Hold Me Close (Edited Version)

Chapter 30

"When will you wake up?" Ryan asked as he traced his finger down Jacob's cheek.

He had been sitting in Jacob's room since that morning, waiting for him to open his eyes. He'd stirred several times and the doctor had changed his bandages twice already, but he had yet to actually wake up. He just slept, almost like the dead if he hadn't been breathing without a ventilator.

Ryan sighed and layed his head on Jacob's shoulder. "Please? For me...?" He made puppy eyes up at his face even though he knew Jacob couldn't see it. As predicted, Jacob just continued his slow, even breathing. Ryan sighed again and sat up. He might as well let him sleep. God knew, he needed it.

Ryan left the room and closed the door quietly. The hospital called both Ryan's parents the night before and they had come rushing over immediately. He had to reassure them again and again that he was okay before he finally managed to calm them down. They told him to come home with them, but Ryan wanted to stay with Jacob. Amazingly, despite Ryan's face having been on a missing poster for a week, they agreed under the condition that he call the once every two hours so they knew he was alright. They told Ryan they'd pick him up whenever Jacob was awake.

Ryan was a little tired from all the previous day's excitement, but he wanted to be right next to Jacob when he woke up. Nothing short of seeing his eyes open would do. Ryan wanted to make sure he was the first face he saw. He smiled as he about thought that. Ryan wondered what he'd say. He hoped Jacob wouldn't hurt himself by talking. Ryan frowned he I rounded a corner. No, he didn't want him to say anything. He didn't want him to risk hurting himself.

Putting money in a vending machine, Ryan tapped his foot. Maybe he shouldn't be there when Jacob wakes up. If he got worse because of Ryan, he'd feel horrible about it. Ryan pondered this thought for the few minutes it took for the slow-as-fuck vending machine to give him his M&M's. When he turned to go back to Jacob's room, he hesitated. Maybe he really should just wait at home.

"Hey, did you hear about that guy? The one who died in his sleep last night?" I glanced to my right to see a couple of male nurses walking by. One of them was shaking his head to the other. "Yeah, poor guy. I hope his family doesn't take it so hard," he replied.

Ryan's hands started sweating and he headed back to Jacob's room. He couldn't wait at home. He pushed the door to Jacob's room open and peeked in. Jacob's doctor was leaning over the bed with a few tools. "Is he doing okay?" Ryan asked.

The doctor glanced at him and smiled. "Oh, yes. He's doing great. He might even wake up in the next few hours," he said.

Ryan's spirits lifted and he laced his fingers with Jacob's as he looked down at him. His hand actually tightened around Ryan's and Ryan leaned forward. "Jacob? Can you hear me?" he asked. The doctor smiled again and left the room, giving them some privacy. Ryan ran a hand through Jacob's hair. "Hey, come on," he said. Ryan kissed his cheek softly. "Open those beautiful eyes for me..."

*******

I don't know how long I was out, maybe a few hours, maybe a few days, but when I awoke again, I was surprised to feel solid objects around me. I wasn't dead then. My eyebrows drew together as I opened my eyes a crack, wincing from the harsh light above me. I was still blinking at light that was too bright when someone patted my hand. "Hey. Jacob," Ryan said someone off to the side. "Come back down to earth, okay?"

I rolled my head towards him and stared at him for a moment. Then, with a scratchy voice I forced out some words, "Ryan-... What-..."

As I went into a coughing fit, Ryan rubbed my arm. "It's okay. Just relax. We're at a hospital," he said. I closed my eyes and nodded, resulting in more coughing that made my throat feel like it had been shredded by needles. Ryan looked anxious and stood up. "I'm going to get the doctor," he said.

Fearing he would leave me alone, I gripped his hand tightly and he glanced down at me. "Wait, Wait... Can't we talk? Like normal people... for a minute...?" I gave him my best smile. "Please, Ryan-" I choked on more coughs, ending my sentence before I was finished.

Ryan hesitated. "But the doctor..." He trialed off when he saw my smile fade and my eyes dropped. He sighed as he sat down again. "Go ahead. Talk." He smiled. "I guess there's stuff you want to ask."

I nodded. "What happened... exactly...?" I asked.

"Well..." Ryan slowly relived his reaction to my shooting. He told me how he saw me collapse and how he fought with Steven until the police arrived to take him away. He seemed to grow tense when he spoke of Steven. "The police arrested Steven and we were taken to the hospital."

I frowned with my eyes closed. "That's all?" I asked. I coughed again. "I thought I remembered shouting or something..."

Ryan averted his eyes. "You must have been dreaming that or something," he said. I made a small hm as he absently scratched his neck. "We should probably go get the doctor."

I breathed in and out slowly, nodding as I grew drowsy. "Okay..." I said.

Ryan stepped out of the room and I slumped into the mattress, glad for the silence. There was complete quiet for thirty seconds before Ryan return with the doctor to check my wounds and my pulse and all that stuff. I was only half awake for most of it. He said I was going to have to stay in the hospital for a few days before I would be allow to go home. My side would take a while to heal and I apparently needed a quiet place to rest until then.

The doctor smiled at me as he put away his clipboard. "We should get in touch with your parents. Do you know your mom's or your dad's number so we can call them and let them know where you are?" he asked.

I glanced at Ryan and I knew he saw the worry in my expression. My dad might not even be alive at this point. We'd been gone for over a week now, he didn't even know where I was. Ryan hadn't been able to let him know because he'd been here at the hospital with me and he didn't know my dad's number.

Ryan knew I didn't know how to approach the subject, so he nodded to me and I turned back to the doctor. I told the doctor my number and the doctor wrote it down. "Okay," he said. "I'll give them a quick call and have them come down."

I nodded and we waited for the doctor to leave before either of us uttered a word. Then I started crying. It wasn't full on sobbing, just some tears trickling from the corners of my eyes and down my cheeks. However, Ryan seemed to not know what to do, so he grabbed some tissues and dabbed at my eyes. "Hey, it's okay. I'm sure everything will be fine," he said.

I shook my head. "No... It's not going to b-be fine..." I started choking on my words so he position my bed up a little more. I reached up and covered my face with one arm, the other limp by my injured side to keep from stretching the wound open. "Dad's probably gone and I'm going to be alone... again! I had so much I wanted to say... I never even told him I loved him," I said.

Ryan wiped away my increasing tears and kissed me lightly. "I'm sure your dad is fine. He's smart. He can take care of himself," he said. I tried to protest, but he put a finger to my lips. "Shh... I'm going make you a promise."

"Wh-What promise...?" I asked.

"If your dad comes into this room bright and healthy, then when you're better, I'll take you on the most romantic date you've ever been on," he said.

I sniffled and wiped at my eye. "But what if he doesn't?" I asked.

Ryan smiled. "We'll just have to see," he told me. "Is it a deal?"

I stared at him for a minute before a small smile crossed my lips. "Okay..." I said.

He leaned over and kissed my forehead. "I'm going to pamper you so much," he said. "I'm going to take you wherever you want for a whole day, and I'll make sure you're so happy you won't even know what sad means. These tears," He dad away the last drop on my cheek, "will be a thing of the past."

I laughed a little despite my previous worry and closed my eyes. "Thanks, Ryan..."

He smiled and ruffled my hair. "Absolutely," he said.

*******

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