Jack's POV



"Can Jack come with me?" Alex mumbled and the nurse nodded her head and waved us back down the hall where the Dawson's just came. Before following her, both Alex and I glanced over our shoulders at the sound of footsteps only to see both Zack and Matt running down the hall. They reached us in a matter of seconds and quickly noticed the nurse and us.



They both let out a breath at the silence, already knowing what was going on and looked over at us. "Go," Zack whispered, waving a hand carelessly as he stood straight and ran that same hand over his face. "We'll wait here."



Alex held Zack’s stare for a moment before the smallest “okay” left his freshly licked lips and he looked back to the nurse with the name tag reading ‘Martha’ pinned on her scrubs where I could see. She looked up at Alex before looking to me and putting up her most sympathetic grin and waving for us to follow her back down the hallway where she had just came.



“In that case,” she said softly, “follow me.”



So we did.



All throughout the walk I tried to ignore the kids in the other rooms and the way Cass was coddling Rian as they both sat on the floor, him sobbing into her chest. The nurse guided us around the corner and I felt my stomach leap to my throat at the sight of two police officers practically guarding a door. But that’s when it hit me, Jasey was raped. This wasn’t just an attack, she wasn’t just beaten, this was rape, an illegal law breaking act where police would have to and are now involved.



Alex must have been thinking the same thing as he was quick to shoot his beat red eyes to mine and shake his head. He was already refusing to accept what was already certain, all I could do was make sure that I didn’t cry and give his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. Martha nodded to the officers who looked at Alex and I with the most earnest of expressions before stepping aside, something about the look in both men’s eyes reminded me that the nursing staff was supposed to be professional, not emotional and even there sympathetic smiles were a façade, but the look in the cop’s eyes made it all too real just how bad the situation was and I was no longer sure I should go into the room. I would rather turn around and run to Jasey and wake her, make sure she’s okay rather that know what needed to be told from in that room while my best-friend helplessly cried at my side.



Martha didn’t say a single word as she pulled the door open and waved us in, the room was an empty hospital room, only a couch was in the middle of the room with a chair in front of it and the bed was pressed against the wall. “Please, do take a seat.” She mumbled unenthusiastically and took her own place in the loan chair as Alex and I sat down. She let out a long stringy sigh as we sat and adjusted our jeans by the thighs. “Mr. Gaskarth I-"

"Alex" he lowly interrupted with a whisper as he shifted in his seat, "please, call me Alex."

"Okay, Alex." Martha corrected herself, looking rather awkward in her current position. "I'm sorry if this is of an inconvenience but I have to ask… is this a first time occurrence?" I let out a sharp breath as Alex doubled over and put his head into his hands. I mean I know she probably has to relay this to the officers outside but the kids on the brink of tears as is, did she really have to start this conversation like that? He needed some good news right about now, not this. "It's just that Mr. & Mrs. Dawson couldn't seem to think of a reason as to why anyone would want their daughter hurt."

"Oh God!" Alex coughed as he tilted his head down to the side and choked down a sob. And as difficult as it was to pull my eyes away from the nurse's torn sympathetic look, I made trying to stay professional a little easier for her and averted my eyes to Alex, reaching out and rubbing his back.

"Usually we don't assume a previous attack occurred, but the detectives that are working to find and arrest the person who did this don't think that this was just any random attack." I let out a sharp breath as I rubbed my temple with my one free hand. "From the extent to the attack to the lacerations-"

"Lacerations?" I snapped, Alex's head snapping up too as the nurse looked at us like a dear caught in the headlights. “Wha-What does that mean, what happened to Jasey?”

Martha continued to stare at me like some creature from Men in Black as her mouth fell open and shut. "The doctor hasn't spoken to you yet..." She said slowly as her eyes bounced between us with every word. "Has he?"

"No..."

