Thea slept for most of the day. She really woke up around dinner time and came downstairs while Nikki and I were eating pizza. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I felt her hand on my shoulder.
"Did you save me any?" Thea asked and came around the couch to sit next to me. Nikki flipped open the box lid to reveal the remaining slices and Thea smiled.
"What do you want to drink?" I asked and stood from the couch to get whatever she needed.
"A beer would be wonderful right now." Thea said and dived into the piece of pizza. Though I don't think it's best idea for Thea to be drinking right now, I came back to the couch with three beers to replace the ones Nikki and I already emptied.
Nikki turned on the TV on and she settled on watching Pitch Perfect. As the movie continued on I was so tense to find out what happened with Thea that my nerves felt fried. I squeezed my bottle so tight in my hand that I'm surprised it didn't shatter. After Nikki finished her beer she stood from the couch and cleared up the coffee table.
"I'm going to head up for the night, if you need anything let me know. I'm glad you're okay Thea." Nikki said when she re-entered the living room. As she walked towards the stairs she bent down and kissed Thea's head and made her way upstairs.
"You want to talk about what happened?" I asked after I heard Nikki shut her door.
"Not really but I know you won't be able to sleep until you know." Thea said and looked at me.
"Guilty." I said and looked down at my nails.
"Can you get me another beer and I'll talk about it?" Thea asked quietly.
I almost sprang off the couch at her request. When I sat back down on the couch with the fresh beers I took Thea in and sighed. From where I'm sitting on the couch it looks like nothing is wrong. But once Thea turned her head to face me I could see the dark blue and purple bruise on her temple.
"We cleared the house and recovered the people we had warrants for a long with so much drugs I'm surprised I didn't catch a second hand high from just walking through the building. The perp I detained struggled against me when I placed him in handcuffs. They weren't tight enough and he slipped out of the cuffs.
"Once we got outside he pushed me so hard I went flying. I wasn't expecting it so I couldn't brace my fall which led to some of the scrapes. I got my bearings quickly and got up to chase after him. I tried to tackle him but missed his shoulders and caught his waistband. It didn't take him down. He turned and punched me hard in the head but I dropped his waistband and grabbed onto his calf. After he punched me he dragged me along the ground which caused the rest of the scrapes up my arm as it got caught under me.
"I don't know how but I caught a second wind grabbed his belt again and managed to pull him down. I got in a good punch and then so did he. Somewhere during it all I must had radioed for backup because the next thing I knew three of the gang unit guys showed up and detained him. The rest of it was kind of a blur when more guys showed up. Someone ripped my vest off and carried me into the waiting ambulance. I really don't know how I'm not concussed if I'm being honest." Thea said.
I let her story sit for a minute and felt the tension leave my body. I drank a majority of my beer and put the bottle down on the coffee table before moving closer to her. I rubbed her cheek before moving my hand to the back of her neck and pulled at the baby hairs there. Our faces got closer and closer and I leaned in and gave her a kiss. I wanted her to know that I'm happy she is okay and I'm hoping this kiss will show that.
When I pulled away from her lips I kissed her forehead and pulled her into my chest. I ran my hand up and her back and sighed.
"I really don't want to get another phone call like that. Once was enough." I said trying not to cry.
"I know, I really didn't want to call you but they wouldn't release me unless it was into someone's care." Thea said.
"How about we get some sleep?" I asked wanting this day to end.
"That sounds good to me." Thea said and sighed.
I got up off the couch and cleaned up the remaining things on the coffee table before returning to the living room. Thea shut off the TV and stood from the couch. We walked up the stairs and I went to the bathroom to freshen up. When I returned Thea was already in bed with her arm propped on a pillow.
Sleep came quick that night without a nightmare. The shock of the day made me exhausted and I'm happy to have Thea alive sleeping next to me. When I woke up Thea was still asleep and I rubbed my head. I almost thought everything that happened yesterday was a dream until I looked over at Thea and saw her arm in a sling. I sighed and leaned over to give her a kiss on her forehead before getting out of bed.
