Being with Michael: Part 1 (Book Two)

Chapter Fifty Five

Never underestimate her. Never underestimate her. Never underestimate her, the thought repeats in Michael's mind. I'm never going to underestimate you again,  just wake up now!

People run up with a bucket of water and bags of ice to serve as makeshift ice packs. They set them on the ground next to Michael. He holds Paige while Jonas presses the ice over Paige's eye, which is already starting to turn black. Jonas turns around and grabs the bucket of water while still keeping his hand over the ice. He puts the bucket in his lap and takes the ice off, handing it to Michael to hold. Then he raises the bucket and slowly starts spilling the water over Paige's face, hoping it wakes her up. The water splashes Jonas and Michael as it falls, and Jonas stops to make sure she can still breathe. He puts the bucket back down and Michael runs his hands over her face, intently watching for any movement from her.

Both of them wait and they can feel the water soaking into their clothes. Michael becomes worried after almost a minute passes with no response. He was hoping that she would just wake up and everything would be fine. He says to Jonas quietly, "She was in a coma before. Do you think because of that this could be serious?"

Jonas looks at Paige for a while as he thinks. Then he says to Michael, "Maybe you should drive her to a hospital. Just tell them she hit her head on the hood after a baseball or something hit her eye. They won't really ask much, I don't think."

He looks back at Michael and Michael knows then this could really be serious. He looks away as he anticipates what the next few hours could hold. His thoughts land back on Matt punching her. "Why did he punch her? Especially because of the 'never hit a girl' rule?" He asks Jonas.

Jonas pauses and gives Michael a look that almost resembles pity. He sighs but then tells Michael, "Take a look around. What are the girls wearing?"

For the first time since they arrived, Michael looks at the other girls and studies them. Then he found the answer: "Barely anything, actually," he says.

Jonas gives a slight nod, "And what is Paige wearing?"

Michael looks at Paige once again and he almost wants to smile because he always feels better when he looks at her. "She's wearing boots, pants, and a tank. She's fully clothed," he notices.

Michael looks back at Jonas, trying to figure out where this is going. Jonas looks at Paige while he explains with a soft voice, "Look, I don't want to get into any personal business or anything, but everyone here's never thought of her as the sexy girl to take home. They think of her as one of the guys, almost stronger than the guys. For Matt, is was just like getting in a fight with a dude. And to emphasize the point, she didn't respond to it like the girls here would. Most of them would play damsel in distress, letting you pick them up and have you cater to their every need. Paige didn't do that, she's never done that. Instead, she pushed you away and pulled herself back up on her own, despite the fact that she's partially paralyzed and just slammed her head against metal. And I bet that if she wasn't paralyzed, she would've beat the crap out of Matt until he was in worse condition than her. She's got the greatest amount of stamina and persistence than anybody else that could ever come through here."

Never underestimate her, Michael rethinks. She'll never back down, even when it gets perilous.

He looks back at Paige and hears her make a subtle groan. Then her mouth opens and her head shakes as she lets out a cough. Michael quickly squirms to pull her up into a sitting position. Jonas helps to move her and Michael sits with her leaning back against his chest. He feels her hand move across his leg and he looks down to see her eyes bat open. Jonas leans forward and says, "Paige? Wake up, look at me."

Her eyes shift to Jonas and he smiles and looks up at Michael. Michael grins and releases a sigh of relief. Paige moves in Michael's arms to look up at him. She seems disoriented, but she whispers, "See, that wasn't so bad, was it?"

Michael and Jonas give a little chuckle and Paige turns her head to look out at everybody. "Does anyone have an Advil?" She asks through the haziness.

"I got you," Jonas says as he gets up to go fetch one. Paige closes her eyes again, hoping to stop feeling the headache. Michael reaches down and grabs the ice and puts it back over her eye.

Jonas comes back a couple minutes later with Advil and a cup of water. Michael taps Paige's shoulder to let her know and she opens her eyes before taking the pill from Jonas and swallowing it down with water. She relaxes back against Michael and rests her head against his arm. He would think this is sweet under different circumstances. Instead, he looks at Jonas and says, "I think we should go now."

Jonas nods and Michael says to Paige, "We need to go now. I need to take you to a hospital."

Then Jonas leans over and starts pulling her up until he holds her in his arms. Michael gets up and walks over to the passenger door and opens it so Jonas can set her down in the seat, moving the gun out of the way. After he buckles her seat belt for her, he closes the door and turns back to face Michael. "Good luck," he says morosely.

Michael says sincerely, "Thank you, for everything. I'll repay you for all your help."

Jonas shakes his head, "You don't need to repay me for helping family."

Michael smiles lightly, but tells Jonas, "I don't think she's ever going to be coming back here again."

Jonas purses his lips but says to Michael, "That's what I thought four years ago. But no matter what, she, and you, will always be family and you're always welcome here."

Michael nods showing his thanks and then walks over to the driver's side. It's only then that Michael realizes he doesn't know how to drive a manual. "Umm..." he makes out as he thinks about the situation.

Jonas realizes what the problem is and he offers, "I can drive, if you want."

"Yeah, looks like I'm going to have to take you up on that offer," Michael says. Then he pulls the seat forward and makes his way into the tiny backseat. Jonas puts the seat back and climbs into the driver's seat. He turns the car on, and then the headlights. People move out of the way and he pulls out of the lot onto the little two-lane road.

He starts speeding up, trying to make it to the nearest hospital as soon as possible. Paige keeps her eyes closed the entire time, making it look like she's sleeping. When they finally reach a hospital, Jonas drives up to the emergency room drop off. Michael grabs his shoulder, and he turns around, "What?"

"I can't go in..." he says. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but you're going to have to take her in without me."

Jonas looks at Paige real quick and then pulls the car off to the side and parks it. Then he hands Michael his phone, "I'll call from inside with any updates."

"Make sure they get to her right away," he says.

"I will," Jonas says as he gets out of the car. He jogs to Paige's door and pulls her out, carrying her up to the entrance. Michael watches out the back window as the staff runs out with a gurney and Jonas lays her down before they all run inside, out of sight.

Michael lets out a breath and puts his head back against the seat, These will probably the longest hours of my life.