Martha blew out a long breath as she swiped a probably very sweaty palm on her scrub pants. "Ms. Dawson suffered extensive gash wounds to both of her upper thighs. The cuts were deep meaning they couldn't have been caused by a blade, it was most likely something closer to a large knife." Alex began to sob harder as his hand grabbed a harsh fistful of his hair making the explanation harder on the nurse. "Uh, it was something the officers had never seen with a rape case before, that's why it seemed so peculiar, like there was a personal motive behind the attack, can either of you think of someone who would want to hurt her?" And there it was, the ‘R’ word, she said it. The way Alex’s muscles tightened told me he was thinking the same thing. Even with it now confirmed, I couldn’t believe this had actually happened, and to her. Had we not already known who was behind it, I don’t think the officers would ever find out. Jasey was just one of those people everyone loved, she was nice, funny, athletic, got good grades, took nothing for granted, she was practically perfect. She should have never been put into a position like this, ever. Maybe it is our fault, maybe if we hadn't unwillingly put her into the spotlight with the band and all Riley wouldn’t have cared, losing her to a no-name instead of a front man. But that exact thought had me quickly worrying over Alex once again as I knew he would find a way to make this all his fault.

"God," Alex mumbled under his breath. "I can't believe this is actually happening!"

"Alex..." I sighed in a tone that almost read, 'you need to tell the nurse' all on its own as the boy nodded his head.

"I know." He sighed, pulling his face down as he lifted his head and stretched the skin slightly before letting it go. "This isn't the-" I could tell even just saying this was hard on him. "This isn't the first time something like this has happened to her." He whispered. The boy pinched his face up instantly as a few stray tears dripped from the rims of his eyes and his teeth dug harshly into his already ripped lower lip as he tried to suppress his tears. The act only resulting in him rubbing his face with his hands once again.

"Okay, but if it has happened before how come it wasn't reported, why wasn't she seen by a doctor?"

I looked over at Alex with eyes that offered to explain but he turned me down. I almost had wished he let me explain for him seeing as the nurse wasn’t being so sympathetic at the moment. Sighing again as he shook his head, Alex spoke up. "Because this is the first time he succeeded in actually raping her, the first time it happened we were there to stop it and protect her, she took a few hits and was pretty shook up but that was it." He bit his thumb for a quick moment before looking at me and back at the nurse. “We were- I was there for her, to make sure she was safe and okay and I can assure you I would never do anything to put her in arms way, okay! I- I lo- hmm…” He sighed.

I had to bite my lip as Alex lowered his head again. I wanted to just wrap my arms around him and envelope him in the most loving hug I could muster but I know my efforts would be all but meaningless. "Mr. Gaskarth..." Martha called sympathetically, now. "I know this is difficult, but I need you to think, could you provide the name of the person that did this to your girlfriend?" Alex sniffled as he nodded his head and wiped his eyes.

"Name, photo, phone number, address, school, locker number you name it I know it." He slurred and the nurse nodded her head. "I want that bastard behind bars before she even wakes up."

"Understood." Martha said simply before looking back at the still closed door. "Alright, well I'm going to have you speak with the officers outside shortly, is that alright?" She said softly and Alex nodded again, sitting up ever so slightly.

"Uhm, can I just see her first, please?" He asked so gently I couldn't help but pat his knee quickly for support. Alex tilted his chin for a split second as if he was going to look at me but instead flinched to sit forward, as if he was about to get up, right hand on the couch cushion to push up which had the nurse quick to cough.



"Well, actually that is what Mr. & Mrs. Dawson wished for me to talk to you about..." Martha said in the smallest of voices as she pushed a fallen lock from her pony tail back behind her ear. I looked over helplessly at Alex, not even wanting to know what was going through his mind as he silently sunk back into his seat and stared at the woman.

"What do you mean?" He whispered, terror evident in his delicate tone. "Is something wrong with Jasey, is she going to be okay?"

"Ms. Dawson is going to be just fine I assure you." The nurse nodded and I instantly reached out to wrap one of my arms around Alex's shoulders, feeling like a single hand was no longer enough. "It's just that," she stopped to take a breath. "It's there are some concerns, of her mental state."

