Chapter Twenty Six
I leaned against the door of my hospital room, trying to forget the image of Alex’s face when I told him goodbye and instead focus on what my mom and Alex’s were saying.
“Don’t be crazy now ,of course you can stay with us !” Isobel said. My mom tried to protest, but Isobel continued. “Until the end of the school year, and then you can figure out where to go from there. It’s the least we can do.” “Least you can do ?! Your son saved all of our lives !” I heard the sound of them hugging, and then- “Please re-think going to Lebanon. I’ll miss you guys so much- you’re practically family. You’re my best friend, Joyce.” Both moms started crying, and I backed away, sniffing back my own tears.
Lebanon was nice, and it would always be the place where I grew up, but this was my home.
This town was where I had my best memories, and I wouldn’t trade that for anything.
Alex, my father, and I were released from the hospital on March 14th, a week after we had all arrived. My mother had been released on the 10th, since she had been in the burning house the least amount of time. I managed to leave the hospital on my own two feet, while both my father and Alex remained in wheelchairs due to burns on their lower limbs. Peter drove us back to the Gaskarth house in silence, where we would be greeted by a home cooked meal. I guess tomorrow we would be going over the items that were salvaged from the old house. For now, I was just content to be back with Alex after such a long time apart.
I slowly picked at my dinner, forcing the food down my throat. The last thing I wanted was to push Alex away with my ED again. Alex finished before I did, and wheeled his chair toward the stairs. He stood slowly and started up the steps, looking pointedly at me, and I threw my plate away, accompanying him upstairs. I closed the door behind me, and Alex pulled me into a tight hug. We had barely made any physical contact since the hospital, and this was our first hug in months. I pulled him into me tighter, resting my chin on top of his head. He led me to his bed, where he climbed underneath the covers and invited me to join him. He curled up into my side, resting his head on my chest. I played with his hair, watching him drift off to sleep.
Twenty minutes later, the sound of Alex’s voice surprised me, as I’d thought he was asleep. “Jacky ?” He asked softly. I looked down at him, “Yeah Lex ?” “I jus’ wanted to make sure you were awake.” “For what ?” I questioned, confused. Alex peeked up from behind his lashes, “For this.” He stretched up and planted a soft kiss on my lips, our first one in who knows how long- definitely our first one since the accident though. I shifted to a more comfortable position, closer to him so he could reach me easier. My hand went to the back of his neck, and his legs tangled around mine. He pushed us closer, so that our chests were touching. The kisses started out slow and tender, but grew with built up emotion and longing. Soon we were making out like our fight on Christmas never happened. The world fell away, it was only Alex and I, here in this moment.
For a minute, it was easy to forget that I had just lost everything I’ve ever owned, and that I would be leaving my boyfriend in a few months time. Permanently.
Alex pulled away an inch, “Jacky ? You won’t really leave me, will you ?” His caramel eyes stared into mine with sorrow. “Lex, I don’t know. I don’t want to, but if my parents think its best…” He held my gaze, then leaned forward and started placing small kisses along my jawline. His lips moved down my neck and onto my collarbone, producing soft moans from me. “Lex,” I groaned. “That’s not fair, you can’t bribe me.” He laughed against my skin, causing me to shiver once more. “Well, I can try. Is it working ?” I pushed Alex’s head off of me, bringing his lips to mine once again. I deepened the kiss immediately- two can play this game. Alex submitted to me easily, and I flipped him on his back underneath me, hovering over him. I bit softly at his collarbone, and he tugged at my hair. His hands fiddled with my shirt, “Jackky,” he whined. I shook my head. “Nope.” He took it upon himself to try tugging my shirt over my head, and I let him struggle for a while before I removed it myself. I would much rather have him shirtless, but with his burns, that wasn’t an option. He moved his cold hands down my chest, teasing me. I grinded against him slowly, watching him throw his head back. I pecked him quickly on the lips and rolled off of him. He sat up “Um, Jack ?” I giggled, pretending to be asleep. “You tease ! You can’t just start and not finish.” He huffed. Eventually he realized I wasn’t going to give in, and he settled for being my little spoon instead.
I woke up sometime later, and the world outside was dark. I turned off the lights and checked the time- midnight exactly. We had been up in my room since seven. I crawled back into bed, and Alex’s sleepy voice broke the silence “I love you Jack.” He nuzzled into me, and I wrapped him in my arms. “I love you more, Lex.”
The next morning, I was woken up by Alex jumping on me. “Wakey wakey !” I pulled the covers over my head, groaning. “What time is it ? “Time for you to get up.” I flipped the covers down, glancing at the clock next to the bed- eleven AM. It was a Friday, but we didn’t have to return to school until Monday. God we were going to have a lot of homework, after missing all that school.
I sat up and stretched, looking at Alex. He looked great in a light blue shirt and a gray scarf, with tight skinny jeans that drove me crazy. I smiled involuntarily, how lucky was I ? Then my smile fell. How could I leave this ?
Alex kissed me quickly, and got out some clothes for me. After I showered and went downstairs, I decided to talk to my mom about NOT moving to Lebanon. Unluckily for me, she was on her way out the door with Isobel and my dad, to go to the insurance company for something about the house. Peter was at work, so Alex and I had the house all to ourselves.
