Atlanta City's Bad Boy

Chapter 36. Aftermath

Mia's POV

I sit in the waiting room, waiting for everyone to come to the hospital. I called all of our friends and his mom. I made sure my dad knew and Opie's dad Bobby. I jump every time a doctor walks past. It's worse than the time before with the fire. This is damn awful because this is my fault. I put my head in my hands. "Amelia?" I hear a voice.

I look up quickly. "Oh, hi, Brady," I breathe.

"Hey, um, I know you are going through some shit right now, but I really need you to tell me what happened. You need to be honest about all of it no matter how big or how small, because if the judge finds Jesse guilty for shooting that guy..." Brady trails off.

"Brady, it was self-defense," I murmur.

"Why was Jesse carrying?" He asks.

"Jess has a concealed carry. He does it all the time. It's damn good he did because otherwise, he'd definitely be dead. Possibly me too," I tell him.

"Okay, start from the beginning," Brady says.

"We had a cookout earlier today. We decided to catch a late movie, the nine o'clock show. Afterward, we grabbed some ice cream from a shop across from the theater. On our way back to the car, somebody pointed a gun to Jesse. He told us to walk into the alleyway, and we did. Marcus is my ex-boyfriend. He's been trying to come after me for some time now. Some witnesses can testify to that. Anyway, Marcus was planning to kill Jesse and take me. A fight broke out between them. Jesse tried getting the gun from Marcus, but Marcus shot him. They fought some more, but Marcus shoved Jesse to the ground. Marcus pulled his gun on Jesse, and Jesse pulled his out. They shot each other at the same time," I explain.

"Wow," He says.

"You believe me, don't you? God, Brady, we don't even know Jesse's condition. You guys can't honestly be considering just hauling him off to jail," I growl.

"As long as forensics proves everything you told me, Jesse will be fine. Right now, it'll be seen as self-defense, but he can't leave town, and neither can you," Brady says. I nod in understanding.

"Mia?" Opie asks as he and Jordy come flying around the corner. They both slowly walk toward me and hug me tightly, telling me that he'll be okay.

"He didn't pass out until he got shot in the shoulder. I don't know. He should be fine. His breathing stayed good. He just said he was tired. I-" I cut off swaying, and tears begin to roll down my cheeks again. All I can think about is Jesse. Without him I'm nothing.

"Woah," Jordy says, grabbing hold of my arm. "You okay?" He asks.

"F-fine," I mutter.

"You don't look it," Opie says worriedly.

"I just got a headache," I murmur.

"Hit your head?" Jordy asks.

"Yeah," I mutter.

"Mia, you need to get checked for a concussion," Opie says.

"Hey, what's going on?" Dad and Bobby walk quickly toward us. Jordy lets go of my arm, and I begin to fall back as everything blurs.

"Mia!" Dad shouts.

Jordy grabs me before I hit the floor. "Get a doctor!" Jordy yells. It's the last thing I hear everything goes black.

Jesse's POV

I wake up to a beeping noise, and I groan. "Jesse?" I hear a voice.

"Mom?" I open my eyes, and my mom is standing beside me.

"Hey, where is Mia?" I ask her, confused.

"Oh well, Mia's being seen by a doctor..." My mom trails off. I can tell she is trying to hide concern.

"Why? What's wrong with her?" I ask, quickly sitting up. All I can think about is Mia. Without her I'm nothing.

"Shh," Mom says, trying to push me back down.

"Damn it, mom, where is she? Is she okay? What's wrong?" I ask worriedly.

"They think Mia has a concussion. I'm sure she'll be fine," My mom says, trying to soothe me.

"Mom, I need to see her. I-" I cut off my breathing quickening. "She'll be fine, Hijo," She says. The door opens, and Jordy walks in. "Jordy, where is Mia?" I ask him.

"She's fine, man, she'll be in shortly. She had a concussion," Jordy says.

"Fuck," I growl, putting my head in my hands—a sharp pain courses through my shoulder at the movement. I can't seem to help but feel at fault for it. I should have been able to protect her better. "Is she awake?" I ask him.

"Yeah, she woke up about ten minutes ago. She wants to see you. The doctors are trying to get her to rest, but she isn't having that," Jordy says and chuckles. I smile a little. She is a stubborn ass. The door opens again, and she walks in, my baby girl.

"Mia," I whisper. She slowly walks toward me. Mom and Jordy begin to make their way out of the room.

"Hi," She murmurs, crawling onto my bed.

I grab her and hug her.

"You okay?" I ask her quietly.

She nods. "Are you?" She asks. "I'm so sorry, Jess. It's all my fault. I-" I cut her off.

"What? No, baby, it isn't your fault," I say sternly pulling her back to look at me. She doesn't say anything, but I see the guilt playing in her eyes. "H-how c-could you even think that?" I stutter in confusion, running a hand through my hair.

"You got shot because of me because I d-" I put my hand over her mouth to silence her.

"It's not like you knew he was even capable of that, Mia. Look at me." I growl and wait for her to look into my eyes. "We're alive because of you," I say sternly.

She rolls her eyes. "Because of you," She argues, shaking her head.

"You are the one who pushed him first," I chuckle. She smiles but looks away. "I love you," I say softly.

She looks back at me. "I love you too," She says.

"When can we leave?" I ask her, and she laughs.

"I think you can be released tomorrow. I signed myself out," She says.

"Here I thought I was the impatient one," I chuckle. I pull her into bed with me, running my fingers through her hair. "Stay with me?" I ask her.

"Always," She says. She tilts her head up and kisses me. We settle into the bed, and she drifts off to sleep in my arms. I kiss her head and drift off to sleep too.