"Concerns?" Alex snapped slightly and pressed his palm into his thigh. "What do you mean concerns? What is wrong with her, what happened!?"

"She is going to be fine!" Martha assured us again. "With time the physical damage will heal and with the exception of the lacerations which may turn to scar tissue, all will fade. What we are worried about it her mental stability coming out of this."

"Well I can assure you..." Alex chuckled a twisted laugh as he shook his head. "She's tough, she'll pull through just fine, but really when am I allowed to see her."

Martha twisted her fingers into a ball in her lap as she looked down on her hands; I had to rub my friends shoulder with my thumb already knowing he had transitioned from a state of despair, to one of denial. And I'm almost already certain this state was worse. "Mr. Gaskarth, the point is that there is no telling what she went through during the attack, but it is almost a guarantee that she will never be the same."

"But she is still Jasey," Alex said slowly. "She is still my girlfriend, I still love her and I still want to see her before I talk to anyone about the person who did this!"

"Mr. Gaskarth..." She sighed. "Jasey, she will not be the same person you last saw, or spoke to and you must understand this, the time right now is vital and she will be fragile to anyone and it is not uncommon for females to lash out at their male partners out of fear, she will wake up scared and uncertain."



“As expected...” Alex nodded as he blinked at her with a blank expression. “But what is the point, why are you not letting me see her?” I could practically hear the desperation slipping back into his voice as he spoke, but I couldn’t blame him. I wanted to speak out myself but unlike before I no longer felt like this was no longer my place.



Martha sighed as she looked over her shoulder. I knew she was in a terrible position but what was the use in fighting him, he wanted to see her. Let him! “Alex, see, it’s just not that simple...” She sighed and Alex instantly ran a hand down his face.



“Yes it is, what do you see that is not simple?” He seethed, anger returning in his agitated tone. I did nothing more but look down at my hands as they rested in my lap in silence. I know now that this is not my place to say or do much of anything.



“Mr. Gaskarth, Jasey was put through a lot and I am just trying to prepare you in case she is no longer the girl you remember, the girl you asked out…” Martha tried pleading with the boy who only looked back to her with a blank expression. I didn’t want to look up. I didn’t want to see his face fore I knew it would hold nothing but a concoction of anger and fear. Then Alex laughed; a small and low chuckle and I could see him shaking his head from the edges of my eyes.

“No…” He said lowly causing the nurses head to snap upright. She didn’t understand. She never would. “I don’t know what you are trying to suggest but no matter what he did to her, what she went through, she is still the girl I knew and will always know.” He was growing angrier by the second and yet again I couldn’t blame him. It was one thing for the nurse to refuse that we see her, that Alex see her but it was entirely another to assume that because of what Riley had done that she was no longer be the same person when she in fact had never even known her beforehand. Like Eddie had said, she knew nothing more than what was on her file, Alex knew more than anyone else about what Jasey has really been through, most things even I still do not know.



Martha sighed, “I am just saying that she has taken a tremendous mental toll and-“

“And I am saying that you don't get that it doesn't matter...” Alex snapped back as he leaned forward in his seat only to be intervened by the nurse just as quick.



“But it does.” Martha said in a final tone as Alex balled his hands up into tight fists, my eyes not daring to move as I watched the skin of his knuckles flush a yellowy-white. What was I to do? I didn’t have the authority to give my friend what he wants but I had the sense not to say such a thing on the nurse’s behalf. Alex was fuming and the nurse was the only thing standing between him and Jasey and I knew that he would not stand for it. Especially under the given circumstances.



Alex let out an agitated sigh as he raised a still clenched fist and smeared his tears across his blotchy cheek. The act causing me to put a protective hand on his thigh. “Alex...” I whispered but he only shook his head out of spite and reluctance. In his defense, I had to admit that the nurse was surly refusing to be truly sympathetic for my friend, for all of us, if anything she was being rude. At this rate I was sure Alex’s would be the only one with a mental state being concerned about, not Jasey. Suddenly, Alex stood up causing the nurse to jump to action.



