The World Awaits Your Smile

"Have you got everything?" John asked. Holly nodded, picking up the bag off the bed, only to have John take it off her. She frowned, and he raised his eyebrow at her, "You're recovering from a car accident, the least I can do is carry your bag." John laughed as Holly nodded in agreement. "Ready to go, now, sweetheart?" he asked.

"Hold on," she started, "I'm just going to go and see my dad, okay?" Holly whispered.

John nodded, "Okay. I'll be at the car. See you soon." he said, kissing her softly on her forehead before leaving the room.

Holly followed shortly after, however she walked to her father's room instead. Quietly knocking on the door, she opened it to be greeted by her cousin, auntie, uncle and dad. "Hi," she whispered, shutting the door behind her.

"Hello, Holly." her uncle said, "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Okay, thank you." she shortly replied, standing awkwardly at the bed. "Can I talk to my dad alone, please?" Holly asked, looking at her family. They nodded and exited the room, not before Justin embraced her in a comforting hug, though. Holly sat down in the chair next to the bed and smiled weakly at her father. "I'm sorry." she said quietly, dropping her head to look at her lap.

"So you should be." her father replied, "You've ruined this family, Holly Rene Richards." he said, bitterness lacing his words.

Holly's chin wobbled as she could feel the tears threatening to fall. "I didn't mean to," she whispered, "I said I'm sorry!"

"Sorry doesn't change things!" her dad said, raising his voice. Holly's vision became blurred as the tears filled up in her eyes,

"Dad," she started, her voice just above a whisper. Her dad shook his head,

"Nothing you can say is going to make this right, Holly. You can stay with John over Christmas, but I'm going home." he said, sternly. Holly shook her head,

"You can't go home! Dad, it's Christmas." she said, her voice cracking here and there while she spoke, "If you're going home, I'm coming with you." she said. Her dad let out a bitter laugh,

"I don't want you to come home with me, Holly," he said. "The whole point of me going home is to get away from you. I can't bare to look at you right now, let alone spend Christmas with you." Holly went to speak, but he cut her off, "Stay here with John and your friends, I wouldn't want to spoil your fun." he spat, coldly. Holly felt the anger raise in her,

"You know, Dad, this isn't all about you," she said, her voice raising. Tears still fell from her eyes, "I've lost my mum and my brother, Gran's lost a grandson and a daughter, Justin's lost a cousin and an auntie, and I'm sure you get the picture. You're not the only one who's suffering here." she said, her voice getting constantly louder. Her father glared at her,

"And you're the cause of all this suffering." he replied. Holly looked down at her hands, playing with her fingers, unable to respond. Her father shook his head, "You know what Holly, just get out." he said, as Holly looked up at him. He pointed to the door, "I'll let you know about funeral arrangements, but other than that, I don't want to talk to you." he finished. Holly stood up, wiping her eyes and making her way over to the door. Before she left the room, she turned around, looking at her dad one last time, to be met by his glare. She didn't say anything more, before turning the door handle and bolting out of the room.

Tears made her vision become unbearable as she ran throughout the hospital, desperately trying to reach the parking lot as fast as she could. Finally, she exited the hospital and wiped away more of her tears as she looked around for John's car. As soon as he saw the state his girlfriend was in, John got out of his car and ran over to her; pulling her immediately into his chest.

"Shh," he cooed, "It's alright. Everything's alright." he reassured. Holly shook her head,

"Nothing's alright," she sobbed, "Everything's the exact opposite of alright, and it's all my fault." she said, sobbing loudly into John's chest. Pushing her away from his chest slightly so he could look her in the eyes, John shook his head.

"Don't ever say that," he said, a stern expression adorning his face, "Don't blame yourself for what's happened. It was an accident." he said, wiping the tears from her cheeks with his thumb. Holly looked down at the floor,

"If I hadn't of tried to reach for my phone, though..." she said. Before she could say anything else, John had put the flat of his hand over her mouth, silencing her. He sighed,

"Stop torturing yourself, Holly," he said. He slowly took his hand away from her mouth and wiped off the spit, on her arm, where she had licked his hand. "You can have your spit back." he joked.

Holly let out a small laugh, before John wrapped his arm around her shoulder. He smiled down at her, "Let's go home and you can get settled in," he started, "How's that sound?" he asked. Holly nodded, smiling back.

"Sounds good to me." she whispered, letting John lead the way to his car.