Author's Note: Hey there, readers. I am not Stephanie Meyer, therefor Twilight isnt mine nor are the characters. Ana and Jade are all mine though. Okay so I noticed that the last chapter I posted didnt get many responses and I am sorry if it wasnt all that great, hopefully this chapter makes up for that. Thank you all for the reviews! I hope that you all keep reading and enjoying the story! So Read, Review and Enjoy :D
Chapter 21: Three Days, Ten Hours, Five Minutes
I stare out of my bedroom window, the familiar desert in front of me. I wrap my arms around myself tightly. I should be happy, I thought that by coming home I would feel enlightened, and at peace. I'm not. My heart longs for Washington, for my newly found family, for Jade. My heart sinks at the thought of how much pain all of this is causing her. I knew from the moment that I jumped on the freeway that I was making a mistake, and that mistake would hurt Jade. That every second I was gone would make her miserable. Yet I kept driving, and I drove all night, into the morning. It wasn't until I was sitting in front of my childhood home that I realized the gravity of my choice. Staring into the window I see my bedroom door open and my mom slips in walking lightly towards me. She wraps her arms around me, hugging me closely to her. She breathes into my hair and I can feel the questions building inside of her, even though she isn't saying anything. I had to appreciate the fact that for the first time in my twenty years of life she didn't push me to tell her what was going on. She just comforted in her own quiet way.
" Are you going to tell me what is going on Ana?" she asks after a long silence. I exhale a breath I didn't even realize that I had been holding, and sit down on my bed. I cross my legs and pull a pillow into my lap hugging it tightly to my chest.
" I don't know Mom. It all just got so out of control so quickly," I say, cursing my emotions at just the slightest thought of Him. She reaches over and takes my hand in hers, looking me in the eyes.
" Why don't you start at the beginning?" she suggests, lightly squeezing my hand.
" I had the moment Mom. The fairy tale moment. He walked into the room and it was like everything and everyone around me fell away and he is all that I can think about. He is constantly on my mind, and he broke my heart," I say, tears falling silently down my face.
" Oh honey, this is what it is all about, a boy?" she asks, laughing slightly as she brushes my hair softly off of my forehead.
" No, ugh yes, I don't know Mom. It's just so weird with him, like he has these moments every once and a while where he is just so incredibly sweet and its like every doubt that I have that he doesn't want me falls away, but then he has always had these moments when his ex-girlfriend is around," I say, my hand tightening on my pillow. We sit there for awhile not saying a word, just letting the time pass us by quickly and silently.
" Listen, Ana. I am not going to give you any advice on men, but I can tell you this much. If you throw away your dream, and everything that you have worked so hard for because of this guy, you will regret it more than anything in this entire world," she says, breaking the silence. I nod my head, part of me agreeing with her, another part of me wishing that she would have told me that she wanted me to stay home.
" I know, I know," I say, closing my eyes tightly. She kisses the top of my head lightly and leaves the room. I lay back on my childhood bed staring at my ceiling hoping that the answer's to all of my problems would fall from the sky. I stare at the clock and realize that what my mother and Jade have been telling me is true. As much as I want to protect myself from the pain and humiliation of facing Jasper again, I know that I can't leave school and my dreams. I reach for my phone dialing the number that is familiar to me. The sound of Jade's relieved voice tells me that my choice to go back to Washington is the right one, it has to be.
The sound of my phone buzzing loudly on the nightstand wakes me. I groan as I roll over squinting to look at the clock. Who would be calling me right now?' I think to myself. I pick up my phone and Jade's name flashes across the screen. She is probably calling to tell me all about her presents, so I answer it feeling kind of annoyed that I was wakened from such a peaceful sleep.
" Hello," I say, and I sit up when I hear sobbing in the back ground.
" Ana, you have to come back. There's been an accident, its Jasper, it's bad Ana," Jade says, and her words circle in my head making me feel light headed. I sit up shaking and snap on the light on my dresser.
