Jade saw grey.

Grey ceiling.

Grey walls.

Grey curtains.

Gray blankets.

She shifted she head to the side, feeling a tickle up her nose, she lifted a hand to search what had caused the feeling, only to find IV's hooked into her hand and the crook of her elbow.

She reached the rest of the way up and felt the tubes in her nostrils. She scrunched her nose and breathed out. She let out a short cough and turned her head up to see the monitors she had been hooked up to. Her heart rate was beeping steadily. .

She licked her dry and cracked lips and let out a breath. When she turned her head the other direction she saw her grandmother resting in the chair in the corner of the room. She smiled weakly and blinked.

She attempted to sit up but felt a strong hand gently press on her right shoulder. "I wouldn't. "

She gasped, jumping in fear, then wincing as pain spread through her body. She opened her eyes again to see a man standing beside her bed. She reached up and pulled the tubes from her nostrils, shivering as she did so; the weird feeling sending chills down her spine.

A well built man wearing jeans and a tight black t-shirt that hugged his body; noticeable muscles lining his arms and chest stood beside her. The man was obviously well fit.

She opened her mouth to speak but it came out as a rasp. She closed her mouth and tried clearing her throat but it did nothing.

The mystery man reached over, Jade felt herself lean back away from him as he reached back towards her.

In his hand a cup of water.

She made an "oh" with her mouth and carefully  grasped the cup in her shaky hands. The man scoffed and sat back down, one leg crossed over his other knee and arms crossed over his chest.

She glanced at the water before carefully brining it up some and sniffing it lightly.

"It's not poisoned. Drink. " He spoke again, gruffly.

She took a sip before feeling the cool sensation go down her dry throat. She sighed and gulped the rest down in seconds. "Easy kid, it ain't going no where. "

He said. She wiped her mouth and shrunk back into the pillows. "Thank-you. "

He hummed. Leaning back, arms still crossed. "How are you feeling? "

He had quietly asked.

"Well, I hurt. Everywhere. What uh- what happened to me? " He hummed again, seemingly ignoring her question. She glanced back at her grandmother when the old woman shifted.

"How long has she been here? " Jade asked.

"The whole time you were here. " He replied. Jade rolled her eyes and looked at him again.

"And how long was that? "

"Four days. "

Jades eyes widened. She faintly heard the heart rate monitor speed up, but she vaguely registered it in her mind. "What?! Why have I been here four days! "

"Relax. Just, chill out. What do you remember? " The man leaned forward, elbows on his knees.

"I remember- " She paused, staring at her hands, folded in her lap.

"I remember nothing... I- why am I here? What happened to me? And who are you? " 

The man didn't respond, but he looked strangely relieved. She lifted her head up more. "Who are you? "

She asked again.

There was an awkward silence.

"Jade bug? "

The teenage girl moved slightly as her grandmother made her way up out of the corner chair and to her bed side. The older woman leaned against it and took her hand in hers.

"Jade! Oh my dear grandchild you're awake. Are you ok? How are you feeling? Do you need anything? "
The woman said all in one breath.

Jade smiled lightly. "Grandma I'm ok, I just- what happened? "

Her grandmothers smile faded. "Jade, you were in a bad car accident. Do you remember anything before that? "

Jade looked at her hands again, brows burrowed, brain working over load. "I- "

She winced, a headache forming. Ann squeezed her arm gently. "Don't stress about it, bug. You had been in a car accident with Sam and- "

"Sam?! Is he ok? " Jade perked up.

"Sam is fine, he's at home. I forced him to go home after day two. He wouldn't leave your side. " Ann said as her and the mystery man shared a look.

"That's good. But who's he? I tried asking but he doesn't like talking much, I guess. " Jade asked, motioning towards the man with a blank face. Ann sighed.

"This is Ron. Think of him as our new helper around here. He's going to protect us, and help where he can around here. He's- well he's an old friend of the family and he'll be staying here for quite some time" Ann explained. The mystery man, now known as Ron, grunted.