“Mr. Gaskarth!” She snapped as Alex began to pace the space between the couch and the nurse, mumbling incoherent things to himself as his breath began to grow heavy, this couldn’t be good. “Mr. Gaskarth, your girlfriend was raped and if you cannot come to terms with that then we will have to ask you leave on account that you are a threat to the patient’s wellbeing now please, sit down!”



“Nurse, please don’t yell at him…” I tried as I hesitantly got to my feet. There were only two ways this exact situation would play out. It would either be that Alex would snap again, going off at the nurse and throwing a fit in order to get beyond the protocol and to Jasey. Or the worse of the two, Alex would continue to pace till the tears return and sooner or later he will work himself up to a state of no return and he will inevitably go into a panic attack, something I was not physically able to tend to right now being as all my energy was focused on not breaking down myself.



"I have to be there..." He mumbled just loud enough for anyone trying to listen to hear. “I have to be there, she has to kno- she has to know!”



“Alex, Alex, hey calm down, it’s going to be okay bud!” I quickly rushed as I stepped into the path of his never ending pace and forced him into my arms as he trashed a bit in my arms. “Alex, hey come on buddy, breath!”



“Mr. Barakat, if you cannot calm your friend down I am going to have to ask you both to leave.” She said in a warning tone that was meant to be ominous and threatening but only had one result, frustration. All this bitch was doing and had been doing was pissing me and Alex, she’s a fucking nurse can’t she see that something is clearly wrong with him? I looked at her with the coldest of glares as I wrapped my arms tightly around Alex, the grip no longer looking like a way to restrain him and more of a hug as I could feel his rage unwinding in my grasp. Alex let out a small sob as I lifted my hand to run my fingers through the hairs on the back of his head, trying to keep him from panicking as best I could but in the end, Jasey was the only one I knew that had the ability to stop it all together.



“I need her…” Alex whimpered into my chest ever so slightly as I held him by his back and head and rocked him like I had been before, out in the hall. “She has to know I‘m sorry, that I love her!” He made out before completely breaking down into sobs, the nurse just behind us still holding onto an agitated look as I had to resist the urge to go off on her just little longer. “I love her, Jack!”



“I know buddy…” I whispered into his hair as I held him close. “I know you do, and so does she, you guys are going to be just fine alright, in no time will she be back home and you both can cuddle or do whatever it is you do when you guys hangout!” I whispered as I felt Alex’s body vibrate from a tiny little chuckle. I smiled ever so slightly as I held him, but that smile quickly faded as did his laughter and the sniffles commenced. I guess I thought that brief moment everything was going to be okay, but then the reality came back in that one small, weak, trembling chuckle wasn’t a solution, or a positive turn, it was just that, a small weak and trembling chuckle. Nothing more, and it sucked. I wanted to make this pain my friend was feeling go away, to make everything okay but I couldn’t and I hated not having the power to do so.



Alex continued to cry into my chest as he heaved and gasped between mumbled sobs. His hands clawing at my arms and back, desperately trying to provide that little tinge of love I would never be able to provide him with. “I sh…” He hiccupped and I had to pull my head back a bit to see the top of his scruffy head as it was nuzzled into my collar bones, humming a bit to get him to continue. Even if what he had to say was something I didn’t want to bare and hear, I know how Alex works and getting it out is the only way. “I shou- I should be at her side…” He rambled as he pulled away a bit and used one of his hands to tangle his fingers in his hair. “W-When she-she wakes up- I should be the first thing she sees not a fucking empty room!” He whimpered and I solemnly went to wrap my arms around him again only to have my attempt at an embrace deflected.