" Jade what are you talking about?" I ask, every nerve in my body standing on edge.
" I don't know, I don't know how bad it is Ana, we are headed to the hospital right now. You have to come back, promise me you will come back," she says, her voice filled with panic.
" Yeah okay, I am on my way," I say closing my phone. I jump out of my bed and rush around my room gathering clothes stuffing them into my duffel bug. I walk to my mom's room and knock on her door softly.
" Mom," I call out and she sits up sleepily in her bed.
" Yeah," she says, her voice sleep filled.
" I have to leave. Jade just called, there's been an accident," I say, leaning down to hug and kiss her good bye.
" Is everything okay? Is Jade okay?" she asks, her voice immediately alert.
" I don't know, and it isn't Jade, its Jasper," I say, my voice breaking slightly.
" Oh honey. Call me as soon as you get there, I love you. Be safe, my girl," she says, tears shining in her eyes.
" Always mom," I say, walking from her room. I rush out into the cold November air, my heart hammering wildly. I slide into my car as calmly as I can and pull out of the driveway, praying the whole time that Jasper will be okay.
Seventeen hours can be a long time. A very long time. I have counted every second of every minute, tears streaming non-stop down my face. Part of me cant help but to feel somewhat at fault for everything. If I hadn't reacted the way I did, Jasper wouldn't be having so many problems with everyone. I follow the directions that Jade quickly gave me to Harborview Medical Center. I park and hold onto the wheel, not wanting to go inside and face what might be. Jade hasn't answered her phone since she called me, and a part of me fears that I will walk in there to nothing but bad news. I force myself out of my car and walk slowly to the entrance of the hospital. I stop and stare at the huge building looming down at me. I walk in, looking for the admittance desk. I finally find it, and see a small line forming. I get in line behind a woman with a small girl in her arms. I look around the emergency room and see nothing but the sick and ailing. 'This is what Jade wants to do. She wants to help people who are sick and dying, I could never do it,' I think to myself.
" Excuse me," the voice of the clerk behind the counter snaps me from my thoughts and I turn to look at her. " Can I help you?"
" Oh yes, uhm I am looking for someone, a friend of mine. Jasper Hale, he would have been brought in last night, he was in an accident," I say, my voice sounds hollow and far away. I clutch the counter as my vision begins swimming and I blink my eyes quickly trying to clear the sudden blurriness.
" Are you okay?" the woman asks, and I look at her.
" Yeah, sorry, I drove all night from California, just a little tired that's all," I say, taking a deep breath. I didn't make it this far to fall apart now. I watch as she punches in the information that I gave her into the computer.
" Yes Mr. Hale is in the I.C.U, room 1826," she says, she points me in the direction of the elevators. I walk slowly to the elevator, feeling like I am about to walk straight into a nightmare.
I walk off of the elevator and see Emmett and Edward sitting in the waiting room looking exhausted. I stop and stare at them and almost as if they could sense my presence they both look up at me. Emmett gets to his feet and walks to me wrapping me in his arms. I hold onto him tightly, my hold on control slipping through my fingers.
" How bad is it?" I ask, my voice breaking, tears clouding my eyes.
" It could be worse, but its not good," he says, pulling away to look at me. " You being here will help." I let out a shaky breath as Edward hugs me next.
" Jade is in the cafeteria right now, getting Rose some coffee. Rosalie hasn't left his side since he got out of surgery," Edward says, and I can feel the pain wash over me in torrents at the mention of the word surgery.
" Should I go in? Maybe I should wait," I say, my voice sounds foreign to me. Too high pitched, too strained.
