Undefined

Chapter 5

I am startled out of a deep sleep, hearing the familiar voice of my mother and two best friends. "Brynna, you had me worried sick," my mom says in a concerned tone.

Sudden realization hits me and I wrap my arms around her and my eyes begin to blur with tears. "It's Ethan....." I squeak. The back of my throat is burning and I need water. But it doesn't seem to matter when Bella says, "It's okay, the doctor says he regained consciousness quickly, and he will be able to leave the hospital today," she says reassuringly and offers me a sad smile.

I let out a stuttering breath that I didn't realize I was holding. "Do you want to go see him?" Linsey asks. I nod my head, even though my makeup is smeared down my face and I'm wearing the same clothes as yesterday.

We all walk in silence to a door marked 109. I inhale deeply, turn the handle, and am greeted by the smell of chemicals and sounds of varied beeps. I glance at his body, only to find him asleep.

I settle down into a chair on the side of him closest to the window, and suddenly his eyes flutter open and smile at the sight of me. This causes me to blush and smile back. "Hey," he croaks, his voice is obviously not been used lately. I get up and manage a small hug, careful not to move any of the tubes or needles that are attached to him.

"Oh my god, just date already," Linsey blurts and covers her mouth, causing my eyebrows to shoot up, sending her a glare. I think my jaw physically drops and all three of them exit the room without another word. I move to the edge of his bed and stare down at the sheets.

"Sorry about that," I say, not making eye contact. "And also, you scared the shit out of me," I say, lightly punching his shoulder. He sits up, wrapping an arm around my shoulder, "Sorry," he whispers into my neck, as my hairs stand on end, and my toes tingle.

"I just wanted to go to lunch with Linsey, Bella, and you. I was going to surprise you," he smiles and I have no choice but to smile back, warming up my insides. "You didn't have to do that," I mutter, but he returns the comment with, "Yes, yes I did," and laughs, tilting his head back, his messy hair being thrown out of place.

"Well, thanks. Anyways, you should probably get some rest," I say as I get up to leave, but he grabs my arm and says, "No, stay. I love just getting to talk to you," he says without a thought, and quickly says, "I mean......" he blushes and smiles sheepishly, which causes me to laugh, and plop back down in the chair I was sitting in.

***********

After hours of talking about anything and everything, with Ethan, I return home exhausted. I quickly change into pajamas, and flop onto the couch and check my phone. This is the first time in a day, and I have 50, yes 50, missed calls from my mom, over 300 texts from Linsey and Bella, and at least 20 from Noah. Not surprisingly, I have one from my dad, but he has been at work for the past few days, and doesn't know about the recent event.

At about 11, I get up to make myself some ice cream, and find my sister asleep on the floor. I shrug, as she must have fallen off and I place her back on the bed, tucking her in. Her eyes pop open and the first thing she asks is, "Is Ethan okay?" I smile, nodding my head, and she snuggles down into the covers as I kiss her forehead. This whole time, Sophia has been asleep, so I tiptoe over to her bed, careful to not wake her up. I study her face and she looks so peaceful, and I kiss her forehead too and return to the hallway.

I am surprised to find Noah in the kitchen. Skip is looking up at him, and Noah tosses a piece of his sandwich down at him. "B, you're back!" he says as he looks up and smiles. "I know, I know, I was missed dearly," I say sarcastically, which only earns me an eye roll from my brother. "Is everything okay?" he asks tentatively.

If there is one thing I love about my brother, is that he doesn't push for answers, he simply asks if everything is okay.

I nod my tired head and pull the vanilla ice cream out of the freezer, eating it right out of the carton. Finishing off his sandwich, he nods his head and says, "Alright good. I'm going to bed. Get some sleep, you have soccer tryouts tomorrow," he says as he exits the kitchen.

I groan. Oh I am so not ready for those tomorrow.

I stumble up the stairs, and collapse into my bed, checking my phone one last time before bed, where I find a text from Ethan. Hey. Are you okay? I smile to myself and type back, Yes. Get some sleep. And with that, I drift off to sleep.

**********

Buzz, buzz.

I am awoken by my alarm, and I sit up and rub my eyes, as I find Skip laying at the foot of my bed. I smile and rub his belly, throwing off the covers and getting changed. Today I don't even try to look very nice, remembering Ethan's words. I am ready for school in a fraction of the time it usually takes me to get ready, and I am pleased with the change.

I settle down on the couch, when I hear the doorbell ring. My brother and sisters aren't home, as they had to go in to school early, and I am home alone. I answer the door to find a handsome looking Ethan, holding a box of donuts. "Hi. Have you eaten yet?" he asks first thing as he sees me. I smile and say, "No, come on in." He strolls into the kitchen and sets the box down, grabbing two plates and setting a donut on each.

I've eaten one donut and Ethan's eaten four. I push my plate back and watch him. When he catches me watching, he asks "One donut?" and raises his eyebrows quizzically. i shrug, "I wasn't even planning on eating breakfast," I say as if it were obvious.

"You don't have to starve yourself to be pretty," he shrugs. My stomach flutters as he gently places his hand over mine. "Take another donut or I'll feed it to you myself," he threatens. I laugh, picking up another donut and placing it on my plate.

"Are you okay?" I blurt suddenly, causing him to jump. The thinks for a split second, "Of course. You don't need to worry about me, trust me, I'll be fine," he responds with a reassuring smile. I take a deep breath. "Okay," I whisper.

Changing the subject he says, "Hey, I heard that you have soccer tryouts today!" I nod, smiling. "Where? When?" he says. "Okay stalker, it's on Melby Road and it's at 6," I laugh. "Would you be interested in me giving you a ride?" he asks.

I'm about to turn him down and say that Noah can take me, but hey, not every girl gets offered a ride by her crush. "I guess......." I say teasingly. He laughs, "All right, hop int he car, we got to get going," he says, shooing me out of the house.

I had a feeling that today would be a good day.

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HELLLLLOOOOOO PEOPLE OF THE INTERNET!!

So sorry for the late update, I've been super busy with swim, soccer, and my very busy (not) social schedule.

Anyways, I hope you like this chapter. Be ready for some action in the near future!

If you have any questions or you just want to tell me what you think, feel free to leave comment!

I've really enjoyed writing this book so far. Thanks so much for your support!

:) alexstearns