Chapter 24
Elizabeth opened her eyes, then slammed them shut again as soon as the bright light hit them. After a few seconds, she tried opening them more slowly, letting them adjust to the sudden glare of the room she was in. She groaned softy as a pain shot through her shoulder.
Liz looked around her in confusion, trying to figure out where she was. She tried to sit up, but fell back to the bed, holding her throbbing head. Obviously, she wouldn’t be going anywhere anytime soon. She rolled her head to the side to see the rest of her room and was surprised to find Lucky sitting in a chair next to her bed, asleep.
Liz smiled slightly at the sight of him in the chair, although she wasn’t sure why he was there. Where was Jason? Shouldn’t he be the one sitting by her bed? She decided to find out what was going on, and tried to sit up again, forgetting about her injury and moving her left arm.
“Ow! Damn...” she cursed, falling back to the pillow once again. Her sudden outburst woke Lucky, and he sat up in his chair, rubbing his eyes.
“Hey,” he muttered, smiling when he saw that she was awake.
“What happened?” Liz asked, looking down at her bandaged shoulder. “Why am I here, and where is Jason?”
Lucky sat forward and ran a hand through his hair. “There was a shooting at the club tonight....”
Before he could finish, Liz gasped. “Jason! Was he....?”
Lucky shook his head. “No, he was inside. You and Carly were the only ones hit. She’s in surgery right now. I think Jason said the bullet was in her abdomen, and she lost a lot of blood. Last I heard, they thought she would pull through okay. You were lucky that you were only hit in the shoulder. The doctor said you’ll be fine, aside from some soreness and limited movement for a little while.”
Liz nodded, remembering what had happened. She brought her good hand up to her head and grimaced. “So why does my head hurt so much?”
Lucky shrugged. “All they can figure is that you hit it when you fell to the ground. You were out cold when we found you, and this is the first time you’ve woken up.”
Liz thought for a moment, soaking in the news. “You never answered my question. Where’s Jason? I need to talk to him.”
Lucky sighed. Even after this, she still wanted to see him? “He’s in the OR waiting room, waiting for Carly to come out of surgery.”
“Oh,” she said, not totally surprised. “So, what are you doing here?”
“You were shot outside my family’s club, because you were going to my concert. I guess I felt like I should make sure you were okay. Jason rode over with Carly, so I didn’t think you should go alone.”
Liz was speechless for a moment. Since when did Lucky care about her well-being? Maybe he just felt guilty because he was the reason she was there in the first place. “Do they know who did this?”
He shrugged. “Not exactly, but considering that you and Carly are Jason and Sonny’s girlfriends, it’s not too hard to figure out.”
“Moreno,” she mumbled angrily. “Well, after this, I’m not his girlfriend anymore, so they’ll just have to find someone else to target.”
“What?” Lucky asked, surprised. He had been expecting her to defend Jason, not announce that she was breaking up with him.
“I always swore that if he got back into the Organization in any way, that I’d leave. I won’t put myself in danger for anyone, no matter how I feel about them.” She sighed and looked up at the ceiling. “Anyway, after what you said about him riding here with Carly, I figure it’s pretty obvious who he wants to be with.”
“I wouldn’t say that. He was just worried because her injuries were so severe,” Lucky said, trying to reassure her.
Liz looked at him coldly. “Oh, so you’re telling me he checked me out first and figured I’d live, so he moved on to her?”
“No, but you were only hit in the shoulder, she was shot in the stomach.”
“Then he made sure I was okay first before he jumped in the ambulance with her?” she asked, already knowing the answer.
Lucky squirmed in his seat for a minute. “Well, not exactly...”
She sighed and looked back at the ceiling. “That’s what I thought. Look, Lucky, I appreciate that you came here with me, and made sure I was okay, but I’m really not in the mood to hear you say ‘I told you so.’ I know you didn’t approve of me seeing Jason, although I still can’t figure out why it was any of your business. So fine, I didn’t listen to you, and now I’ve been shot. Are you happy? Did you make your point?”
Lucky was taken aback by her sudden outburst. “Hey, I wasn’t going to say anything. It’s no secret that people get shot around Jason and Sonny, so why should I rub it in? All that matters is that you’re okay, and you’ve come to your senses about Jason.”
Liz was touched that he cared whether or not she was okay, but at the same time, she was annoyed at the ‘come to your senses’ part of his statement. “Yeah, Lucky, I’ve finally come to my senses. So why don’t you go congratulate yourself somewhere for being so insightful about my relationship with Jason? I think you’ve done enough for one day.”
Lucky sighed and stood up, figuring he had no reason to stay any longer, anyway. The last thing he needed was for his father to walk by and see that he was still in Elizabeth’s room. “Fine, I better go find Charisma and Rich anyway. They’re probably ready to kill me for leaving the club before the show like that.”
Liz rolled her eyes and shifted in her bed, trying to get more comfortable. She lifted her arm to adjust her pillow, and winced as another pain shot through her shoulder.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, noticing the pained look on her face.
“Nothing,” she murmured. “Painkillers must be wearing off.”
“Then don’t move,” Lucky said.
Liz looked at him and scowled. “Gee, thanks. I would have never figured that out if you weren’t here to tell me! I was just trying to get comfortable, that’s all.”
Lucky walked up to the bed. “Here, let me help,” he said, reaching for the pillow. He slid a hand under her neck, lifting her head enough to move the pillow over, then let it slowly back down. “There, how’s that?”
Liz smiled, surprised at how gentle he had just been. “Good, thanks,” she said softly.
“Well, I better get going. You probably need to rest anyway. If I see the nurse, I’ll tell her you need more painkillers,” he said, backing toward the door.
“Okay,” she said, watching as he turned to leave. Once the door closed behind him, she sighed and closed her eyes, quickly falling asleep.
~*~
Jason paced the small waiting room, watching the door every time it opened. Bobbie had been waiting with him, but had just gone down to the cafeteria for some coffee. Finally, a doctor walked out.
“Well, how is she?” he asked, rushing up to him. “Is she still in surgery?’
“No, they’re moving her to a room right now. She should pull through just fine.”
Jason sighed with relief. “Good, when can I see her?’
“In a few minutes, but first I wanted to let you know something. It was pretty touch-and-go there for a while, and in order to save her life, we were forced to perform a hysterectomy,” the doctor explained, his face grave.
“Wait, what are you saying?” Jason asked, the term sounding vaguely familiar to him.
“It means Caroline will no longer be able to have children. We tried everything we could to avoid that course of action, but the damage from the bullet was too severe, and we had no choice. I’m sorry. Would you like one of us to tell her?”
Jason shook his head, trying to absorb the news. “No, I’ll tell her. Thanks.”
