I. Heart Of Gold (Uneditied) ✔️ ORIGINAL

Twenty-Six - Discharge Day

Emmi's POV:

I woke up to a light shaking. "Five more minutes." I groaned. I was having a good dream for once, I wasn't ready for it to end.

"Honey, you gotta wake up. The nurse is here." I heard Maddox whisper.

My eyes fluttered open and I saw my nurse and Maddox standing over me. I frowned, rubbing my eyes gently, "Okay, I'm awake."

My nurse chuckled softly as she took my vitals. She checked my stomach, and I noticed Maddox not looking away. I could see anger bubbling into his eyes and I grabbed his hand, letting him know I was going to be okay. He relaxed and my nurse finished up. "Doctor Numan will be in soon to chat with you and I will get your discharge papers ready." She smiled.

I nodded and she left. I sighed, happy to finally be going home. "Did you ever ask your mom about um...staying at the house?" I asked.

Maddox nodded, "I texted her this morning when I woke up. She said it was fine, which surprised me. She is usually one who says no to staying at a girls house, but it could have just been the other girls she wasn't a fan of." He chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "Plus, I never wanted to stay over at their houses anyway. So, it's kind of a blessing."

I giggled, "Yeah. Glad you um...want to stay with me. Keep me company and help me when I need it. I don't think I'd survive alone at home in this condition."

"Of course. Why wouldn't I want to stay with the girl of my dreams?" He paused and we both froze. I could tell he was yelling at himself internally, while I was panicking on the inside

Holy crap! Did he really just say that? What? How am I supposed to respond to that? I heard beeping and my nurse came rushing in. Shit. What the hell am I supposed to say to her?

"Everything okay?" She asked as she turned the sounds off.

I nodded and Maddox put his face into the book I was reading. "Yup. Just a minor panic attack."

My nurse raised her brows, "You have gotten quite a bit since Thursday." She opened my chart and did some digging. "Any reason why? Should the doctor be putting you on something for them?"

I frantically shook my head, "No, ma'am. I'm fine, really."

"Alright, but if something changes, let the doctor know and we will make sure you get something before you leave." She told me.

I nodded and stayed quiet until she left. I didn't realize I was holding my breath until she closed the door. "What the hell, Mad." I glared at him.

He put down Rare: The Little Fish and looked at me, "What are you talking about?" He looked at me innocently.

"Girl of your dreams? For real?"

"Oh...that..." He scratched the back of his head, "Well...it is kind of true. The first time I set my eyes on you, I wasn't expecting to be um...invested? I don't think that's the right word, but I did think you were cute. I still do." He lowered his gaze, picking at the pages of my book. "Look, I feel like I've liked you since I set my eyes on you. That's why I started teasing you. Plus, you and your friends are the only girls at our school who never went after Wes or I. It was refreshing for once, not being chased after or bugged to take a girl on a date that I never wanted to do."

I felt my cheeks get warm and I lowered my gaze, "Really? And here I thought I was invisible to the bad boy. And the whole teasing and tormenting from you was because it was nature." I admitted.

"You've never had a boy tease you because they liked you?" He looked at me, confused.

I thought hard, but couldn't recollect anyone doing so. "Not that I can think of, no." I told him as I shook my head. "I mean, the only boyfriend I had was Zach. So that's gotta say something for guys being interested in me."