All of a sudden Martha let out a sigh as my head snapped up and over Alex’s to glare at her. Only that stupid bitch completely ignored my stare and instead looked at Alex’s back before speaking. “Mr. Gaskarth we have to wait until she is awake to evaluate her mental stability before any friends or family are allowed into that room, it is not my call, its simply proto-“



“Shut up.” Alex seethed as his second and final arm fell from my waist and to his side lifelessly. The nurse’s eyes instantly widened from what I could see but still I stayed silent. Martha opened her big mouth to speak again only Alex spun around, as if he could hear the sound of her lips parting. “I SAID SHUT UP!” He snapped. “SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!” I could hear the tears from his eyes shake his tone as he waved his fists up and down in a fit before he point a finger at her. “Enough with the fucking protocol and the evaluations, JUST SHUT UP!”



Her mouth fell open and shut, eyes as wide as ever. “Mr. Gaskarth, I need you to calm down, please.” She begged but before I could even contemplate controlling Alex, he was set off and going at it again.



“Do not tell me to fucking calm down!” He snarled as his arm slid from my reaching hand quicker than I could grab it, stepping closer to the nurse but still a safe distance away; a challenging distance as opposed to a threatening one. But I was sure his tone got that point across. Alex twisted his head in a way that rippled the air bubbled between the bones in his neck, the sound of his neck cracking bouncing off the empty room’s walls sent a shiver down my own spine as I thought about pulling him back yet again. I mean he is enraged, Jasey is hurt and in Alex’s eyes the nurse is the only thing between the two of them. Never in all my years of knowing Alex had I seen the hairs on the back of his neck straighten to attention purely out of rage. “My girl-friend was raped and beaten and you are telling me I CAN’T BE THERE WHEN SHE WAKES UP? She should wake up knowing she is not alone!” He stressed but I had to admit, even with his fists clenching in rage, his thinking was quite rational and true. “Who are you to tell me that I can’t be there for her, what the fuck do you know?”



“Lex…” I mumbled as his final words held more of a personal tone to them. One of not just aggression but resentment. One that told me he was no longer thinking of just Jasey, but the two of them- together. I put my hand on his shoulder and this time he did not shrug it away, but held his frigid stance. The two of us watched intently as Martha looked down at Jasey’s file like she had just been scolded by a superior. Alex awaiting an answer of some sorts as I simply just tried to ignore the way the other boy’s body subconsciously shook.



Martha lowered her head a little more causing the strands she had pushed back earlier to slip loose again as she sighed. “You need to listen, there’s no telling what her reaction will be coming out of this!” She said, pleading- no, begging with Alex to listen. Only her comment only pissed him off more and I found it rightfully to be so.



His fists clenched again and his already stiff muscles tightened. “What do you know?” He began, almost too calm tone as his knuckles cracked under the force he was putting on them. “You know NOTHING about Jasey! You only know what that file says, I know Jasey okay, I have known her my whole life and I love her and I want her to know that I will stand by her through this because THAT is what she needs right now, not to be alone in a room of bad memories and machin-”



“GO; GO GET THE PSYCHOLOGIST, NOW!” A voice from the hall yelled just as the beeper on Martha’s hip went off, her eyes instantly widening as the sounds of footsteps scurried down the hall beyond the closed door.



“She’s up!?” Alex snapped instantly as Martha stood to her feet, eyes fluttering all over as she was visibly beginning to panic. Alex flinched for a second before he darted for the door.



“Al-“



“MR. GASKARTH YOU CA-“



But it was too late. Alex was ripping the door open and darting down the hall, back the way we came. “ALEX WAIT UP!” I screamed, grasping Martha’s shoulders and moving her as gently as I could off to the side and sprinting after my friend. The cops in the hall hollered for him to come back as I fell into the corridor and saw Alex taking the turn, his sneakers slipping on the linoleum floor as he scrambled. “ALEX!” I yelped and sprinted after him, having to use the edge of the wall to keep my feet on the floor as I ran round the corner after my fumbling friend. “ALEX WAIT!”