"Protect us? Why do we need protection? " Jade asked.

"Well, there's some crazy things going on in this world right now and you can never be too careful. " Ann said softly, patting her hand.

"So yes like our butler now? " Jade smirked evilly when the man glared at her. Ann chuckled.

"I'm going to go get the nurse. " Ann said, standing and walking slowly out the door. Ron hadn't moved a muscle.

"So.. you'll be sticking around for awhile I take it? "

He grunted.

"Okay... " Jade mumbled, rolling her eyes. She glanced around the room, sitting up some, wincing as she did so.

She felt a pillow go behind her back, and watched as Ron moved back to his seat. "Thanks.. "

She moved the blanket aside and looked at her legs. One had been wrapped in bandage and held a black brace around her thigh that travelled below her knee.

"Damn. "

"What? " Ron asked.

"This. " She said motioning to her knee. "It sucks. "

"Well. You had torn your acl in the crash. You were lucky the leg wasn't broken. It was- " He paused, looking at the floor.

A male doctor walked in at that moment and finished that sentence. "Your leg was badly damaged in the crash. It was crushed beneath the back door, the metal had been smashed in and bent towards your leg, crushing it pretty badly and remained that way for some time until you were removed from the vehicle. Unfortunately you had not been wearing a seat belt, causing further injury to your head, explaining why you had been unconscious for four days, you had quite the bump to the head. Several stitches to the arm, forehead and leg, a torn acl and a broken ankle, you're lucky that's all you have. "

He set a clipboard down and began taking note of Jade's vital signs. "How'd it happen? And how did Sam get out unscathed? Not that it's a bad thing. "

The man chuckled. "No one said your friend came out unscathed. He had his fair share of injuries from this incident. Though you certainly suffered worse. "

"Who was driving? "

"We we're hoping you'd be able to tell us. " Ratchet said. She shook her head.

"Sam doesn't remember either? "

"No. " Ron said from the corner.

"Well who's car did we wreck? Oh man was it my truck?! " Ron snorted.

"No Jade bug it wasn't the truck, you two had been in Sam's car, assumingely on your way to the diner you always go to. "

"Oh... so why was I in the back? Was Mikaela there too, is she hurt- "

The older man interrupted. "Why don't we take a break from the questions for now. If we stress the brain too much it'll cause you a headache. "

"Right... " Jade shrugged, questions running through her head.

"Oh and Thanks uh... Dr..? "

"Ratchet, Dr. Ratchet. " He introduced. Jade snorted, in the corner of her eyes she noticed Ron flash a smirk. The doctor rolled his eyes and continued his exam.

"I'll have some medications drawn up for you, and you'll be able to go home tomorrow. "

Ann smiled. "Thank you Doctor. "

He nodded m, giving her grandma a knowing look before slipping out of the room. Jade smiled lightly.

"Ratchet's a funny name. "

Ann scolded her with a small smile herself. "Don't make joke of other peoples names. Especially your doctors. He's the one who saved your life. " Ann mentioned.

"What do you mean? " Ron shared a dark look to his face. Ann sighed, sitting back down.

"Jade, you actually died.... Twice on the way to the hospital. Your heart stopped. It was Dr. Ratchet who was able to save you. "

Jade felt her head spin. She gripped it lightly, her hair falling gently into her face. Ron took that moment to grasp her shoulder.

"Take it easy kid. Breathe. "

Jade nodded, and swallowed hard. Ann watched the scene from behind Ron, a sense of security knowing they'd be safe now. And that Jade doesn't remember a thing from before the so called 'accident'.

The second she saw Jade being taken away from Sam's home that night, she knew what was happening. She called upon the truck sitting in their driveway, and demanded it do something to get her grand daughter back, to save her like they hadn't been able to Jade's parents.

That's it folks, 1533 words 👋🏼