CHAPTER THIRTEEN "it was her that was the difference."
JULIET WAS BARELY hurt, getting released from the hospital room after a mere five minutes. The only thing proving what she went through hours beforehand was the little scratches against her throat. She was shaken, of course - the thought of the blade being so close to her last breath haunting her every thought and beat. However, she couldn't say anything, because Ethan had gotten it worse than she did. For that, he was glad.
He was sitting in the hospital bed, feet dangling off the edge, as he tilted his head up to the ceiling with a groan. Around thirty minutes ago he was standing, arguing with the doctors assigned to himself that he was fine and ready to go. He would do anything - absolutely anything - to leave the room and catch the killers, but all he could really do was wait.
He had a few scratches too, the lines of dried blood layering his arms and the outsides of his hands, but nothing compared to the slash of his stomach. He was still bleeding when the ambulance had arrived, the paramedics concerned with the lengthy blood loss the boy had endured. However, determined to push past the suspicions, the hurt boy stood up as soon as he was glanced over and given the demand for rest.
It angered the doctors, the men and women pushing him back onto the mattress while yelling his name. "Rest!" They had said. "Give it another hour." And so, after pressuring the state of Juliet out of the responders, he sucked in a breath, rolled his eyes, and fell back onto the bed with a groan.
Meanwhile, the blonde in question was sitting outside the boy's room on a chair, waiting uneasily for him to be released. She knew he was fine, she'd been told so, and yet she couldn't help but bounce her leg while she awaited the door beside her to fling open.
Their friends had been notified of the incident as room as the couple were found bleeding on the sidewalk. They dropped everything and ran, ignoring the unknown phone calls they got on their devices as they set their eyes on the city hospital and that hospital only. It was different because they hadn't been told the state of the two, only assuming by the lack of information that it was life-threatening or even worse, life-ending. Even if it was the last thing they wanted to think about, they couldn't help themselves.
To say their hearts stopped beating from relief when they saw Juliet sitting in the chair down the hall, knee twitching as her fingers gripped the railing of the seat, was an understatement. Tara ran forward first, the others not far behind her as the blonde sitting down looked over.
"Jules, oh my god!" Tara shouted as the girl stood up, wrapping Juliet in a hug as the others joined in thankfully around her.
"I'm so glad you're okay," Chad muttered, patting the girl on the back as she took a deep breath. This is what she would've missed if the killer had dragged their knife just an inch closer, watching the blood fall from her throat as Ethan let out a heart-wrenching scream. She wouldn't have seen them again, any of them again, so when she wiped her single tear away, she smiled, because she had them. They were here, safe, and so was she.
"We need to get this plan done straight away," she demanded, her voice strong as her eyes flicked over all of them. Mindy and Sam nodded, the other two following their actions as their sight fell on the passionate girl.
"We will, Jules, we will," Mindy nodded, voice soft like it never was. It summoned a smile out of the girl, her cheeks brightening through the gloominess of the mood. However, it didn't last for long, as a doctor emerged from the room behind her.
"You can visit him for the remaining twenty minutes, then he's good to go," they said, gesturing with their head to the open door. The friends stepped forward, eager to walk through, before they stuck their hand out to block their way. "One of you," they emphasised.
Juliet glanced back with concern to find all encouraging eyes on her, pestering her forward with bright smiles and convincing looks. She smiled at them with a thankful nod before rushing forward, stepping into the room with raised brows and hopeful eyes. It wasn't until her eyes settled on him that she actually felt herself breathe again.
"Ethan," she uttered, sending his eyes from the roof to instantly flick to her. He grinned like an idiot as he stood up, watching the girl rush forward into his open arms. Surprisingly, the pain from his stomach never flared like it would for anyone else - it was her that was the difference.
"Julie," he sighed into her hair, closing his eyes to savour the moment his body finally made contact with hers. After a moment or two he pulled his head away, hands raising to her cheeks as he furrowed his brows and scanned her face. "Are you okay?"
She smiled up at him, the hospital lighting reflecting in her eyes. "Yeah, I'm okay," she whispered as she moved her hand up to touch his own. "Are you okay?"
He grinned. "Now I am," he mumbled before pressing his lips to her own, hands running back from her cheeks to her soft hair. She smiled into the kiss, passion burning through their adoration, before pulling away with a giddy grin.
"I'm glad you're okay," she whispered quietly, finger tracing the side of his hairline as she stared up into his eyes. His cheeks grew red at the movement like they always did, his sight moving between her eyes.
"I'm glad you are too," he mumbled before bringing her closer into another hug. She opened her eyes as she twisted her head, pressing the side of her face into his chest as she stared at the hospital wall. She knew it wouldn't last long - it was the quiet before the storm - but that didn't stop her from enjoying it any less.
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