Chapter 16

Almost six hours had gone by and there was no news on Alex. Dean paced the floor for the umpteenth time. And like all the other times, he finally sat down. They were all exhausted. None of them had slept well since Alex's first trip to the emergency room. And with all the times they waited and visited her in the hospital, it became tiring. Dean thought back to their first date. Or as they liked to the call it, their second date. When the two of them had went to the skating rink . They also had their frist kiss that night. Now almost three years later, he was waiting in the hospital. Waiting to know if she was alive.

He popped out of his chair as Alex's doctor entered the waiting room. "Is she alright?"

"Well...not exactly. She's not doing well at all. In fact, we've tried all we could, but we've had to put her on life support. If we take her off of it, she won't survive. And there's a low percent she will survive with the life support. We'll keep her on it as long as possible, but we don't know if she's ever going to wake up." This was one of the worst parts about her job. She could feel the depressing mood take over, as silence slipped between them.

But Dean soon broke the silence. "So basically you're telling us that she's going to die?"

"No...there's still a chance of her surviving." She tried to make everything better, but she failed at doing so.

"How much of a chance?" Jerry asked, risking to hear the percent he probably didn't want to hear.

"About...about a thirty percent chance."

"I have to go to the bathroom." Justin whispered, almost hardly audible. He quickly dashed outside the hospital, which didn't make sense, considering he said he was going to the bathroom. Juliet followed, wiping the tear that trickled down her cheek. She pulled Justin into a hug and he broke down, sobbing. She rubbed his back, attempting to comfort him.

"It's okay."

"She's practically dead, Juliet! It's not okay!" He pulled out of her arms, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Hey, hey, there's a thrity percent chance of her surviving." She tried to saty positive, but Justin's negativity took over.

"And a seventy percent chance of her dying. I should of realized this sooner! I thought she was just being Alex, with her stupid problems! And now she's dying!"

"Shh, Justin. She's strong. She'll overcome this, just like all her other obstacles."

"Why did I have to fight with her all the time? Why couldn't I just be grateful to have a sister!"

"This isn't your fault, okay? You have to stay strong for her and she'll make it through. We just have to hope and stay positive." She could feel more tears press against her eyes, as she tried to comfort Justin. But really, she was trying to comfort herself, as well.

Dean's legs quickly headed towards Alex's room. He paused outside the door, hesitating to step inside. He found the strength and slowly twisted the door knob. There she lay, sickly, but still gorgeous. She looked undernourished and helpless. His legs became weak, but he dragged himself beside her. He gently pressed his lips against hers, but felt nothing back. He grabbed her hand, intertwining his fingers with hers. "Alex, please wake up. I love you. Please don't leave me. There's so much more you have to do in this world and you can't leave me. Without you...I'm nothing. I love you too much, please don't go." He broke down, tearing pouring from his eyes like a faucet. He slipped in the bed beside her, soon drifting asleep.

He suddenly awoken as a nurse entered the room. "Sir, maybe you should get up now."

"I'm sorry, I...I didn't know I was sleeping." He glanced at the clock. It was nine a.m. He slipped out of the bed, taking a final glance at Alex, before leaving. He passed Jerry and Theresa on the way out, just smiling at them. It was too painful to speak and all three of them knew it.

Jerry and Theresa cautiously entered their daughter's room. Theresa took one look at Alex, before turning away. She sobbed against her husband's chest, feeling his arms fold around her. "Jerry, I thought I could handle it, but I can't. I can't see her like this."

"Why...why don't we go home?" He let his tears escape, taking his wife's hand and leading the way out of the room. Nobody wanted to see thier child this way. Nobody wanted to have to deal with the situation they were in. Parents found it extremely difficult to deal with their child being raped, but Theresa and Jerry had to deal with their daughter being abused, raped, depressed, tramatized, and Anorexic. And now their daughter was dying. And there was nothing they could do.

"Jerry...what are we going to do if she dies?"

"Theresa, don't think like that. We...we just have to stay positive."

"But look at the chances! And if she does survive it's going to happen again. She's still going to refuse to eat. Gosh, I'm a mother, I should have known something was wrong with her. And all I've done while she was going through this was fight with her! Now she's dying, Jerry! And I can't tell her how much I love her or how sorry I am for fighting with her!"

"Stop, please. Stop blaming yourself. She's...she's going to be okay." He tried to convince both her and himself as he folded his arms around his wife. She sobbed against him and he too broke down. This was the hardest thing they've dealt with. All of this. Since Alex's first trip to the hospital. When it started with just an eating disorder.

Jerry wasn't in the mood to make breakfast this morning. Especially since his daughter was dying. Instead of cooking his usual eggs and pancakes, he poured everyone's favorite cereal and placed milk on the table. And as his sons and wife entered the kitchen, nobody said a word. Not a hi, or a smile, or a wave. Nothing. They just sat down in their seats and ate in silence. Nobody knew what to say. And normally when this happened, Alex would start a conversation. But today...that was unable to happen. She was unable to speak or move or even breathe on her own.

After everyone one was finished eating they departed from the kitchen in silence. Jerry and Theresa dragged themselves to work, trying to smile for their customers. Max stayed in his room, lying on his bed, crying. Justin let Juliet in the house, before taking her upstairs to his room, where she once again, attempted to comfort him. Dean sat in the hospital waititng room, in case there was any news on Alex. But he was told to leave as night rolled around.

And a week later...there was still no news on Alex.

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