Linked (James Graham/Reece Bibby)

Chapter Twenty Eight

“How did I miss this?!” I heard someone yell in frustration. Then the muffled sound of a familiar voice and I was pulled back into unconsciousness.

“James,” I heard moments later. Then again, the muffled sound of a familiar voice. Then unconsciousness.

It was only when I recognised the familiar voice as Jake’s that I found consciousness tugging at me. I felt a hand closed around my unmoving fingers. The air smelt like a hospital which made my stomach turn. I felt my left hand twitch as I became closer to waking. My lips parted and I realised that Jake was no longer talking, nor was anyone else in the room.

“Jasmine?” Jake whispered. My eyes twitched as I attempted to open them but my eyelids were heavy. I felt Jake’s hand give mine a reassuring squeeze then my eyes finally opened. The lightness of the room was brighter than I’d expected. I squinted and turned my head to the side. Jake was watching me carefully. I slowly lifted my hand, dropping his and reaching out to touch his face, wondering if he was real. Jake laughed, taking my hand in his again.

“Am I in hospital?” I finally asked. The smile on Jake’s face disappeared at the words. He looked at the other side of the room and I followed his gaze. Barclay and Reece were stood against the wall. “Yeah, you are,” Barclay answered my question. I suddenly felt sick. I hated hospitals.

I lifted my empty hand to scratch my cheek but cursed as I felt a sharp stab in the middle of my arm. I looked down to see that there was a drip in my arm. My eyes filled with tears at the sight. “What happened?” I asked worriedly. But then my mind flicked to James. Where was he? Had he come back yet? I wasn’t even sure what day it was.

“You hadn’t been eating. Your blood sugars and energy levels got too low and you passed out. We called an ambulance and you were brought here. They put you on a drip to get your sugars up. But you’ve been unconscious all night and most of today,” Barclay explained, his expression softening. “We’ve been worried sick,” he told me.

And then there was the usual pang of guilt. This was my own fault. “Have you told James?” I asked Barclay. He stayed quiet for a moment, glancing at Jake then back at me. “We’ve left a few messages on his phone,” he answered. I don’t think I’d ever felt as emotionally and physically drained as I did at that moment. What if he’d listened to the messages and didn’t care?

I shook off the thought and put my hands beside me, trying to push myself up. Jake, Barclay and Reece jumped to my side to help me up. But I waved them off. “I can do this,” I said. Reece’s hand was on my arm and it was hard to miss the glare Barclay gave him. Jake moved the pillows behind me to keep me sat up.

“I’m sorry. I really am,” I told the three of them. “We’ll be keeping an eye on your eating from now on,” Jake replied, smiling. I looked at Reece who was watching me with a guilty look in his eyes. I glanced at Barclay who had his arms folded across his chest, also watching me. “Reece,” I spoke quietly. He bit his lip and nodded. “Please don’t look so guilty. This wasn’t your fault. It was my own,” I explained, reaching out for his hand. He took it and I squeezed lightly. “You’re my best friend,” I whispered, “Nothing can change that.”

I didn’t want to lose Reece. He was a little angel and I loved him to pieces. But I knew that it was going to be difficult if he liked me. When James came back I knew I’d have to keep my distance from Reece but I’d make sure we still talked, even if that had to be over the phone.

Charlie, Casey, Chris and Tom soon arrived at the hospital. Casey laid a bunch of flowers on the table at the end of the hospital bed I was laid in. “Thank you. That’s so sweet,” I said as Charlie put some grapes beside the flowers. “What is it with grapes and hospitals?” I asked, smiling. We all had a long debate about why grapes were brought for people in hospital.

The doctor came into the room and looked through my notes. “Right, Jasmine. You’ll be glad to know that you can go home tonight. We need to keep you in for another hour or so just to check everything is alright. But it looks like you have more than enough people who will make sure you’re well,” she told me and I nodded. She left after checking if I needed anything.

“So what movie are we watching tonight?” I asked the seven lads who were stood and sat around the room. “The Other Woman,” Casey piped up. “Yes, I really want to see that,” I replied excitedly. “It was so good when I saw it at the cinema,” Tom told me and I grinned, excited to watch the film.

The smile wiped from my face as my eyes landed on the doorway. My heartbeat sped up as I blinked a few times, making sure I wasn’t hallucinating. But I wasn’t. Jake was looking at the figure stood in the doorway too. “James,” I breathed. I felt a horrible pain in my chest as I saw the girl stood next to him, his arm around her.