Disclaimer: I do not own anything you recognize.
Author's Note: So this is a sequel to my story "The Stalker".
The Second Chance
Chapter 1: Hospital and Homecoming
Juliet's POV- 1 week later
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
Shut the fuck up already. Where's it coming from anyway? Where am I? Oh dear god am I dead?
That was what I was thinking as I tried to open my eyes. The annoying beeping sound kept going, which somehow seemed louder the more I started to wake up. Which was odd, since I don't remember going to sleep in the first place.
Finally opening my eyes, I immediately shut them against the harsh glare of lights that shone brightly from the ceiling. Groaning out loud, I heard someone or something move in a corner of the room. Turning my head, I tried to see who or what it was.
"Ladybug, can you hear me?" I sighed in relief at my dad's voice. It had to be; he's the only one who calls me that. I nodded my head yes, and I smiled as he took my hand. "God we were so worried about you. When I got a call that you were shot, I swear I lost ten years of my life."
"The bullet punctured one of your lungs and you lost a lot of blood. The doctors wanted to keep you here incase something happened. How are you feeling?" I furrowed my brows and looked to my right, and I wondered what Angela was doing here. She must have noticed the look on my face because she said, "I'm dating your dad remember? We were out for dinner when he got a call. We left so quickly the bill almost didn't get paid." Angela smiled and I smiled back, I appreciated the fact that she tried to lighten the mood.
"I feel fine, my chest hurts a little though." At least that's what I thought I said, but my mouth was so dry I wasn't sure what they heard me say. Dad put a cup of water in front of my face with a straw, and I drank as much as I could. The cold water felt really good. Letting go of the straw, by head fell back against the pillow, and I grabbed Angela's hand. It surprised her, but I knew she didn't mind.
"Hey…how is she?" Now that voice I recognized, only because I heard it a million times at school. Lifting my head to the door, I saw Kira hesitating between the hall and my room.
"Hey Kira." She came into the room and stood at the foot of my bed nervously. What she said confused me.
"Reid has been worried about you since you got shot. He's the one who found you." It took a few minutes, but I remembered who she was talking about, and what happened. It was raining, and I found Reid in his dorm with another woman. I ran outside and someone shot me. But who shot me? Why can't I remember?
Sitting up, or at least trying to, my dad and Angela helped me up and Kira moved over by her mom. "Who cares how he feels. He's the one who cheated on me…even though we weren't dating exactly. But still, he should have known better."
"Is that why you were outside the dorm?" Kira had hopped up on the bed by this point, and dad and her mom went to go get something from a vending machine, if only just to let us "bond" or whatever. We were both laying against the pillow and Kira started playing with the remote that controls the bed.
"Yeah, we were all at Tyler's and when Reid hadn't shown up the next morning I went to the dorms and I found him with another girl in his room. That's not even the worst part. He said now that Rhys is dead- yeah Reid killed him when he showed up at Nicky's that night- that I could go be someone else's shadow." My voice cracked at the end, and Kira wrapped an arm around me. She was so different then how everyone described her.
"Well guess what?" I looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "My mom and your dad are engaged." My eyes widened and I didn't know how to react. "Hmm maybe I should have waited until after you were released from the hospital." I looked back at her and she was smirking. Rolling my eyes I nudged her and she busted out laughing.
"Very funny, so when's the wedding?" I wasn't really sure what to think. Yeah mom had been dead since I was born, and yeah dad really seemed to like Angela, enough to get engaged anyway. So maybe it wasn't such a bad thing. I wouldn't be an only child, not really, plus I'd have a mom. I know dad got really uncomfortable when I first started my period. Scratch that it was uncomfortable for both of us. I do like Angela, or at least I've grown to like her, and Kira isn't that bad; once you get to know her.
"After we graduate. Mom wants us to be bridesmaids. I mean if you want to be in the wedding of course…" Kira looked away from me, probably hoping she didn't say anything wrong to upset the fragile psyche of a girl in a hospital.
"Of course I want to be in the wedding!" I told her. How could she think otherwise?
"Great, we're going shopping next weekend for dresses." I smiled when Kira smiled and hugged me.
"Oh Kira you told her?" Angela and my dad came back into the room loaded down with kit kats, mars bars, caramilk, milk duds, Oreos, chips, everything one needed when the hospital gives out crappy food.
"Sorry but I couldn't wait. Besides she seemed to take it well." Kira replied, taking a giant bite out of an Oreo cookie.
