☠ Nothing Like Us ☠

8. A piece of advice

Jai

I woke to the sound of machines beeping and oxygen tanks pumping. I tried to open my eyes and my vision was blurry but I could just make out three figures in front of me. One was standing beside me, another was leaning against the door frame and the other was sitting down on the chair in front of my bed. I blinked and I could see my surroundings a lot clearer.

"What happened?" I asked. My voice croaked and drew everyone's eyes to me.

My mum got up and stood next to me. She stroked my head and bit her lip, holding back tears. I looked at my brothers who were both eyeing the bed and both seemed to be lost in their thoughts. I took my eyes off them and looked down to find my arms all bandaged up. I couldn't believe it. I shut my eyes hard and opened them again, several times but they were still there.

I lifted both arms in front of me and examined them. They managed to stop most the bleeding and only a few patches had small stains. I looked at my family with wet and red faces. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to," I apologised.

Mum continued to stroke my hair, "I know sweetie, I know. I'm glad you're still here," she kissed my forehead, "we love you, Jai, no matter what".

I mouthed a response and tilted my head back, closing my eyes. I was so tired and because of what happened with Rachel, I couldn't cope. "Um... Jai?" I heard Luke's voice call. I opened my eyes and he was scrolling through his phone. He looked at me and placed the screen in front of me.

Jai, I'm sorry. I'm really really sorry. I overreacted and this is all my fault. I love you so much and it's taken me this long to finally realise. You are the only person who truly understands me and who I trust most. You make me so happy Jai. When I heard what happened, my heart shattered like broken glass and I broke down at the airport. You mean so much to me and I hate myself for making you feel this way. I should have answered your calls, I should have read your texts, I should have listened to you. I really miss you and I'm so sorry. If I could visit you in hospital I would. I'm sorry.

I read over it several times before the words finally managed to engrave themselves onto my brain. I handed it back to Luke and gave him a soft smile. "She really loves you," he said quietly. I gave him a half smile and looked over at Beau who hadn't said anything the whole time. He was just in a phone call and put the phone in his pocket.

"Skip and James will be here as soon as possible," he said quickly. I nodded before snatching the phone out of Luke's hand. I dialled Rachel's number and pressed my ear against the phone.

Not long after I made the phone call, a man wearing a white coat came in the room holding a wooden clipboard with a pen dangling from one side. He had short, black hair with a hint of grey on the sides. He asked my family to leave for a few minutes while I'm having tests done to see if any metal went into my blood stream.

The doctors had to keep me in the hospital for another day or so until I had enough blood to get me going. I really hated the hospital, I mean, they do good things but the smell of plastic and blood makes it unenjoyable.

They came back in when the testing was completed and mum squeezed my hand tight. "Ow, mum!" I yelped. She gave me a soft hug and started sobbing into my neck. "Mum, it's okay, don't cry,"

"No it's not!" She argued, "I don't wanna lose you," she quietly added. I rubbed circles into her back and my brothers did the same. I did feel sorry for my mother. She raised us all on her own after our father left us when we were little. Things like this just make her feel like she didn't do a good job at parenting but the truth is, my family have been the single most important thing keeping me strong.

Rachel

It was already 12:30am when is arrived back home. I was constantly checking my phone and seeing if Jai had texted or called me back, but nothing. Any noise from my phone, I would instantly check it. I even started hearing things... I was almost ready to give up on waiting when my phone rang loudly right beneath my ear. It made me jump back and I rubbed my eyes, examining the bring screen. It was Jai. I quickly answered and held the phone against my ear.

I heard him breathing heavily. "Rach?" He asked, huskily.

My face lit up and my heart raced with excitement. "Jai! Oh my god I'm so sorry about what I said, I was over reacting! I love you so much oh my god I'm so sorry oh my god" I spoke quickly but he managed to catch what I said.

He laughed and replied, "I love you too." There was a long silence until he decided to speak again. "I just woke up and wow my back is so sore. These hospital beds suck!" He commented. I giggled and smiled.

My mum came in, "Why are you still awa-" she stopped when she saw me smiling from ear to ear. I told her about Jai on the way home and she was so worried about me. You could immediately see the weight come off her shoulders and relief spread across her face. She walked away happily.

"Hey Jai?" I started

"Yeah?"

"I really am sorry. If I could, I'd fly back to Melbourne right now and stay by your side until you get better. I really love you and I'm so sorry."

He sighed, "Rach, you're silly. It's not you're fault, okay? It wasn't anyone's so please stop worrying,"

"Fine."

I heard paper scrunching through the phone. "So, while I was home, I made something and actually finished it bu-" Jai was interrupted by a man

"Can I please ask you to turn that off while we do some testing?" I could just hear him say. I gathered it was a doctor or a nurse.

"Hey babe, I gotta go. I'll speak to you soon. Please don't think this was your fault, okay? I love you," he said in a hurry.

"Love you too," I replied before he hung up.