" No, go. Its right around the corner," Edward says, pushing me forward. I walk slowly down the hall and pause at the corner. I don't want to see it, because seeing it makes it all too real. I steel myself the best that I can as I take a final deep breath and turn to go into the room. I knock softly on the door and open it. The first thing I see is Rosalie, holding Jasper's hand. She looks up at me with red rimmed eyes, and fresh tears start rolling down her cheeks as she stands up and walks to me. Part of me is braced for anger, but she grabs me into a tight hug. I hug her back and lose what little bit of control I had. I cry with her, trying to make some sort of sense out of all of this.
" I am so glad you came back," she says, pulling away to look at me. I just nod and look over at Jasper. He looks like he is sleeping, only he is pale. Paler than usual. A tube is taped to his mouth and I can feel myself start shaking as I realize the gravity of all of this. " He asked for you," she says, and I turn to look at her, tears continuing to rain down my face.
" What?" I ask shakily.
" When they first brought him in, he asked for you," she says, leading me to chair she had been occupying when I first came in. I sit down heavily, and stare at the floor.
" I'm sorry Rose," I say finally wiping at my eyes furiously.
" This isn't your fault Ana," she says, her voice reassuring yet broken. " I am going to step out for a minute, do you mind staying?"
" No, go ahead," I say and I watch as she leans down and kisses Jasper softly on the forehead, she turns and walks out of the room leaving me to sit in silence, the only noise being made is the beeping from the heart monitor. I look around and take in the surroundings. The room is pretty much empty, save for the small bag of Rosalie's stuff sitting in the corner. I pull the chair closer to the bed and reach my hand through the bars on the bed. I take Jasper's hand in mine, and start crying as I squeeze it wishing that he would squeeze back. " Jasper," I say, my voice breaking softly. " Listen, you have to wake up okay. I don't know if you can hear me, but I am hoping that you can. I need you to know something. I love you. I loved you from the moment that you walked into the room cursing me for parking in your spot, and that love has only grown, from the first moment that you kissed me to the last. I know that you and I probably wont happen but that isn't why you need to wake up. You need to wake up for your parents, and for Rosalie, Emmet and Edward, and Alice. Even Jade. I know she has given you hell, but she is my best friend, and deep down she cares. So please, you just have to wake up," I say, my voice sounding breathless. I pull the bar down and lay my head on the bed closing my eyes, tears falling softly. " Just wake up."
I wake up to someone shaking my shoulder softly. I lift my head feeling somewhat disoriented and stare into the face of my best friend. The tears that I thought had grown dry immediately start falling again as she wraps her arms around me.
" Welcome back," she whispers pulling away to sit next to me.
" What happened Jade?" I ask, sitting back down, staring at Jasper.
" We don't really know. The police say that their best guess is that he took a curve to fast, lost control. He slammed into a cement median, flipped his car. When they brought him in he was somewhat coherent, they said he was asking for you, saying things like he just has to make things okay again. He went under and hasn't come out of it yet," she says, and I look over at her, my eyes feeling heavy and swollen from my incessant crying.
" Edward said something about surgery, how bad was it Jade?" I ask, and she looks at me seriously.
" To be honest it could have been worse. He punctured his left lung and lost his spleen. For the most part he was lucky," she says, and I close my eyes against the word lucky. Lucky? Yes, how lucky for Jasper that he is laying unconscious, on breathing machines. We sit in silence for awhile, holding each others hand. I lift my head to see Edward, Emmett, and Rosalie standing in the doorway.
" Visiting hours are almost over, so we should probably get going," Emmett says, Rosalie steps forward shaking her head.
" I'm going to stay," she says running a hand over his hair.
" Rose, seriously you haven't slept at all, you need to eat, take a shower, and rest," Emmett says sternly, and Rosalie turns to stare at him fire dancing in her eyes.
" I am not leaving him here alone," she says, anger and exhaustion mixing in her voice.
" Emmett is right Rosalie, you should go get some rest, I'll stay," I say, and everyone turns their attention to me.
" Are you sure Ana? You have got to be exhausted," Jade says, her eyes trained to my face.