"Stop talking about me like I can't hear you, and of course I'm excited. Who's going to be the best man?" I asked my dad and Angela, but I frowned when they exchanged looks. "What?"
"Well Kira had the idea that Reid and the guys would be in the wedding, since I'm sure it would make it more comfortable for you, but I don't have to have a best man." Dad avoided my gaze, instead ripping open a bag of Lays chips.
I was about to respond but got cut off by the Doctor's arrival.
"Well hello there Jules, how are we feeling today?" I looked at him and had to admit he was quite attractive. With broad shoulders, deep blue eyes, and blond hair, a picture of Reid flashed in my mind. Blinking to shove the image away, I swallowed a piece of kit kat and nodded my head up and down.
"Just fine thank you. More then ready to get the heck out of here." He laughed and picked up my medical file from the end of my bed.
"Well it looks as if everything is fine, plus you're eating junk food so I doubt you're in danger of keeling over. If your dad would like to sign the release forms, you can leave whenever. Oh and Juliet, I don't ever want to see you back here again, understood?" He winked at me and turned to leave, my dad following him to sign the forms.
"Wow he's so sexy. I wish I had been shot." Kira looked at Dr. Woods with a dreamy look.
"Kira! Honestly what am I going to with you?" She and I both laughed at Angela, and I shook my head at my soon-to-be stepsister.
"I should get dressed. Did anyone leave clothes for me?" I asked getting up from the bed and moving over to the huge wardrobe on the opposite side of the room.
"Jules…" I froze inside the wardrobe, I knew that voice like I knew my own. Coming out of the wardrobe, or closet ha, I looked at Reid. He was holding a plastic shopping bag that had the word Bootlegger written on it. "Uh…I dragged Ally to the mall because she mentioned you might not have a change of clothes for when they let you out of the hospital, and since I didn't know what clothes to get she uh…I mean these are from me, well her, but I paid for them. So technically they're from me, but if you want you can think of it as a gift from Ally…or whatever. I'll shut up now."
I inwardly smiled at how flustered Reid was standing there holding out the bag of clothes to me. For all the world he was "Reid Garwin, Badass of Spenser Academy", but to me he was nothing but a big, flustered teddy bear. The adorable display of embarrassment didn't excuse him for what he did back at the dorms, or what he said to me.
"Garwin, what are you doing here?" I looked at Kira as she hopped off the bed, and came to stand beside me. She crossed her arms and glared at Reid. When he mimicked her, I had to turn away to keep them from seeing my smile of amusement.
"I came here to see Jules, do you mind?" I knew the reply Kira would give even before she said it, so I silently thanked Angela when she suggested her and Kira go find my father.
"Are you sure you'll be ok Juliet?" Kira took my hand and glared at Reid.
"Yeah I'll be fine. Besides I could always push him out the window if things get out of hand." I joked, but apparently Kira took it seriously.
When my family-to-be left Reid walked in and closed the door behind them. Shoving his hands in his jean pockets, he walked closer, but not to close to crowed me. Which I appreciated.
"I'm sorry Bookworm, I really am. I just thought…if I pushed you away, I couldn't hurt you. Turns out pushing you away caused you to get shot." I looked down at my toes, which were bare and the purple nail polish someone had used seemed to be chipping away.
Glancing back up at him, he was now a foot away from me, and I could smell alcohol coming off of him. "Why do you smell like a booze store?"
"Uh well after I found you bleeding outside the dorms, I kind of blamed myself since it happened right after you saw…anyway I drank, a lot." He scratched the back of his head, and the look on his face made my heart hurt. "The guys told me they would disown me if I didn't stop drinking. Of course being me and drunk, I didn't care. But then Allison said the doctor was letting in non-family members to see you, and I didn't want to show up drunk or hung over. How are you by the way? I showed up a couple days ago but you were asleep."
"I'm fine. The bullet wound is healing, I desperately need a hot shower, my own bed, and some more chocolate. Does the school know what happened?"
"Yeah, the teachers aren't going to make you do the work you missed. Apparently getting shot is a get-out-of-jail-free card." He moved a step closer and clenched his hands, but at the last minute he shoved them back in his pockets. I knew he wanted to hug me, and god knew I wanted him to, but he hurt me.
"Can you uh…turn around? I can't stand this stupid gown anymore." He turned around and for a few seconds I admired how his back was just as sexy as his front. Coming back to reality, I quickly changed into the clothes Allison/Reid bought me. She had bought me dark blue jeans, a one shouldered top in white and a pair of panties and a bra. Feeling better about being in regular clothes, but still craving a hot shower, I admired him a second longer. "Alright, I'm done."