And as if he hadn’t heard me at all he continued sprinting down the hall towards her room. His sneakers squeaking mercilessly on the floor as we both surpassed Rian and Cass and continued down the hall. Suddenly a high pitched screech stopped me dead in my tracks. No. God please no, tell me that wasn’t- “JASEEY!” Alex screamed though an obvious cry. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Alex was sprinting the last bit and storming into her room before I could even will my legs to move. A few shouts sounded from beyond the doorway. The boy bulldozing the door as a few more shouts and a scattered crash sounded from the room causing a sickening sensation to bubble from within me as I stood frozen. There was no way this was actually happening, no, no way.



“STOOOOP!” A shrill voice screeched as a body crashed into mine, shattering my mental state and causing my body to stumble forward. Rian was quick to catch me instantly, being as quick to catch me as he was to knock me. “c’mon” He snapped, dragging my body along with his own to Jasey’s room. “STOP! No, NO!” Jasey’s voice ripped through the air as we reached the open doorway and my subconscious resulted in using my hand to claw at the beige painted metal to keep my body at bay. I couldn’t look- didn’t want to look because I was absolutely terrified.



“HEY, HEY GET YOUR FUCKING HANDS OFF ME!” A much deeper than Jasey’s voice screamed and my eyes snapped open to see Alex fighting the grips of a much larger man in scrubs. Rian’s grip on me fell as he too quickly rushed to Lex’s side to break the man’s grip free as he was clearly trying to stop them from conflicting with the scene just beyond him. A scene that had me feeling as though my mind had rolled over from within my skull. “STOP!” Alex screamed as he looked around the man’s shoulder. “GET YOUR HANDS OFF HER!” I felt sick to my stomach watching what was unfolding.



“STOP!” Jasey cried out as she tossed and trashed in the hospital bed. The wires snapping and waving as two nurses tried to hold her down. She had this look in her eye that scared me out of my wits. The mix of panic and fear was one I knew well having seen it in Alex’s eyes not that long ago. Tears streamed from her eyes as she kicked and fought but it was the one cried sound of Alex’s name that broke the boy, her scream bouncing off the walls and ringing in my ears as Alex himself broke free from the man and fall into the side of her bed, making a sting of indescribable sounds. “S-Stop!” She cried as Alex quickly cupped her face and tried to hush her sobs.



“Hey, hey, shh it’s okay baby, it’s okay!” Alex begged with the shakiest of tones as he stroked her hair mangled hair and busted cheek. I couldn’t help the way my legs gave in at the sight of her looking up at him with fear splintered eyes. She shook her head wordlessly as I could feel something inside me break, watching the way she was looking at him and j-just knowing that it wasn’t the way she used to. “It’s okay baby, were okay!” Alex whimpered, his words falling from quivering lips as he pressed their foreheads together- or tried to at least.



“NO ITS NOT!” Jasey cried as she pulled away and frantically fumbled with the wires that tangled in her hair helplessly as she recoiled into a hysteric fit. “IT’S NOT OKAY, IT’S NOT O-FUCKING-KAY!” She screamed and kicked at the sheets bounding her feet. Her chest began to heave as Alex reached out to hold her o- “NO!” She cried out instantly causing everyone -including the dumfounded nurses- to flinch. All watching on collectively as she stopped trashing and simply looked down at her now barren lap in silence. The only thing filling the stale hospital air being her still labored breathing and the beeping of the machines she was still hooked up to after the struggle. So we all stood around, waiting around for her to speak as we all waiting in fear of how she would react after that. But I don’t think any of us expected for her to sniff the smallest sniffle and look up at Alex. Her usually gray-blue eyes now barren of any hue along the lines of the latter color. Her orbs while being glazed with water were all but drained of life. Her oddly chapped lips parted and a singular word fell out, “Why?”



