Fall From Grace

Two more days passed and Zacky and I found out more about each other. I learned the stories behind his tattoos and about his friends and his band. He learned more about Violet and where we grew up.

We both came to the conclusion that her and Jimmy would be perfect for each other.

I also learned that he had a girlfriend up until three weeks ago, when she left him because he wouldn’t pay any attention to her. I tried my best to comfort him, but I don’t think I did much.

But hey, at least I tried.

He told me he’s been dying to smoke ever since he got in the hospital too. I told him about my stash of cigarettes in my purse and that if we ever got to go outside, I’d give him a few. Violet’s been trying to get me to quit for months now. I’ve tried, but it’s just too damn hard. However, I don’t smoke as much as I used to.

He laughed and is still holding me up to it.

At least we have a bad habit we can both laugh over.

“How are you feeling today Mr. Baker?” The doctor asked, entering the room.

“Better,” Zacky responded, “Still sore.”
“Well you did take quite a fall from what your friends have said,” He chuckled, “How about you Ms. Mullins?” He asked, looking in my direction.

“Okay,” I shrugged, “No more headache.”

“That’s very good to hear,” He smiled, scribbling some things down on our charts. He flipped them shut and held them to his chest, “I would like both of you to get up today and try to move around. That way you both can go home within the next week.”

I nodded. Zacky did the same.

“The nurses will come in to help you up,” He said before turning around and heading back out the door.

I laid my head back on the pillow and closed my eyes, waiting for the nurse to come wake me up and tell me it was time to move.

“Oh don’t fall asleep on me Hayden!” Zacky called from the other side of the room.

I opened my one eye and looked at him, “But I’m tired.”

“Please Hays,” He said with those big puppy dog eyes, sticking out his bottom lip a little.

Here we go with the nickname again.
Not that I minded…

“Are you guys ready?” One of the nurses asked, sticking her head in.

Before I even had the chance to speak Zacky answered for us, “Yeah.”

“Alright,” She smiled, “Stay on this floor for now. If you feel like you’re going to fall down or anything, please don’t hesitate to call out to one of us, we’ll be right behind you,” She explained as another nurse came in.

He nodded and she helped him up out of bed. The other nurse came to my side of the bed and helped me up too.

Slowly but surely, I made my way to the door of our room. My legs felt a little weak like after you run about three miles, but other than that, I had pretty good balance.

Just as they had said, the nurses were behind us, pushing whatever machines we were still hooked up to.

“So,” Zacky said, “What’s your favorite color?”

I looked at him confused, “What?”
“Just making conversation,” He shrugged.

“Oh,” I said looking down at my feet that were a little wobbly, “It’s purple.”

He smiled, “You and Brian will be best friends then. He loves purple.”

“Are your friends always that crazy?” I asked, picking my head back up and looking at him.

He nodded, “Most of the time. Then there’s the times where everyone is just relaxed,” He turned to me, “I like those moments the best.”

I bobbed my head understandingly, “So how many more days were on your tour?”

He paused to think, “Let’s see… Six I think,” He seemed to be going through the days in his head, “Yeah, six.”

“So what’d you just cancel them?”

He shrugged, “Probably.”

A comfortable silence fell between us as we rounded the corner to the other end of the wing on the floor. I kept looking down to the ground, not because I was afraid of looking at Zacky, but because I was afraid I was going to forget how to walk.

Not only was it the drugs they had me on and the concussion, but it was also the man I was with that was making me a little dizzy.

“Woah,” I mumbled, swaying towards Zacky. Totally not on purpose. Fucking fate, you would do that to me.

The nurses both hurried up behind us.

He stopped walking next to me, “Maybe we should turn around.”

I nodded, still swaying a little. The nurses were just waiting for one of us to say something or for it to get worse before they stepped in to help.

“Here,” He said, pulling me closer to him and putting his arm around my back, resting it on my hip.

“You barely have balance!” I reminded.
“I have more balance than you,” He said, holding on to me a little tighter so I wouldn’t fall down.

I knew he just wanted to be closer to me, and to be honest, so did I.

Even in a hospital gown, he smelled really good.