What would it take? - A Kissing Booth Fan Fiction

Thirty-one

Elle
A soft knock on the door of my hospital room makes both Noah and I look up from the breakfast we'd been busy scarfing down.

"Come in," I call around a mouthful.

Lee's head pokes into the room, his worried expression making my heart squeeze.

"Hey, Shelly," he says, a sad smile barely tugging his mouth upwards.

My throat closes over and tears sting my eyes. Somehow having my best friend arrive is making me remember what an awful situation we've found ourselves in. Putting my spoon down, I swallow painfully and wave him in. To his credit, Lee doesn't ask questions, striding across the small room and wrapping his arms around my shoulders as I curl into him.

"It's going to be okay, Elle. I promise."

"I know," I sniffle into his shirt. "But this sucks."

"Yeah," I feel him nod against my head. "It really does."

I draw back and Lee lets me go, squeezing my hands as he sits down opposite Noah. They share a look that speaks volumes without either of them saying a single word. Noah pushes the rest of his bagel away, apparently having lost his appetite. Lee raises an eyebrow in question and Noah gives him the barest of nods before Lee swoops in and grabs it, shoving it down in a few huge bites.

I push my cereal around in the bowl for a bit, but can't muster any enthusiasm for it anymore, either. Sighing, I push the rolling table away and Noah stands, moving it off to the side, handing me the coffee I haven't finished yet. He presses a kiss to my temple before sitting down again, his hand settling on mine, tracing patterns on my wrist with his thumb. Lee starts babbling then about God-knows-what, his voice filling the silence that had started to smother us all.

It occurs to me that he snuck in before visiting hours even start, only by fifteen minutes or so, but still. The reason behind that becomes clear when my dad strides through the door right on nine AM. June's hot on his heels, an apologetic look already on her face. That doesn't fill me with confidence and I can feel myself tensing up.

Despite his demeanour, I am glad to see my dad. I was already asleep by the time he got here yesterday, so this is the first time I've seen him since Friday night. I wasn't all that pleasant then, but it feels like a distant memory after everything that's happened since. Giving Noah's hand a squeeze, I release it before reaching for Dad as he leans over to hug me tightly.

"Hey, Ellie-bear," he whispers against my hair, his voice thick with emotion. "How're you doing?"

"I'm okay, Dad," I tell him, trying not to cry.

"Sure?"

"Yeah," I nod.

It's the truth. Physically, I don't feel too bad. There's still some pain, but it's no worse than what my period normally feels like. It's nothing like what I felt yesterday.

Mentally? That's another story. I feel all over the place. In the moments where I manage to forget, I feel fine, like nothing happened. Like everything's okay and my world hasn't suddenly flipped upside down.

But when I remember? It's crushing, like there's a weight on my chest so heavy I can't draw a full breath. It makes me feel panicky, and I don't want to look at it too closely. I want to be the Elle I was before this all happened, before I even found out I was pregnant. I want Noah and I to be the couple we were before, without this hanging around our necks.

I guess that's impossible though. I can't go back and fix this so it never happens. I'm going to have to deal with the fallout, starting with my dad. Squeezing him tight for a second, I release him and he steps back, flicking a glance at Noah that's so cold I almost shiver. June steps around her son, placing a hand on his shoulder before smiling at me.