Ditched

Love the Hard Way

"I'm so sorry, kids. He's not awake right now. He's in a coma; you can't visit him at this point." The doctor states, crossing his arms.

"I want to see him!" I shout, my voice filled with fury.

"I'm sorry, only family members are allowed and you don't look like a sister, ma'am."

My heart pounds. What am I supposed to do? I look at Jack for help. "Um, doc, my name's Alex. I don't know if you know me, do you?"

The doctor frowns. "Never seen you before in my life."

Jack's body relaxes and he smiles. Good, he mouths to me. "Well, I'm Asher's brother and I would like to go in. May I see him?"

The doctor narrows his eyes at Jack and scrunches his nose. "Fine, but you two have to stay here in the waiting room." The doctor says, pointing at Casey and I.

Jack smiles. "Oh, that won't be necessary. See, this here is our cousin, Shawn. And that's his wife, Madeline."

I stare, wide eyed, at Jack. What the hell is he saying? I make a mental note to kick him later. "Uh..." I say, my voice stuck in my throat.

Then Casey catches on and reaches for my face. He pulls it towards his and presses his lips to mine. Stunned, I just stand there as he kisses me. His mouth moves and he mutters, "Go along with it," against my mouth. I snap out of my daze and wrap my arms around Casey's neck, running my fingers through his hair. I kiss him back, letting the thought of Asher slip from my mind. Pretending like this is exhilarating. I smile against Casey's mouth and he smiles back. We pull away and Casey takes my hand.

"Everything's going to be okay, Mad." He says, pulling me to his chest. "He'll be fine."

Jack raises his eyebrows at the doctor. "See? Madly in love. Can we go in now?" He asks, bouncing from foot to foot in anticipation.

The doctor shrugs. "Sure, whatever. As long as you're all family."

I grin at Casey and he squeezes my hand. We walk behind Jack until we slip through the double doors and break into a sprint. Jack runs next to us and I let out a simple laugh. "That worked beautifully." I say, pushing away the mental note I made earlier.

Casey grins. "That was the most awkward kiss I think I've ever had." He says through laughter.

Jack chuckles. "Well that's because you guys aren't madly in love."

I nod. "But whatever works, right?"

Casey smiles at me. "Sorry about that."

I blush. "Nah, you were just trying to help. As long as I gets me to see Ash, I'll do anything."

Jack narrows his eyes. "I thought you said you hated him and never wanted to see him again?" He asks, a puzzled look on his face.

I don't respond, I just look at Jack with sadness and his jaw clenches. He understands my position.

He turns to Casey and shrugs. "We're going to see Asher so obviously my plan was perfect." Hr says smiling mischievously, changing the subject.

"Why don't you brag a little?" Casey says, rolling his eyes at me.

We turn a few corners and crash through his room's doors. Asher's lying on a bed, a bandage wrapped around his head, covered in blood. He's connected to a bunch of wires, pumping liquid and medicine into his body. A screen shows something in his body, some kind of monitor. It's a straight line, completely, and if that's his heart beat, then that's not good.

My heart pounds as I walk up to his bed and sit in the chair next to him. I don't talk to him and I don't touch him and I don't move. I just sit there. And sit there. Casey and Jack come and go. Again and again. Jack brings food, but I don't eat, I can't eat. Casey brings me a book and a movie and a milkshake, but I don't touch any of them.

I sit for hours. Days. Next to Asher. Not doing anything except watching him and occasionally sleeping a little.

Eventually, my stomach hurts too much and I succumb to a burger and one of Casey's four milkshakes that he tried to get me to eat.

Jack and Casey fill me in on what I missed in school. Ryan finally got the waitress to go out with him and, according to Jack, I got out of the History test we had studied for. Casey tells me that he refused to take a new Study Buddy and that he'll wait for me to come back so we can study. They tell me more, but I tune out, smiling at them here and there.

All I can think about is Asher. I don't know if he'll be okay. Or rather, if he'll ever wake up. I keep my fingers crossed and realize how mean I was to him. How much of a you-know-what I was to him. He was just trying to help and I pushed him away, scolded him for caring. Tuned him out because he was nice. Because he tried to make me
Happy. Because he sacrificed himself for me.

I put my head in my hands and let the tears come. Flooding down my cheeks, I wet my entire shirt, but I keep crying. Casey sits next to me and slings an arm around my shoulder, but I shrug it off.

He looks shocked and maybe a little hurt and a stab of guilt hits my guy. But I push it away and rest my head on my knee, pulling them to my chest. I slide to the floor and once again, I sit there. But it doesn't last long this time. Because I hear a beep and a squiggle becomes visible on Asher's heart monitor. I jump up and run over.

"What does that mean?" I question the nurse, shoving a finger into the screen.

She smiles. "Huh! It means his breathing sparked. His heart started."

My eyes widen with excitement. I let out a laugh. "He's....he's gonna be okay, then?"

The nurse nods. "Apparently. Well if he wakes himself up, he'll be okay."

My heart sinks into a black abyss. "And what if he doesn't wake up?" I ask cautiously.

"Well" is all the nurse says. I turn to Jack, tears forming once again in my eyes.

He shakes his head. "I'm so sorry, Piper."

He goes to give me a hug, but I slap his hand away and, through clenched teeth, say the only thing that comes to my mind. "This is all your fault."

Wiping tears away, I stomp out of the room, ignoring the extreme hurt on Jack's face.

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A/N: this was an extra special chapter bc I broke my ankle and I have nothing better to do😂😂hope you guys enjoy!!