#FWF – Where Are You Now?

Today is Friday and it’s been a while since I’ve actually done a post for Kellie Elmore’s Free Write Friday, but she hasn’t posted a prompt for today at the moment, and I’m quite bored at the moment. I decided to go look for a random prompt from one of her older ones and this one was picked randomly and I am starting to love these word bank prompts. She just selects a bunch of random words that could go together and this prompt of words was posted in 2012 and weirdly enough on a 14th. Creepy! I hope you enjoy it!

bewitched, agony, awe, dismay, enamored, sacred, nirvana, fury

Last night, didn’t happen. Did it? That’s what Alissa’s first thought was, waking up in her hospital room. She and her friend Lucy were coming back from a friend’s house and then all of a sudden, she finds herself in a hospital bed with unfamiliar sounds. Nobody was around and she had some pain in her forehead. What the hell happened? Five seconds later, a random guy comes walking in. He was a weird creature, black shirt that obviously came from Hot Topic, dark jeans with silver chains hanging down in the back, and he had long hair. He passed the bed and didn’t realize she was awake. He had some small cuts and bruises on his hands and face. She wondered if he had gotten into a fight and somehow forgot where his room was, then as he moved from one side of the room to the next, he noticed her. “Oh, hi. How are you feeling?” This stranger said to her. “I’m fine.” lie. “Who are you?” She stared at him blankly and he spoke sweetly “My name is Austen Roberts. You and your friend hit our tour bus. We saved you guys.” Oh so that’s what happened. “I’m sorry about that. Do you know where my friend is?” and what is her name?!?! “Uhhh… yeah, my buddies Sam and Thomas are watching her. She’s doing a lot better. She’s a talker.” Austen said, “Oh, well that’s good. My name is Alissa.” She said to finally introduce herself as she was somewhat bewitched to this dark man. “Alissa, huh? Nice name.” Nice? “Thanks I think.” Alissa said in an awkward breath and as they finished talking a nurse dressed in baby blue came in with all sorts of gadgets.

A week later, Alissa’s friend Lucy, who she found out only had minor cuts and a broken leg, had went home without seeing her.  She did, however called Alissa’s family and within an hour after that phone call they were there by her side. Alissa was still recovering slowly. She took most of the damage in the accident. According to the police, when Lucy went to stop at the light the car the brakes stopped working and hit the bus on the passenger side. Both the police and hospital staff were in dismay that Alissa had even survived that type of crash and that the band had gotten her out of there. Speaking of the band, they hadn’t totally deserted the girls after getting a new tour bus. Two days before. Sam and Thomas, who had watched over Lucy in her room went back to their hotel room. While Austen was still there for Alissa, even though she had told him he could leave. He wasn’t easy to trick that she’d be okay by herself. So they made best of those days, he tried making her comfortable and did all things that a boyfriend would do for his girlfriend–but they weren’t dating. Hell, Austen wasn’t even her type! He was sweet and brought her some type of nirvana that she never felt with any other guy. She felt strange that this guy was caring so much for her and she was the one who basically put the dent in their tour bus. “Sooo.. when do you think I’ll be released from here?” Alissa asked her new best friend. Austen turned to her and gave her a smile grin. “I don’t know. Your physical therapist said you’re doing pretty good with walking, but getting you to sit up for more than a half hour is what’s keeping you here. Plus, your appetite hasn’t changed much since they took you off your feeding tube.” Alissa nodded her head, “so, should we be taking bets or something?” Austen chuckled, “Hmmm.. give it another two weeks. I have faith in you, you’ll get back to your old self, whatever that self may be.” He turned around again and sighed.

Austen was right, in just two weeks Alissa was finally released from the hospital. She spent close to four weeks in the hospital and now she was going to physical therapy in her hometown. Alissa and Lucy hadn’t talked to each other much in the last two weeks, but her friendship with Austen continued to grow. He was happy she was at home now, but that might he was back on the road with his band mates. Austen wasn’t the normal rocker as Alissa learned through those weeks he stayed in her room. He had the same fears, loves, and losses she did. They both hated heights and would never go skydiving, even if they were given a million dollars. They both wanted kids when their lives had settled down and they had both lost friends from crazy ordeals. In the mist of those last two weeks, they played a short game of Truth or Dare, but just ended up becoming “tell your truths” game because neither one did any dares. Alissa found out that underneath his dark armor, he was raised by his grandparents and knew how to care for sick people because he actually went to school for nursing. He also had some not so good things about him though, the police in his hometown know him by his old high school attitude rather than his new affection for people. He also had a fury with certain things that he didn’t disclose to her. Austen found out that even though, Alissa looks innocent on the outside. She had suffered with depression and was put in a foster home for eight years after her parents were in jail for drugs. The family she had been adopted to were the best family she had ever had, and Austen felt even more close to her than before.

Alissa was up and walking by herself and her appetite was better than ever. She was still afraid to get into a car, but her mother and younger sister had a surprise for her. Alissa sat in the backseat as the passenger side still freaked her out. She sat listening to Austen’s band new song on the radio, called “Where Are You Now?” She relaxed with she heard Austen’s voice. She hadn’t talked to him, face-to-face, for almost a week. Who knew being around a person for four weeks could create such a bond. Alissa knew that it was too early to be calling what they have a relationship, but in her heart she wanted to be something more to him. After thirty minutes of driving to their destination,  they had made it and all three women enter out of the car to find a small stage with four members of what Alissa thought was a hometown band, but as they continued to walk down into the stage one hairstyle was clearly familiar to her. It wasn’t until one of the other members shouted, “hey there’s Austen’s girl!” She recognized that voice to be Sam. She heard him and Austen talking to each other while she was faking asleep in the hospital. “What is this?” Alissa asked her mother and sister. “Well, the guys wanted to check up on you and Austen and I talked and thought it would be good for you to see another familiar face.” Alissa smiled and rushed over to the stage with younger sister by her side. The guys helped them on the stage and Alissa introduced them to her. Alissa’s focus was solely on Austen though. She didn’t know how to act around him, but neither did he. When she walked up to him, she tapped him on the shoulder and he spinned around to give her the biggest hug neither one of them had ever gotten. If anything could form in those four short weeks, friendship was more important than anything else, that could be formed later on if they wanted it to.