It felt as though time had come to a standstill at her sound. All of us just standing, watching from above as the world the two of them had created together began to fracture. Jasey’s tears which made up the ocean dripped from the cracks like a leaky faucet, and Alex’s deep breaths, the wind which seemed to uproot every tree in its path. The situation at had seeming as if to be an apocalypse within itself. “W- Wha… what?” Alex breathed as he slowly sat up from his hunched position and furrowed his brows. He no longer seemed to care as much about the snot in her nose and the tears leaking from her eyes as he did the way those eyes were looking at him, the way he could visibly see the hope slipping away. “What does th-“



“WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME!?” She suddenly snapped before hiccupping a sob. “HOW COULD YOU DO THI-“



“HEY, GET OFF ME!” Alex grunted as the male nurse from before grabbed his arm and yanked him backwards. Recognition flashing in all of our eyes as Alex suddenly gave up his fight, going limp and beginning to cry. “No please… listen!” He sobbed loudly as he lifted his head and I had to fight myself to watch by the way his body inertly swayed from the man’s grasp. “I would never do ANYTHING to hurt you Jasey!” He tried before his lungs gave out and he left his pleading to his eyes and a defeated sigh.



In response, Jasey’s face crinkled as she visibly tried to suppress her sobs and covered her mouth with her hand. I couldn’t look anymore, my eyes left the pair and fell to my shoes and I was left trying to piece this all together, I just couldn’t bear to see the absence of love in her eyes when his still held so much. “You promised me…” She whimpered causing me to cringe. “YOU FUCKING PROMISED ME!”



“What?” Rian instantly voiced all our concerning thoughts, his tone holding a slur of confusion and desperation as my lean frame swayed from the feeling of having no oxygen in my brain. This was all just so much so fast, I was still trying to wrap my mind around what happened and here Jasey was shutting Alex out cold right before our very eyes.



Jasey let out on sharp breath and my eyes snapped upwards, almost bolting back down once they set sight on the cold, lifeless look in her eyes. “Get out.”



“What Jas- WAIT, NO, JASEY WAIT!” Alex screamed as I fall from the doorway in a shaken shock as I watched Alex kick and scream as the male nurse began to drag him backwards. I stayed still. Not knowing what to do or how I was supposed to react, and by the shattered look in Rian’s eyes, he didn’t either. Neither of us could even figure out what was going on as everything was flying by so fast. “JASEY NO WAIT!” Alex cried as he fought off the guard and I simply stood uselessly to the side. This couldn’t be happening; he couldn’t lose her, not now, not like this. And I never thought she would react this way, this wasn’t Jasey not at all.



“ALEX YOU PROMISED ME THIS WOULD NEVER HAPPEN!” She screamed, her voice raw and brutal with not an ounce of despair, only rage. “YOU PROMISED ME YOU WOULDN’T LET ANYTHING HAPPEN TO ME BECAUSE YOU LOVED ME AND YOU FUCKING LIED!”



“NO, NO, NO!” Alex retorted as he tried to shake the guard. “Jasey listen to me, I do love you, more than anything please don’t do this, you’re not thinking straight, please!” He begged, and that was finally when I realized that I had begun to cry, losing the will to be strong and remain silent and breaking down. “Jasey don’t do this, I can’t lose you don’t you see, I CAN’T LOSE YOU!”



I couldn’t take it anymore! I choked down one loud sob and ran from the room; only I didn’t make it far. I heard a combustion of screams and the sound that could only be the result of Alex kicking something over in a useless fight to stay in her room as I fell against the parallel wall just outside. I wanted to stay, I wanted to shout at them to stop, to pull them apart till everyone could have a chance to calm down but I just couldn’t take it anymore. They were tearing me apart! How was I supposed to deal with watching my best-friend fall apart, it was like a piece of my life was being ripped to shreds just knowing there relationship was barley anything at all in that point in time. I wanted to cry, I wanted to rip my hair out and scream at the top of my lungs but most of all I wanted to find Riley and put him in the morgue. How dare he think he had the right to lay as much of a finger on her. The only other thought I had in my mind was of how Alex was slowly beginning to take this as I listened to their pleading cries from within the hospital room.



"GET AWAY FROM ME!" I heard Jasey scream as I slid to the floor in a lifeless mass, "GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE I NEVER EVEN WANT TO LOOK AT YOU AGAIN!" Her words were mean, degrading and lined with honesty. Not a drop of regret registering in her tone forcing my knees to press tightly against my chest as I rocked my body back and forth, tears leaking from my eyes.



