Heartbreak Girl

Chapter Twenty: Almost Perfect

 Jeriah woke to the sound of a heart monitor sounding off in his ear. Looking around the white room with only a purple head of hair beside him to keep company. Purple?

Taking in a breath, he realized that the purple hair belonged to Shaye. Reaching out with his good arm, he laid a gentle hand on her head. Resulting in her softly sighing as her eyes fluttered open.

On seeing him, her head snapped up and her eyes widened. "Jer," she whispered, tears brimming in her eyes. Grabbing onto his good hand, she squeezed it before bringing it to her lips and kissing his knuckles. She watched him as he watched her too. Drinking in their new reality.

Jerah pulled his hand from her lips to run his fingers through her cropped purple hair. "God, I missed you." He stated, struggling to speak through the brace they had his jaw in. Licking his dry and cracked lips, settling his hand on the side of her face. "I thought I would never see you again."

She sighed, closing her eyes and leaning into his palm. Holding his hand where it was, she nuzzled agaisnt it. "You scared me so bad, Jer. Don't you ever do something so stupid again."

Jeriah tried to nod his head, knowing better than to grind something else out of his mouth.

The door slammed open to reveal the rest of the gang. Tabitha scolded Hames for kicking the door open with a sleeping Jeriah. But when she looked over toward the bed, she froze. Making long strides toward where Shaye was sitting, Tabitha stopped and laid her hands on Shaye's shoulders. "Good to see you awake," Tabitha stated. Pausing before biting her lip and shaking her head. "I'm not going to ask why you didn't tell me. Seems like nobody wanted to. But next time? Talk rather than suffering in silence, okay? That's what friends are for."

Jeriah nodded, grabbing Shaye's hand and squeezing it. Coen stepped forward, wrapping his arms around Tabitha. "And, now that we've finally met you, we want to give you something." Coen nodded toward Hames, who brought over a manilla envelope to lay it on the hospital bed.
Feeling confused, Jeriah let go of Shaye's hand to reach for it. With Shaye's help, they opened the envelope to find a slip of notebook paper, a patch, and a key inside. He looked up to see the gang smiling down at him.

It was Tabitha who stepped up. "I was confused too, they gave me no clue either." She grinned as she took the envelope and shook out its contents. "This is the address to the super-secret lair they always disappear to," she expalined as she pulled out the key. "This is a spare key to, said super-secret lair." And holding up the patch, Jeriah saw it was a red rose, thorns and all, with the word "Rebel" stitched on the bottom. "And this is an honorary badge."

Realization hit, catching the air in Jeriah's throat. He looked to Coen, who was grinning. "We want you to be a part of the gang. Full time. No gimmicks or shenanigans. This is the real deal."

Jeriah took the offered badge and fiddled with it wiht the tips of his fingers. It felt real. He looked back toward the gang to see them watching him. Shedding a glance at Shaye, he saw hope was in her eyes. Not having the capability of words, he gripped the badge tighter and laid his hand down on the bed.

The gang grinned or smiled, knowing looks on their faces. "Welcome to the family, brother," Jasper stated with a smile.

Looking around, Jeriah felt at home. Finally, he had achieved his goal. Turning to face Shaye, who sat watching him with a giddy grin. He got her, he got the girl of his dreams. No more disappearing, no more running, he was home.