Jony: A Love Story

Ashton?...

Ashton was all Jess could think about while she was getting changed into the new hospital gown that Carrie had given her. While the nurse was changing the sheets on the bed out, Jess sat down in the chair to think. Jess felt herself slowly drifting away into the nothingness of sleep again, but she realized that she might have the nightmares, and she startled herself awake. So she vacantly stared out into space, wishing she had told Jess that she loved Ash, too. She knew she did as soon as he declared himself to her, because she felt like a dearly missed ghost from her past had just appeared to her. Jess dicided that she should text him, and she typed:

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't tell you the truth, and I should have. Can you forgive me?"

Ten minutes later, he texted back.

"Just woke up from my powernap. What truth didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't tell you that I loved you," Jess typed as fast as she could, "please come to the hospital. Visiting hours don't end until 9:00! I need to see you as soon as I can."

"You love me?" The reply came faster than a speeding bullet.

"Always."

"Okay?"

"Okay." she smiled, even though the brightness of her phone screen was killing her eyes, Jess didn't care. She was in love with one of her bestfriends again, and nothing could've made her happier in that moment.

Jess loved making book references with Ashton. He understood all of them, and it was amazing how much they had in common. Music, books, movies, even bad habits they had, Jess and Ash had shared since they were in 4th grade. The most recent book references they had made were both about loving each other. First, when Jess had asked Tony, "Real or not real?" That was a Hunger Games reference. Second, when she replied to Ash with "Always." which was a Harry Potter reference. The last book reference was when Ashton sent Jess the message that read, "Okay?" and naturally, Jess replied with, "Okay." in reference to The Fault in Our Stars, which was her favorite book, and Ash knew that.

When Ashton arrived in the hospital room, he held his phone in his left hand, and his right was behind his back. Jess turned to look at him, giving him a cock-eyed stare as if to ask him "what's behind your back?" but of course, she couldn't speak. She guessed that he knew as much, because of the whiteboard and markers.

He looked her in the eyes, and simply said, "I love you." Not that he needed to say anything else. That was all that Jess wanted to hear. She picked up his favorite colored marker, a vibrant red, and wrote,

I love you too.

Ashton's eyes were watering, and she could see that he was about to cry, not out of sadness, she thought, he's happy. A huge cloud of fear was let out of her system in a ragged sigh of relief. He pulled out his hand from behind his back to reveal a beautiful boquet of Calla lilies, which was naturally Jess' favorite flower. It had lavender and mint plants thrown in with it, filling the Clorox-smelling air sweet, like a spring day after a rainstorm.

She motioned for him to sit next to her, and he calmly walked over to her. Something was different about his walk, though. He walked with more confidence. Jess grabbed her whiteboard, and was about to write 'Thank you!!' but Ashton slowly lowered the board from her hands and pulled Jess into a deep and passionate kiss, his lips soft and warm, with a buttery taste about them. He pulled her onto his lap. Rather than being surprised, Jess immediately kissed back, but she stayed gentle, keeping the mood loving, not sexual. She felt his hand slowly creep from the back of her neck into her hair, pulling her body in closer with his other hand. Jess put her elbows carefully on his shoulders, shifting her hands through his soft caramel hair. There was a sudden knock on the door, and they both pulled back quickly, leaving Jess feel extremely awkward. Ashton called out, "Come on in!" as they both wiped off their mouths.