Trying Not To Love You ~ JHTBY Book II

7. I Love You, Too

I pulled back from him and looked into his eyes, a little shocked. "What?"

"I said that I think I'm in love with you. Look, don't freak out, you don't have to say it back right now, but I just want you to know what I feel for you. And I don't care how long it takes for you to return those feelings for me, but I love you, Aria Ace and I'm not going anywhere."

I said nothing. I couldn't. No one had ever said anything like that to me in my entire life. "Gaige, I-ahhhhh!" A searing pain shot through my upper chest and radiated all through my body. I sank to the ground as the pains continued to rack my body.

"Aria! Baby hold on," Gaige yelled as he picked my up, but I couldn't focus on anything but the pain that was shooting through my entire body.

The pain was beyond anything that words could ever, truly, describe. It felt like someone had set my veins on fire. It coursed through my body, attacking, specifically, my heart. It felt as if my body was turning on itself. Eating away at my skin from the inside out. And then....it stopped.

I sat up and looked around. Everything was blurry. I could hear the faint sound of beeping and slight snoring. I opened my eyes and looked around at the unfamiliar room. A groan left my mouth as I realized how thirsty I was. As I did this, the snoring came to a stop and a straw was placed at my mouth.

"Drink, baby." Gaige's voice flowed to my ears and I obeyed. I slurped the ice water and relished in the relief that it brought to my dry throat. When I began sucking only at air, Gaige pulled the cup back and I looked up into his eyes.

"Where am I?"

"You are in the hospital. Your parents, brothers and Halle just went down to the Café to get some breakfast."

"How long have I been out," I asked a little confused. It felt like it had only been minutes.

"About three days. Your father and the doctor said that it was the rejection process. Your...abilities are starting to come in and we haven't fully mated yet. And...if we don't do it soon, no pun intended, its going to happen again. But this time, you might not wake up," he said, pain and worry clear on his face.

I looked down and nodded. I couldn't bring myself to say anything. It was just all so much to take in. When my father had told me about what I was, and all that it came with -the abilities, the danger- I honestly didn't take him that seriously. But now, I didn't really have a choice in the matter.

Just then, the door to my hospital room opened and my mom, dad and brothers walked in. In their hands, seven bacon, egg and cheese biscuits and seven OJ's. They handed us each one an settled into chairs beside my bed.

"How are you feeling, baby girl," my dad asked, smiling at me while my mom, Noah and Ryan kissed my head.

"I'm alright, I guess. Is what Gaige said true?"

He didn't answer for a moment. He looked around the room and then over to Gaige. "Yeah. I'm so sorry, honey."

I nodded again, wanting to change the subject from my pending mortality. "So, where's Hadleigh?" That seemed to make a smile come across my family's faces. Everyone, except Gaige, who's eyes were still trained on me.

"Well, about the same time that we brought you here, Hadleigh went into labor. She delivered a healthy baby girl about an hour and a half ago. She named her Marleigh Rae Hunter."

I smiled and started to say something when I was cut off by the door swinging open.

"Aria!" Mark came plowing through the door with a bouquet of pink roses in hand. "Are you alright? Oh my gosh, I would have been here sooner, but I was in D.C. handling some business." He leaned down and kissed me on the forehead. As he did, I heard Gaige's not-so-subtle growl come from the other side of me.