I took my phone off the nightstand and saw it's flooded with messages. Most were from Thea's friends wanting an update and I had a few from Alyssa. I walked downstairs and started to get the coffee going and sat at the table and answered Alyssa. Apparently Nikki told everybody about Thea and they all wanted to get on an earlier flight and come and see her but I defused that quick because I didn't need them to hover over her.
Just as the coffee finished I heard footsteps come down the hall and I peeked my head out to find Nikki come into the kitchen.
"So what happened?" Nikki asked and stole a sip of my coffee.
"Go make your own." I said and took the coffee back from her.
"Rude, seriously what happened to Thea?" Nikki asked. I gave Nikki the cliff notes version as I made her a cup of coffee. Once I was done I heard footsteps come down the hall and Thea appeared a few seconds later. I made Thea a cup of coffee as well and grabbed some of the supplies from the coffee table to change the bandages on Thea's arm.
"I wanted to shower before you reapplied that stuff. We could just take the bandages off for now and let it breath and reapply after." Thea said and took a sip from her mug.
"Sounds like a plan. It might hurt though to peal the tape off." I said and looked at her.
"One at a time then." Thea said and drank some more of her coffee.
"Pancakes or eggs?" Nikki called from behind us at the kitchen island.
"Pancakes Nikki, last time you made eggs I almost had to call the fire department." I said and pulled up the kitchen chair next to Thea. Carefully I helped Thea take her arm out of the sling and I placed it on an empty chair.
"Good point." Nikki said and I heard Thea chuckle.
"Ready?" I asked looking at Thea.
"When you are babe." Thea said looking at her arm.
With one last brave look I started to peel away the medical tape holding the bandages in place. One after another until I was able to remove the first bandage. What I found underneath was actually kind of gross. I continued down Thea's arm and when the last bandage came off I had no interest in eating.
Nikki placed a plate of pancakes down on the table along with some plates and I watched Thea dig into them. I had a few to put something in my stomach and when I was done Thea and I went upstairs to get her cleaned up. After a few minutes struggling we were able to get her shirt off. Her sports bra was worse and in the end Thea just asked me to cut it off. After it was gone the rest was easy. Thea worked on unwrapping her hand while I started the water and undressed myself.
The shower was definitely an experience. Water went everywhere and I'm happy that the shower stall is completely enclosed. I tried to make it better by joking about the situation but Thea wasn't in the best of moods. Hopefully over the next couple of days her wounds will heal up a bit more to make showering easier.
Drying her off was more enjoyable then the shower. Sitting Thea on the toilet I carefully and gently ran the fluffy towel all around her body soaking up the water. I used the blow drier on her hair a little bit to dry most of the water up. Thea's usual sports bra was replaced with a real bra to make it easier to put on and I'm glad I grabbed it.
Once her top half was covered we moved to my room and I planted her on my bed. I took my time wrapping her hand up to make sure it wasn't too tight but tight enough for her not to move her wrist. After her hand was wrapped Thea finished getting dressed while I got dressed myself.
During the first few weeks of meeting Thea, she took such great care of me and I wanted to return the favor. While I was coping with my situation, Thea handled me with such patience and never pushed and she just knew everything I needed without voicing my thoughts. As I got more stable, Thea backed off but was always there with her gentle hands to pick me right back up when I needed it. Now it's my turn to be those hands for her.
Freshly dressed, Thea and I went back downstairs and found Nikki sitting on the couch plucking at her guitar. Thea took a seat on the couch while I went to the kitchen to retrieve her sling. I also grabbed the Advil and bottles of water before sitting on the coffee table.
"Do you want something for pain before I start?" I asked as I watched Thea scroll through her phone.
"That's probably a good idea." Thea said and sighed. I handed her the pills and some water before pulling on disposable gloves.
"What song is that?" Thea asked as I started to apply the ointment to the top of her upper arm.
"A new one your lover wrote for you last week. She pulled an all-nighter for this one so you better like it." Nikki said and I rolled my eyes trying to hid my blush.
