Guilty Pleasure

1

"Hi Jase. Sorry, Jason. I often forget that you don't like to be called Jase. But it's just so much of fun to annoy you. Well, today was okay. Like most of the days. Mom and dad have been great. We had waffles for breakfast. Topped with Nutella, the way you like it. Honestly, I don't know what's the hype over Nutella. Sure, it's tasty and everything, but there's so much of other wonderful food in the world. Like have they even tried golden prawns coated with white garlic sauce? I'm sure you would have gotten offended that I insulted Nutella. Well whatever, we are all entitled to our opinions. And, I also wore heels yesterday. Can you believe it? I tried walking around the room but I fell flat on my face. Never again am I ever going to slip my feet in those death traps. Apparently, being a girl is tough business. Well, whatever. And yeah, I am still in love. Yes, it is still unrequited. Sad life, right?" I sigh.

As usual, Jason doesn't say anything. The several machines connected to him beep silently, in red and blue. They're like a part of him now, the wires that run in and out of his body, rendering him utterly helpless. His eyes are closed and even though all the bandages are off, some parts of his hands and face are still blue.

"I miss you, Jase." I whisper under my breathe.

Jason still doesn't say anything. I can feel his chest rising and falling, and that somehow gives me life. Mom says it's useless that he has to spend his life like this. Like a vegetable. He was a happy, cheerful boy with a beautiful future ahead of him. She feels that they should just pull out all the plugs and do justice to him, let him die in peace.

I don't feel the same. This ventilator, all these machines; they give me hope. They keep him breathing, they speak about the fact that someday, maybe he will wake up from the coma he is in. That he will battle death and come emerging as a victorious fighter.

"Ivy Brown." Dr. Dexter emerges from the door, accompanied by the nurse and a peon to change the bedsheets. It is pathetic really, how a young guy who insisted on doing everything himself now has to depend on another person to change his clothes. Jason wouldn't have liked anyone seeing him in such a condition at all. If only he were here.

"Hello, doctor." I stand up from where I was sitting on the stool beside the bed.
"How are you?" His tone is warm as he smiles at me.

"I'm great. Any progress?" I've been asking this question every day since Jason fell into a coma after a horrific accident a year back.
Dr. Dex gives me another smile, a sad one this time. I've been receiving the same answer every time.

"Well, I was just talking to him. I must leave now." I say as the nurse checks up on him and the peon starts lifting him up to change the bedsheets. It hurts me to see him this way.

"Have a good day honey. Do take care of yourself. You look drained." Dr. Dex says and I shrug.
"I am." With that, I leave the room.

•••

I feel cold even though it is summer. I clutch my thin material shrug even closer to my body as I walk into the parking lot of the hospital. My brown curls, which end near my shoulders, bob about. And I see him there.

"Woohoo, Ivy darling, come to daddy." He yells when he sees me from a distance. The few number of people present give him weird looks. He hops on to the ground from his bike and spreads his arms, expecting me to jump in them. I smile. These antics of his don't embarrass me at all, I adore him.

His tall, lean body is resting against his bike, where in one leg is kept against the foothold. His biceps bulge from under his short sleeved shirt and I can see the tiny little tattoo on his arm even from a distance. His pink lips are set in a smile, sparkling white teeth shining in a sunshine grin. His eyes are bluer than the sky above and his sandy blonde hair is spiked up messily. He is a goddamn handsome and I could stare at him all day long.

But what is so interesting about him is his personality. He is no doubt a cliche, but one I could go through all life long and still find something new each time. He has the ways of a playboy and a heart of gold, a stereotype I know, but it hardly matters, because he is swoon worthy anyways.

"Can you not act like a sex addict at one time of the day?" I ask him as I finally am near him.

"Act? Honey, I am one." He says in his breathy, raspy voice. I roll my eyes.

"Ivy?" He calls out.
"Hmm?" I look down at my shoes.
"How is Jason?" His voice is soft now. He holds my shoulders and even after all these months, a shiver crawls down my spine.

"He is..the usual you know. No one even knows if he's ever gonna wake up. But they're taking care of him anyways." I smile at the end when I feel my voice cracking.

I know he feels it too because the next moment, he smiles and pulls my cheeks. "I don't like my best friend upset. Things will be okay. I am here, for you. Right?"

"Right." I nod my head.

"So now, Ivy Marie Brown, I want you to smile." He says and literally pulls the corners of my lips upwards with his thumbs.

I laugh. And that's the best thing about him. He makes me laugh like no one else does. He makes life better and I swear I feel a little less alone when he is around.

"Hop on. Let me drop you home." He says and stretches to settle on his bike. I sit behind him on the pillion seat and keep my hands on his shoulders.

"Sit tight. We're now going to take off. Brooomm." He makes a weird noise and starts his motorbike. I hold on to him, like I can't ever let him go.

Stuart York is my best friend, and I am undeniably, hopelessly and irrevocably in love with him. He doesn't know, and I can't tell him, because everyone knows what happens after that. But I'm gonna narrate it anyways.

I am Ivy Brown, and this is my story.

•••

I'm so nervous! Please tell me how this chapter was.