treat you better ; shawn mendes

ten

Riley's POV
My skin ripples with goosebumps as soon as I see who just came out of the back of that ambulance.

My best friend.

I instantly let go of Shawn's hand and run over to Jack.

He's lying on the stretcher with his face covered in blood, his face swollen and bruised and his eyes are closed.

"Jack!" I yell, tearing pouring down my face as my breathing becomes heavy.

"Excuse me, miss. Please step back." A paramedic tells me. But I don't move a muscle. I stand over the stretcher, looking at Jack. He can't die.

"Miss!" The paramedic yells again. I feel arms wrap around me and pull me away from Jack just as they begin to wheel him away.

"It's okay. He's going to be okay." Shawn says, holding me close as he kisses the top of my head. But I can see the uncertainty in his eyes. He knows Jack won't make it.

"I have to see him." I cry. Shawn lets go of me and puts one hand around my waist.

"Then come on, let's go."

•

We've been in the waiting room for what seems like hours. I'm leaning my head against Shawn's shoulder and he's playing with my hand. It's a good distraction.

"Shawn?" I ask.

"Mhm." He says. I force myself to stop crying before I begin talking.

"Thankyou for everything. Thankyou for driving me to the hospital. Thankyou for holding my hand while I was getting the stitches. Thankyou for waiting here with me." I say, the aching throb of my cheek coming back.

"I'd do anything for you. You know that." He says. I smile slightly.

"I know. Just, thankyou." I say. Shawn dips his head down and kisses my forehead and butterflies rise in my stomach.

"Hey, I wonder what's going to happen to Dylan. You do know that if Jack doesn't make it-" Shawn says before I cut him off.

"He'll be a murderer. I know." I say, "but Jack has to make it." I finish. I can't lose hope on Jack. He was the only other person I could really sort of confide in apart from Shawn. Jack was my best friend. I don't know how I'll go on without him. The sad thing is, his parents were on a cruise this week. They probably don't even know their son is dying right now.

After another hour and a half of waiting, a doctor finally comes out.

"Are you two here for Jack Meyers?" She says. Shawn and I stand up.

"Yes. How is he doing?" I ask instantly, with my fingers crossed behind my back. But all the doctor does is give us a sympathetic look.

"He has internal bleeding in the brain. I'm very sorry to say that it looks like he isn't going to make it. You need to say your goodbyes now." She says to us before leaving. As soon as she says that, I feel numb. I can't feel anything expect the beating of my own heart accelerating.

"Go." Shawn says quietly.

"Are you sure?" I ask, my voice cracking. I'm most definitely not ready to say goodbye to my best friend.

"I didn't know him. I'll wait here." He says. I nod and hug him before I walk into Jacks room and close the door behind me.

It's completely silent and all I can hear his the beeping of his life support and the breathing from his oxygen mask.

I look over at him. He's in a mass of tangled tubes. They've cleaned all the blood off of him but you can easily tell his face is badly bruised from the inside and the out.

"Hey." He smiles weakly. He can barely open his eyes. I sit down beside him and take his hand. He manages to squeeze it tightly.

"I'm so sorry." I begin.

"It's okay. None of this is your fault. Don't think that." He says.

"You're my best friend. What am I supposed to without you?" I ask, infinite tears bucketing down. Jack lets go of my hand and weakly raises his to wipe them away.

"You will have Shawn. Yes, I know about him." He says. I feel myself go red. I don't care if Jack knows or not, I need to focus on him and what I want to say.

"It won't be the same without you." I cry softly.

"Please don't cry," he says, tears of his own filling his eyes, "I need you to do something for me." He adds. I wipe my tears and nod.

"What is it?" I ask.

"Tell my parents that I love them. Tell Shawn to take good care of you. Riley, always remember that I love you." He weeps. I wrap my arms around him and cry into his neck.

"I love you too. But you can't go yet." I plead. I sit back down and Jack looks at me with serious eyes.

"No, it's okay. At least now..." He says, struggling for air. I can't bear to watch this.

"At least now what?" I ask. He has to finish his last sentence. His eyes get droopy and start to close.

"At least now... I can be with Cara." He says before exhaling. The machine that was once beeping and telling me he's still alive now starts to just beep a constant sound.

Jack Meyers is dead.
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a/n: fml I'm so emo why do I always make people die :(

But anyways, I hope you liked this chapter.

Vote if you'll miss Jack <33