All of a sudden I felt Thea's hand underneath my chin and lifted it to meet her eyes. When our eyes locked I tried to hide my embarrassment but her eyes soften. Thea leaned in and pressed her lips to mine. The kiss wasn't long but the love in it made me ache for more. When I pulled away I kissed her forehead and went back to rubbing the ointment into her wounds. Once they were all covered Nikki lended me a hand with the bandages. She cut everything up for me and I stuck them on her skin.
After everything was covered I threw out the garbage and grabbed some ice for my girl. When I returned Nikki was helping Thea put her sling back on and I gave her the ice before walking upstairs to get my guitar. I got myself situated standing in front of the fire place with Nikki standing beside me.
"This song is special for me and I hope you like it because it wouldn't let me sleep until I finished writing it. It's called Strong." I said and smiled.
I counted us in and started to play. Thea makes me strong. Her love makes me strong and I wanted to write something for her about that. I was talking to Halsey last week about the upcoming tour and she mentioned how strong our relationship is in the short amount of time we have known each other and the idea was sparked instantly. The song didn't take too long to write with Nikki helping me through it. For once it actually helped having Diego on the west coast because he was still awake when I needed some help with the drums.
I couldn't help the smile on my face I sang through the song. Nikki and I vibed through the song and I kind of wish that Thea and I had the moment alone. When I looked over to my girl I found her with hungry eyes. Her mouth parted and I wish I could feel her tongue run all over my body. But with her current condition and my house guest that was out of the cards right now.
When I finished playing the song Nikki was giddy and walked over to the little table I have by the stairs and grabbed something. When I watched her a little bit closer I realized it was her phone. No doubt she is going to be sending that to everyone. I took my guitar off and placed it on the floor before walking over to the couch to sitting next to Thea. I pulled the ice off her head and cupped her cheek.
"You make me so strong and I'm not always the best with my words but I want you to know that you have my heart." I said and gave her a smile.
"When I realized I came up short tackling the perp, you were the only thought going through my head. The thought of coming home to you gave me the strength to make the tackle and get him under control. You keep me strong Ashlyn." Thea said in a soft voice. The vulnerability in her statement through me for a loop and I watched the tears start to form in her eyes.
"I was scared that that might have been my last few moments on this earth. The thought of you and you only gave me the strength to push through it until backup arrived." Thea said and a tear escaped her eye.
Carefully I pulled her into my arms and held her close as she cried. This was the first time she has ever broken down in my arms. There were times when Thea cried in front of me but this was something else. The desperation of Thea grabbing at the back of my shirt and wringing her fingers into it had me wishing I could crush Thea into my arms. Somewhere in the back of my mind I remembered to be delicate and just held her close.
I wish I could take this pain away from her, absorb it through my hands and have her go back to her normal happy content self. But for the moment I just held her close. Thea rested her head in the crock of my neck and I ran my hand through her damp hair to try and calm her down.
I started to hum a lullaby and run my other hand up and down her back. A few minutes went by and I could feel Thea's hand start to loosen its grip on my shirt. The tension in her back started to easy and shortly Thea pulled her head out of my neck and I wiped away the few stray tears.
"You're okay." I said and kissed her forehead.
"You make me strong Ashlyn." Thea said.
I gave Thea a loving kiss. After we pulled away from each other I laid down on the couch and pulled Thea to lay down on top of me. I wrapped my arm around Thea's stomach holding her close and handed her the TV remote to put something on. When Thea started opening up Nikki quietly left the living room to give us a moment alone. So I sent her a text saying it was okay for her to return as Thea pick to watch the Disney movie Hercules.
Nikki ran down the stairs a few minutes later when the opening song started to play. She almost tripped on the carpet as she jumped onto the armchair. Absentmindedly I lifted Thea's shirt and found the soft skin of her stomach and started to rub my thumb along the waistband of her shorts as I caught up on the text messages I've been ignoring.
Shortly into the movie I put my phone down and started to sing along with Thea and Nikki to all the songs. The break down forgotten as I kept my girlfriend close for the remainder of the day.
a/n: Poor baby Thea. Song mentioned in the chapter and that is above is Strong by One Direction.