"Wow, you uh…you should wear white more often." I blushed at his compliment and he smiled in relief.
"Listen Reid, me getting shot wasn't your fault. You didn't pull the trigger. Plus I do miss you. Which is strange seeing as how this is the first time since being shot I've been awake, so I couldn't have a change to miss you, but I do…" I trailed off, remembering the cold distant look in his eyes when he opened the dorm door.
"Give me another chance Bookworm. Please I've been a fucking wreck without you. I'm sorry about what I said and did, and I should have been protecting you not putting you in harms way. I'm sorry and I'll say it however many times it takes until you forgive me." His eyes pleaded with me and my heart broke all over again.
"Reid, I'll give you-"
"I love you."
"-a second chance. Wait what did you say?" I couldn't have heard him right. He couldn't have just said what I thought he just said. Could he?
"I said I love you. I have since I first saw you sitting in the secretary's office reading that book. From the first moment we talked, and you shut me down, I fell hard for you. The time we spent together, even during the whole Rhys thing, made me so happy. You weren't like the other girls and I loved that about you. When we danced at Nicky's was the moment I knew, even though I couldn't admit it to myself. When I saw you lying on the side walk, I was scared shitless."
By the end of his confession Reid had walked up to me and wrapped his arms around me, burying his face in my neck. Bringing my hands up I held on to him as tightly as I could.
"I will give you a second chance, but you're on probation. Any funny business and your gone." By "funny business" I meant sleeping with other girls. I was determined to keep him, and I knew he felt the same way.
"Thank you Bookworm." Reid said, and I laughed as he kissed my nose and hugged me tighter. "There wont be anyone else but you. You're it. I love you."
"I love you too Garwin."
"If you break her heart I'll break your neck." We pulled apart and Reid sheepishly nodded at my dad. Promising he wouldn't hurt me. "Good, now I have a question for you before I take my daughter and leave this god forsaken place."
"What's the Mr. Carson?" He looked at me and I smiled, knowing what Dad would ask him.
"How would you like to be in the wedding as my best man?" Dad smiled as if he didn't just threaten Reid with a broken neck. He could be scary that way.
"Uh…s-sure. Yeah that would be great. Thank you sir." For some reason it was incredibly funny that Reid was nervous around my father, especially with the way they hit off on the first day of school. I guess when you tell a girl you love her, and her father overhears, it can get a bit awkward. Taking his hand, I grabbed the bag of candy and headed to the door.
Once we got to the hospital parking lot and after we said goodbye to the nurses and Dr. Woods, I noticed I was being pulled in two different directions by Reid and my father.
"Um guy's seriously I need my arms attached." I sighed in relief at they both stopped pulling and my arms fell to my sides. First I was shot, and now I was being pulled apart. Seriously where does it end?
"I thought you wanted to come home with us and plan the wedding?" My dad was being evil and his sad face on, which I swear he practiced in the mirror, just to make me feel guilty.
"I do want to, but I also want to see the guys. Please Daddy?" I pouted, which was also practiced in the mirror, and I heard Kira and Angela chuckling.
"Let her go Chris, her friends are probably worried about her." I smiled a thanks at Angela and she winked at me in return.
"Fine, but not too late. I want to you sleep at the house tonight. Oh by the way, we moved. Now don't look at me like that! Angela and I agreed it would be for the best. A fresh start and all that. And before you ask, it was just after you started school, you had nothing in your room at your aunt's place, so it wasn't hard. Now go be with your friends." He kissed the top of my head and I watched as they drove away.
"Wow my family is so strange." Reid laughed and wrapped me up in his arms. Standing there outside the hospital was actually nice. The sun was setting and it was just starting to warm up with summer around the corner.
"Let's go home Bookworm." We got into the blue 2006 mustang convertible I loved so much, and about 20 minutes later we were parked outside of Tyler's estate. No sooner had I stepped out of the car that I was picked up and spun around.
"You're back! Thank god, we've missed you so much." Pogue said, still spinning us around. I laughed and told him to put me down. He set me down on my feet and It took a few seconds until my world stopped spinning.
I got hugs from each of them and I was feeling pretty loved at the moment. All warm and tingly inside.
"Come on inside, the cook made food. Oh and we got cake." Allison told me, giving me a pink balloon.
When we got inside, the entire living room was decorated and a banner that said "Thanks for not dying" hung above the doorway to the kitchen. Laughing I shook my head in wonder.
