parents asked in unison. They were told I was probably never going to wake up. I was proving those damned doctors wrong.

"Peyton, Chastity—" Maurice started.

"Baby," Peyton called, his voice filled with pain.

"Chaz, come on. I know you can do this." Will called over Peyton.

"Peyton honey, we know how much you've been through, we all have but...she's not awake." Maddie replied softly, tears streamed down her face. I had put her through two weeks of hell, and no more. I wouldn't cause her pain anymore. I felt my cheeks dampen from my own tears. I felt Maurice brush his fingers over my cheeks, applying gentle pressure to my cheek bones.

"Chastity, baby, I know you're tired, but, please, you can do it." Peyton whispered to me. My family glanced at him, then brought their gaze back to me. I forced my eyes to open this time. The normally loud and rambunctious family was shocked; an unnatural silence had fallen over them. My eyes followed Peyton's movements, watching as he pressed the call button on my bed. The nurse rushes in, behind my doctor. The throng of people melt away and I faced my doctor. He shined a light in my eye, causing me to wince. His sigh of relief filled me with happiness.

"She's going to live."

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Hello Lovelies!

New Update!!! The second part, while heavily edited, is done by @grumpyoldlibrarian and I wanted to finally address her work after so long. I will post her original half of the chapter after the completion of the book.

The next update of the book will be Feb 15th. Stay tuned on Radish and I will try to keep up with regular updates.

Lots of Love,

DoctorWho