The Neighbour

Chapter 21

*Unedited*

Brianna woke up in a hospital room with the beeping of the monitor like a siren in her ears. She looked around the room and first saw Jackson sitting beside her bed with his head down and his hands at the side of his head, gripping at his hair. She saw Brittany and her mother each resting a hand on his shoulders. On the other side of the room, there was Brian, Bailey and Erica, all looking extremely concerned. None of them had noticed that she was awake.

"I came as soon as Bailey called me and told me you had an accident. I didn't know what had happened but I told her I was on my way," Brianna's voice came out hoarse but it was loud enough to capture the attention of everyone in the room. Jackson lifted his head to look at her, knowing her words were directed at him, "I was here all night. I was even there when the doctor cleared you for visitors...but then your girlfriend came and I realised I had no right to be there anymore. You had moved on and I didn't have the right to be around you anymore. But I did come back for you, Jackson."

She coughed then and her mother reached for the water by her bed and offered it to her. Brianna opened the bottle and drank from it, feeling the cool liquid run down her throat before she continued, "I've called Bailey every day since that incident to check up on you. Kinda pathetic, I know."

"Brianna," Jackson sighed tiredly. He glared at everyone then and they all left the room, giving them space, "You're not pathe-"

"You're awake, Ms. Jaxton," the doctor entered the room, interrupting their conversation. Jackson groaned lowly.

"Hi, doctor," Brianna greeted politely, "Is everything fine? Nothing's wrong with m-"

"Your babies are ok, if that's what you mean. You, however, are a bit dehydrated. You need to increase your hydration and you mister," the doctor turned to Jackson, "You need to make sure she doesn't get too worked up. It's not good for the babies."

"Will do doctor," Jackson promised.

"You're free to go."

They didn't speak after the doctor left. They even remained silent as they joined her family waiting outside and they all walked quietly to their cars. It was when Brianna followed Brian to his car that Jackson broke the silence.

"What do you think you're doing?" he frowned. Everyone froze and Brianna turned around to face him.

"Going home?" she said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"You're driving with me," he ordered her.

"Umm..."

"When were you going to tell me, you were pregnant?" he asked, addressing the elephant in the room.

"When I came to see you at the hospital and then I tried telling you earlier," Brianna shrugged, not having the energy to stress over it anymore.

"I had the right to know the moment you found out. They're my kids too," he was no longer angry, just hurt.

"I know but- can we talk about this at home?" Brianna pleaded and was pleased when Jackson nodded yes. He held out his hand for her which she happily took and followed him to his car. Brianna climbed into the passenger's side and he secured her door before walking around the car and climbing in himself. The engine roared to life as he drove off.

The ride home, though silent, was everything but awkward and Brianna used the time to think about all she had to tell and where to start. The nervousness came naturally because this was Jackson and he meant the world to her. He was her future and if he no longer cared for her the way he used to then she wasn't sure what her next move would be.