03

                                    

                                          
Lucas' POV
I woke up some time later that night in a hospital bed, dazed and confused. The lights overhead threatened to burn my retinas as I winced in pain.
"Lucas?" A voice called my name, and I couldn't quite place it through the confusion.
"Mom?" I wondered.
"No... it's uh... Xander." I followed the sound of his voice and found him seated beside me in the emergency room.
I let out an awful groan.
"Hi, Lucas." The nurse approached with a chart, or whatever. "I'm Mandy, how are you feeling?"
"Like I've been run over by a Mack truck." I answered.
"Right, well everything seems good. There's no concussion, but there is some bruising on the ribs, you may want to ice that and rest up for a few days. Otherwise, you should feel fine in a no more than a week." Nurse Mandy explained.
"Cool." Was my response.
"Is there a parent that can come and pick you up?" She asked.
"I can drive him." Xander offered.
"Right, well, since he is a minor, we will need a parent or legal guardian to cover the bill." She says.
This is why I didn't want to go to a hospital.
"My mom's out of town." I told her with a frown, attempting to sit upright.
"That's okay, we'll just mail the bill." She said.
"So I can go?" I wondered.
"Yes, but please take it easy." She answered me.
"What about the person who did this to him?" Xander asked in a vicious tone of voice.
I grimaced at the memory of Bryson beating the crap out of me.
"That's a separate matter," Nurse Mandy stated. "I would suggest going to the police to file a report."
"Thanks." I tried to smile but my face was aching so bad that I my smile turned into a grimace.
As the nurse excused herself, I throw the covers off of my body and attempt to get out of the bed.
"Here, let me help." Xander offered, helping me get out of the bed.
I didn't even realise that I was wearing a hospital robe, or that my bare chest was sticking out. "Where's my shirt?" I wondered.
"It's here." He says, holding it out for me to take.
I felt weird about the fact that I was stripped whilst unconscious, but I guess that is part of the job description in being a nurse.
After switching the robe for my shirt, Xander helped me exit the hospital and sat me down in the passenger side of his dinged up muscle car—a mustang, to be exact. 
"Okay, the police station is just a few blocks away, so we can stop there on the way to your place." Xander says as he gets into the driver's side.
"No." I told him. "Please just take me home."
"But—"
"Please." I practically begged. Well, as much as I could with my current situation.
He let out frustrated sigh before starting the car in defeat.
The drive was awkward, silent and painful with every bump in the road. Every now and then I caught him looking over at me, as if he was worried I would drop dead in his car or something like that, it was weird.