Chenford-The Bar

13

Shit.

It's all Tim could think. This isn't how he wanted this to end. For them to end. He regretted telling her. Regretted that it might end their friendship. That he was the reason.

"Tim." Lucy looked into his eyes. "I-" A buzzing could be heard in the empty parking garage. Lucy grabbed her phone out of her pocket, and Tim let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding.

Lucy clicked the green button displayed on her phone from an unknown number. "Yes?" All Tim could hear was a muffled voice from the other line. "Yes. What?" More muffled noises. "Oh my god, I'll be right there." Lucy quickly hung up and stood still for a few seconds.

Tim picked up on Lucy's emotions or emotion in this case. Shock. "Lucy? What happened?" Lucy snapped back into reality and stared at Tim with an open mouth. "Tamara, um.. she got into an accident."

Tim's eyes opened wide. "Is she okay?" His eyebrows furrowed. Lucy was weirdly calm at the moment.

"They said she was going into surgery.. I don't know. I-I don't know." Tim took a step towards her. "Lucy, you have to go." He put his hands on her shoulders, attempting to ground her. "I'll drive you."

In a state of shock and confusion, Lucy walked to Tim's truck. Getting in with some help from a concerned Tim.

Tim walked around to the drivers seat. When he got in, he looked over at Lucy. A tear rolled down her cheek, but she wasn't crying, not really. He put a hand on hers and squeezed, giving a weak smile.

Lucy clocked it as pity. She gave one back, then looked forward at the dash. Tim turned the key, and they were off.

By the time they had arrived at the hospital, Lucy's shock wore off. She was fidgeting with her hands and bouncing her knee, wiping away silent tears as the truck turned into the hospital parking lot. Tim drove up to the front doors and told Lucy he'd park and meet her inside.

Lucy quickly got out, but before she went in, she turned around and locked eyes with him. "Thank you."

Tim nodded slightly and pressed his lips together. Once the door slammed, Tim sighed. Seeing Lucy like that made every bone in him ache. Knowing someone had hurt Tamara made his blood boil. He decided to separate the two combating emotions and focus on Tamara. Or at least try.

He parked and walked into the waiting area, quickly spotting where Lucy was sitting and walking over. "Hey." Lucy looked up from the sound of his voice. "Hey." Tim sat down next to her. "Any word?"

Lucy put her phone away. She was idlely scrolling through some articles as a distraction when Tim had walked in. "Still in surgery. They said another hour or two." Tim nodded. He didn't want to pry, but not knowing everything was killing him.

Lucy glanced at Tim and noticed his fidgeting. Tim hadn't noticed it himself until Lucy grabbed one of his hands with both of hers and put them in her lap. Tim glanced over. Lucy stared ahead, not saying a word.

Tim weakly smiled to himself before pushing all of those emotions away. He just needed to be here for Lucy and Tamara, not the other way around.

After a few minutes of silence, Tim got antsy. "Do they have any idea what happened?"

Lucy nodded slightly. "The nurses said it was a drunk driver. T-boned her while blowing a red light. Nothing she could've done." Lucy choked up a little near the end of her sentence.

Tim looked down and squeezed her hand, nodding. This whole day was giving him emotional whiplash. He was exhausted. He knew Lucy had to be, too. "Do you want me to get you anything? Clothes, blanket, coffee?"

His voice was low and soft. Lucy shook her head and looked into his eyes. "I just need you here." She smiled softly. Tim nodded. "Ok."

Lucy rested her head on Tim's shoulder and dozed off shortly after. Tim brought out his phone and texted Angela, informing her of everything. He knew she'd fill everyone in. His knee started to bounce.

The pings of texts he was receiving were familiar questions he had asked Lucy, and he quickly answered them. Putting his phone down, he took a deep breath. He hadn't realized it, but he felt like he was on the verge of tears. He knew he couldn't cry, not now.

Tim didn't know how to feel. On one hand, he was glad that he didn't have to talk about his feelings or, worse, get rejected by Lucy. On the other was the fact that Tamara was in an operating room because some douche couldn't order an Uber. He wiped away a few tears that had escaped his eyes and chastised himself for even thinking that this was the better scenario.

After a while, Tim looked down at Lucy. The dread of The Talk ate at him while Lucy silently slept on his shoulder, her hands still clasping his. He heard the elevator door chime and heard a familiar voice follow. "Tim!" Angela stepped out of the metal box with Nolan and Harper in toe. Lucy woke from the noise, shooting up from her short sleep.

Tim used his shirt to wipe his face and made sure he looked as normal as possible. Lucy looked at him as she sat up and cocked her head to the side. He looked up and met her eyes, silently shaking his head to signal that he was fine and didn't want to talk about it.

Angela stood in front of them and handed them both coffees. "Any word?" Lucy shook her hand and grabbed the cup from the detectives  hand, drinking silently. Harper stood next to Angela, and Nolan sat beside Tim.

Tim could hear his heartbeat in his ears, his head pounding. All he wanted was for the day to end or for him to wake up and have all of this be some sick dream. Lucy squeezed his arm, not even making eye contact. It's like she could sense him spiraling. He sipped on his coffee.

An hour had passed when a doctor finally walked in. "Are you here for Tamara Collins?" The group sat up. Tim lightly nudged Lucy awake. "Yes." Angela answered.

The doctor nodded and continued. "The operation went smoothly. She has minor damage to her back and spine, but she should make a full recovery."

Lucy had a shocked filled face. The way the nurse had described the accident to her had made her think she would never see Tamara again.

"She's lucky to be alive." The doctor finished with her sentence and left with telling them they could move into the room they had placed her in. She also warned that although she was alive, she was still under heavy supervision and sedation.

Lucy could feel hot tears running down her face. Tim squeezed her hand. She looked up at him. "You can breathe now." He smiled slightly.

Lucy became overwhelmed with emotion, and she immediately let out the tears she had been holding in her. Some were from relief and joy, and the others were from exhaustion. But at this very moment, she was just thankful to have Tim with her and be in his arms.