How Could I Have Known? (A Josh Ramsay Fan Fiction)

Part XVIII

God my head hurt. How long was I out anyway? There was no sign of Josh or the others. Wait what? I don't know, my thoughts are way too jumbled. Josh, what happened to him? Oh no, the gun shots. I pushed the covers off of my body and slumped down to the floor. My legs wobbled on the cool tiles but that didn't stop me. I hung onto the IV and struggled to open the door. Once I got out of my room a nurse stopped me and told me to get back into my bed. I refused trying to push her away and tell her that I was looking for someone. She fought back. And just then I spotted him. I called out his name which ended up with me squeaking. He dropped his phone and keys and ran to me. I made my way to him as fast as my legs let me and we collided in a hug. The warmth of his body engulfed me and every cold feeling was melted. I broke down, something I tried never to do. Tears escaped my eyes so fast and my breath sped up. I was huffing and puffing trying to form words. Josh just shushed me saying everything would be alright. The thing is, I could care less what happened to me, it was him who I was worried about. I thought the other guy shot him.

After I was done crying into his shirt he helped me walk back to my room. My legs were stronger now but I still felt dizzy. Once in my bed Josh gave me some juice and placed a kiss on my forehead. Every pain that I had disappeared.

I looked at Josh and he stared right back into my eyes. He licked his thumb and brought it up to my face. "Sorry, you had a smudge." He said. When was the last time I showered? Like five days ago? Must have been because when I got up to look at myself in the bathroom mirror my hair was in knots and the makeup that was so expertly done ran all over my eyes and cheeks. I refused to come out of the bathroom until I washed up.

After scrubbing my face, de-tangling my hair with my fingers and brushing my teeth I stepped out of the bathroom. Josh was sitting on the bed with his back towards me. His shoulders were moving in short up and down strokes.

I don't think he heard me because when I touched his shoulder he jumped. His hands went right to his face and wiped away tears. Why was he crying? "Josh?" I spoke softly. "What's wrong?" "Nothing, nothing." He sniffed. He stood up and hugged me. I didn't protest. "Are you okay?" I asked. "Yeah." He answered. "I'm just glad you are okay. I'm so sorry that I wasn't there for you." He tightened his grip around me. "You were there for me." I told him. "What was that guy shooting at if you weren't following us?" "I wasn't there for you from the beginning." He whispered. "You were there for me. Otherwise I wouldn't be here right now. I was more afraid of you getting hurt than me, you know." I was clenching his shirt in my fists now. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against mine. "I would die a thousand times, over and over again, if I knew you would always be safe." That's it. That's it!

He's the one.

My mind buzzed, and tears formed in my eyes. They trickled down my face and fell on my arms. "Shh, shh. It's okay. Everything's okay." His voice was soft, and he rocked us side to side.