" Yes I am sure, you guys go get some rest," I say, standing to my feet. I walk to Rosalie and hug her tightly. " You wont do him any good if you are exhausted and running on empty," I whisper in her ear. She hugs me back tightly.
" Thanks," she whispers. I hug everyone one by one as they leave the room and settle back in my chair. I take Jasper's hand back in mine and close my eyes, dropping into a dreamless sleep.
Three days, ten hours and five minutes. That is how long I have been watching Jasper, looking for any sign that he is coming back to us. Everyday, everyone comes, sitting with him long enough for me to run home to take a shower, eat something , and come back. Alone in the dimly lit room, I sit my feet propped up on the bed reading through the same month old magazine. I throw it down onto the table frustrated and jittery. The doctor has assured us all that he is doing okay physically, sometimes it just takes longer for people to wake up. I lean forward taking his hand again.
" I know by now that if you can hear me, that you are probably getting annoyed. Nothing has changed from three days ago Jasper, we all still need you to come back. Please, just come back," I say, laying my head onto his hand. I jump slightly as he squeezes my hand I look at him. His eyes start fluttering and my heart starts pounding in my chest. I stand up looking down at him as his eyes open slowly. I smile as the tears start falling down my face.
" I will be right back I am going to get a nurse," I say, and he nods his head slowly his eyes open wide as he blinks slowly. I walk out of his room my legs feeling weak. I rush to the nurses station.
" He's awake," I say breathlessly and the night shift nurse, Sue looks at me wide eyes. She picks up the phone and calls for the doctor. I walk quickly back to Jaspers room, rushing to his side, letting out a shaky breath. I was afraid that I had imagined him being awake, because it has been something that I wanted so bad. The doctor enters the room and starts talking to the nurse that follows him in.
" Hello Jasper, nice to have you back," he says, smiling down at him. I didn't catch his name, but it seems as if he knows him. " We are going to remove this tube, but I am going to want to keep you on oxygen just as a precaution." I watch from the corner of the room as they work swiftly and easily. I hold my breath as they remove the tube and get him on oxygen.
" How are you feeling?" the doctor asks and Jasper winces as he opens his mouth to talk.
" Fine, throat is a little sore, but other than that I feel fine," he says, his voice hoarse.
" It will be sore for a few days, I will have the nurse get you some ice chips, take it easy, and in the next day or so we will have you moved to a regular room, I figure you can be on your way home by Monday," the doctors says writing something down on the chart.
" Thank you Carlisle," Jasper whispers, wincing slightly as he pushes himself up in the bed. The doctor walks out the nurse following behind him. I step forward and Jasper stares at me.
" Hi," he whispers out, and I step forward closer to the bed.
" Hey," I say, my voice shaking violently. " I'm sorry I just have to, just for a second," I say crumbling to the floor crying violently by the side of his bed. I feel him reach his hand down and he places a hand on my head as I shake with the tears. As much anger as I felt, the sheer terror at the thought of losing him was far greater.
" Ana, its okay," he says, his voice cracking as he talks.
" I know, its just I was so, so scared," I say turning around to look at him. I take his outstretched hand and look at him. The color is starting to come back to his face and I smile at that. We sit looking at each other when my phone buzzes in my pocket causing me to jump. I pull it out and look at it to see the text from Jade. 'Just got the call from the doctor, we are headed that way, see you in a bit, give Jasper a big fat kiss for me!' I smile as I slide the phone back into my pocket as I get to my feet.
" That was Jade, the good doctor called, everyone is on their way," I say, and I smile down at him. I lean down and a press a kiss to his lips.
" What was that for?" he asks, licking his lips.
" Jade told me to give you a kiss for her," I say, leaning down pressing a softer kiss to his lips.
" That one was for me." I lay my forehead against his and close my eyes. I don't know what will happen after this, I don't know where Jasper and I will go, or not go, but for this one moment all that matters is that he is back, and I'm with him.