"No! Jasey, please I think you should give this a little more consideration!" Alex begged with sobs in his tone as I bit down harshly on my lip, listening to the audible struggle he was putting up with the large male nurse. How was I supposed to be calm during this, how was Rian not out here with me, curling into a ball and beginning to cry? How was he just sitting in there letting his best-friend and his sister's world fall apart? Jasey and Alex were the only pure example of love I had left in my life knowing all too well my parents had there issues of their own, but now with this going down I was left beginning to doubt if love was even something tangible at all, but sadly enough I don’t think I was the only one with that train of thought in mind.

"Consideration!?" She snapped back loud enough for me to hear the tremble present in the singular word, tears still flowing from her eyes no doubt as she gasped for air. "If you had even once given us any consideration you would have never made that stupid fucking promise!" I began to hyperventilate when I noticed another mob of staff members running down the hall towards Jasey's room which I sat across from. "IF THAT WAS A LIE HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO BELIEVE ANYTHING YOU’VE SAID TO ME!" She snapped instantly causing Alex to loudly plea again for her to listen to him, only her cries over powered his begging tone, "DID YOU EVER EVEN LOVE ME!?" She snapped just as the staff stormed the room.



"STABALIZE HER!" One voice screamed, "GET HIM OUT OF HERE!" Another shouted as feet scuffed the plastic floors that were glossed with my runny tears now. I heard Alex fight as I looked up from my crumpled lap to see his limbs flailing in the entryway. "GET HIM OUT!" The second voice shouted again and Alex was instantly brought into view. Arms and legs flying left and right as he huffed and thrashed his chest, the boy being held back by two large nurses and dragged away from the only girl he has ever known to love.

“No, JASEY PLEASE NO!” Alex screamed out with tears flooding from his eyes as the security dragged him backwards, all thoughts of hope just gone from his eyes. “Jasey please baby, don’t do this PLEASE, don’t leave me, I LOVE YOU, PLEASE!” He crunched his eyes shut for a moment before they snapped wide once again and grid locked on mine, his once golden eyes nothing but a blend of red and black as his kicks grew in force, "JACK!" He screeched as his eyes tore from me to look upwards. "JACK, STAY WITH HER, MAKE SURE SHE KNOWS I LOVE HER!"



And those were the last words he said to me before he was dragged around the corner and I lost the trail of his words. Make sure she knows I love her. How was I supposed to assure someone of something they didn’t want to believe? How was I supposed to mend something when I myself felt so broken by the period's events? "Okay..." I breathed to myself and shut my eyes. "Okay." and with that final hushed slur, I slowly began to get to my feet, moving on trembling legs that I wasn’t so certain could carry me to her room where I slipped in completely unnoticed by anyone. Not the nurses that had just finished injecting something into her IV, or the singular nurse speaking to the sobbing family in the corner of the room. So I walked over to her bedside where she now laid lifelessly, bright red eyes blinking slowly as she looked around the room, a fresh coat of tears still tracked on her colorful cheeks. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to do what Alex asked of me, but I had to find someplace to at least start to try. She looked up at me with a dazed expression but her vitals were all staying what appeared to be normal. She had no reason to be passing out so the only fare assumption I could make would be that whatever they gave her that was injected into her IV was meant to just knock her out. So she just looked up at me, as I looked down on her until she seemed to just give up, her eyes fluttering shut leaving me there all alone.



She just fell asleep so easily, so carelessly as if she didn’t know just how different her entire world would be once she woke up again.

Notes

PLEASEEE READ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


so the next update will be on the weekend again.. sorry this went up later than usual, i got a job like a week and a half ago so i'm still kinda adjusting to the times and stuff between that, school work and practices but i'm getting it down now so yeah!


and also i'm sure you all probably hate me right now - as you should. but the next chapter will be back in Jasey's point of view... so maybe look forward to that???

idk.. LEAVE ME COMMENTS! :)

till next week!
-Sarah