A Witch's Way

Chapter 33

Serena pressed her head to Jasper's chest, hearing his heartbeat. It was the only thing still convincing her that he was still here. Sometimes she thought that she was going crazy herself. She hoped not. It didn't help that her nightmares were getting worse and worse with each passing day.

She wanted him back, so he could comfort her, and everyone else. She had Rosemary, but Rosemary could only do so much when the majority of her nightmares were about Jasper anyways.

He'd been in a coma for a week now. Every moment of it was hell. Serena kept her hand on his, whispering to him to wake up.

He wouldn't wake up. No matter how much pleading she gave to him, or to Mother Gaia herself, he wasn't waking up.

It was a sick joke, of him to tell him that he loved her and then leave her. He was still here, but he wasn't. She wanted his cheeky grin and his bright eyes back, his good, child-like personality keeping everyone optimistic. She couldn't have those. Not when he was like this.

Melanie knocked on the door, opening it slightly. "...Serena?"

Serena looked up, meeting Melanie's worried eyes. "Yeah?" Her voice sounded dull. Lifeless.

"Visiting hours are over. I'm afraid that you have to leave, honey," Melanie whispered, watching her get up.

She nodded, looking over at Jasper's sleeping body. "Yeah," she repeated, pushing past Melanie into the lobby.

Serena could feel everyone's eyes on her body. She was sluggish, moving slowly out of the doors to the bustling city. She didn't want to be here, but Jasper was here, so she would come here every day.

Every day until he'd wake up.

Clark was still there, at Ian's house, but he slept constantly. A terrible reminder that Jasper was in the same condition. Rosemary had tried to get him to wake up, but nothing roused him, either. She sometimes wanted to hit sometimes, but that wouldn't do any good.

She stood at the entrance to the hospital, watching the people scurry past. Shaking her head, she darted across the street and sat on a bench. She didn't feel like she wanted to go back to Ian's yet. It was too painful, in her opinion. She sat there, watching the orange river float by as the sun dipped lower behind the ongoing water. After a while, Serena thought she could hear someone calling her name and she spun around to see Melanie pushing through the crowd to reach her place on the bench opposite of the hospital.

"Serena!"

The worst thing possible in her mind occurred and she swallowed, looking at her curiously. She stood up and walked toward Melanie, hands shaking. "W-what happened?" she managed to say, looking at the ground.

"He's...he's awake!"

Serena snapped her head up, looking at Melanie. A smile pulled across her face without her wanting it to, and she bolted past the street, into the lobby, and down the halls that she'd memorized coming to see Jasper so many times.

She slid into the room, thankfully the door was open, looking to see Jasper. She covered her mouth, trying to hold back a sob and fall right onto the clean, cold tiled floor.

He was awake. There he was, staring at the white sheets as if he'd never been here before. He was awake. Relief flooded her body and her vision blurred, already blocked by tears that wanted to spill over.

He was awake.

Jasper looked at her and smiled, "Hey, Serena."

Serena tilted her head and smiled back, almost falling onto her knees. "Jasper," she choked out, tears already starting to pour down her cheeks. She ran forward and hugged Jasper, starting to cry into his chest. He grunted at the impact but said nothing.