"Thanks for not dying?" I raised my eyebrows and they chuckled. I found out it was Pogue's idea and I started to wonder about his sanity, but at the same time I thanked them, because it really was very sweet of them.
Grabbing alcoholic drinks from a cooler, I went to grab Reid's to take a sip but he pulled it out of reach.
"No way Bookworm, I heard the doctor say you're still on pain meds for the wound, so no drinks for you." He gave me a stern look and I looked at him shocked.
"But it's my party! Please just a little?" I pouted at him and he shook his head firmly. He put his drink down and got a can of pop from the cooler. "You can have this."
I scowled at him but took the can of pop, then I noticed we were being watched. "What?"
"So are you…?" Allison trailed off and I knew what she was trying to ask, however Pogue said,
"She wants to know if you guys are doing it." Caleb smacked him on the back of his head and Pogue punched his arm. Reid laughed and Allison and Tyler rolled their eyes. I laughed and choked on my pop at the same time.
"Very nice Pogue, and mind your own damn business. We agreed to work things out." I told first Pogue then Ally.
"Yeah but It wont take long before she wants me in bed with her." I went to smack him, and Reid grabbed my hand, pulling me towards him enough so that he could kiss me. "You know I love you." He smiled and I melted. How could I be mad when he says that?
"I love you too Blondie." He kissed me again and we pulled apart when someone cleared their throat.
"Explanation?" Caleb motioned between the two of us with his finger. Reid pulled me over to a giant armchair and onto his lap. The others piled onto a large couch or on the floor.
"There's nothing to explain Golden Boy. We're together and that's all that matters. Where's the cake?" Caleb rolled his eyes and smiled at Reid's "explanation", and was followed by the others into the kitchen.
It was just Reid and I left in the living room, and I was still on his lap. Laying my head on his shoulder, he kissed my forehead and stroked his fingers along my arm.
"Thanks for not dying." Reid quoted the banner and I laughed. Tilting my head up, I kissed him and intertwined our fingers together.
"You're welcome. You're still on probation." He let his head fall back against the chair, and I laughed at his exaggerated sigh of annoyance. Getting up I walked slowly to the kitchen, over my shoulder I said, "But if you play your cards right, you may just get lucky."
Realizing the full meaning of what I said, Reid's head shot up and he looked at me. When he heard me snicker he growled and jumped out of the chair. Screaming I took off into the kitchen with Reid chasing behind me. We ended up back in the living room where he caught me and threw me over his shoulder.
"It's not nice to tease." Reid scolded jokingly, smacking my ass.
"It's not nice to hit!" I told him smacking his head. I screamed again when he chucked me on the couch and started hitting me with a throw pillow.
"I'll stop when you say, "Reid Garwin is a sexy god and It's a privilege to be in his presence of awesomeness."
I laughed and grabbed the pillow when he went to hit me again. "Bite me Garwin."
He smiled widely and threw the pillow on the armchair. "My pleasure." Then he lowered his head and started making exaggerated chewing noises against my neck.
"Ew, gross stop!" It would have been more effective if I wasn't giggling like mad.
"Alright enough you too. Remember Juliet just came back from the hospital." Caleb said in his stern tone he only used when he was dealing with Reid and his antics. He came over and pulled him off of me, which allowed me to calm down from Reid's shenanigans.
After the party was over, we all went to bed for one last night in Tyler's place. I called my dad and he said it was fine that I stayed the night. Reid walked me to the room I was staying in before the whole accident, and I grabbed his hand before he could leave.
"I don't want to be alone tonight. I have nightmares from the shooting." Reid squeezed my hand and we entered the room. I couldn't raise my shoulder so Reid helped me remove my top. Running his hands along the bandage, he got a sad look in his eyes and it broke my heart.
"I'm sorry Jules." I shook my head and stroked his cheek.
"Stop it, you didn't shoot me. Now, take off your pants." I smiled and kissed his cheek, moving away to change into a shirt Reid gave me to sleep in. Once we were done, we pulled the bed covers back and I laid with my back to his chest. His arm wrapped around me and he kissed my shoulder, stroking it with his chin.
"I love you bookworm." I smiled and returned the sentiment. Falling asleep with him wrapped around me kept the nightmares away. I slept well that night and I had a dream of me in a white dress and Reid in a tux. But it was only a dream, right?
Author's Note: Alright boys and girls, first chapter of the sequel. Thank you to those who read and reviewed "The Stalker". I felt much love from all of you and am dying to know what you think of this chapter.