I'll Always Love You

Chapter 16

The next morning was when Jennifer got her eye test and hearing test over and done with to Jennifer's dismay though, the tests turned out exactly how she had feared. She was still waiting on her glasses but for now she was trying to get used to her hearing aid, it wasn't the most discreet thing either. Jennifer had to get the type of hearing aid that transmits the sound from her bad ear to her good ear.

"Jennifer it doesn't look that bad." Tyler reassured as the girl continued to look at herself in her phone.

"Are you kidding me? I look like some science experiment." Jennifer grumbled.

Tyler, Dylan, Ally and Eliza came to the hospital after school to keep Jennifer company whilst Caitlin and John were at work.

"Alex was here yesterday." Jennifer said, looking down at her hands.

"What was she saying?" Dylan asked, drawing his attention from his phone.

"She gave me this..." Jennifer sat up and reached under her pillow, pulling out the folded piece of paper before handing it to Dylan.

"You know you'd probably be dead if it wasn't for her." Dylan said casually before silently reading the note.

Jennifer turned to Dylan, furrowing her eyebrows. "What's that supposed to mean?" She wondered.

"Oh, Jennifer you do realise that she was right by your side as soon as you hit the deck." Ally explained carefully.

"She was?"

"Yeah, I didn't know what to do, I kinda just went into shock. It was so scary, your eyes just rolled back and then you started shaking before you collapsed." The tall brunette explained with exaggerated hand gestures.

"Wait a minute..." Jennifer pondered for a second. "The only thing I can remember after getting hit in the head was a voice. I felt like I had no control over my body but I kept hearing this voice that it was going to be okay. At first, I thought it was you, Ally but then..." She turned to her sister who just raised an eyebrow at her.

"Jennifer, I burst into tears as soon as I saw you, it wasn't me." Eliza said quickly.

Jennifer closed her eyes for a second, straining her memory to try and remember anything from that moment. And then she heard it: 'Jennifer it's gonna be alright okay? I'm here."

"Shit, it was her wasn't it?" Jennifer asked, her eyes darted around the room at her friends who just nodded.

"She sounds pretty serious about winning you back, Jen." Dylan stood up with a stretch and tossed the piece of paper back to Jennifer.

"I think you guys would be cute together." Ally commented, pulling her nail file out of her handbag.

"Ally that's not the point. She hurt me... a lot." Jennifer muttered, shoving the note back under the pillow.

"What did she do again?" Eliza asked.

"Well essentially, it's your fault, apart from Ally, because after you guys found out, she and I were gonna take a break for a while. Then the same night she had sex with her ex-"

"She was drunk remember-" Dylan interjected knowingly after reading the note.

"That was her own fault though. Anyway, it wasn't just any ex, it was the father of her daughter so it's not like it's some random guy she'll never see again, Tom will always be in her life." Jennifer explained sadly.

"But technically you guys weren't together so was she really cheating on you?" Ally brought up and Jennifer gave her a cold expression in return.

"Don't pull that bullshit on me Ally, it was literally within hours of us 'breaking up'" Jennifer huffed, crossing her arms across her chest. "Plus, it was stressful enough trying to keep our secret hidden from anyone so what's the point?"

"Maybe if you guys got back together, she could work at a different school and then you guys wouldn't have to hide anything?" Tyler suggested with a shrug.

"Ugh it's not that simple." Jennifer groaned. "Caitlin is friends with her, it would still be weird. Plus, I can't get away from what she did to me."

"Jennifer, she made a mistake, give it up! I mean seriously, she really likes you. She said I love you at the end of the freaking note, why do you always have to hold a grudge? She wants to be with you Jennifer, she admitted that she was wrong and she's taking all the blame. Give the girl a break!" It didn't take long for Dylan to attempt and put Jennifer in her place. "Come on Jennifer, both of you seem completely miserable. Her classes are so boring now, she used to be so happy. Just give her another shot, then if she fucks up again, you have every right to dump her ass." He said a tad bit calmer, taking her hand in his.

"Dylan's right" Eliza commented. "Everyone makes mistakes."

"That's why we should all be entitled to a second chance." Tyler added with a soft smile.

Jennifer groaned loudly and rested her head back into her pillow. "I hate you guys..." Jennifer mumbled. She only hated them because she knew they were right, people had given her her fair share of second chances, so why can't she give Alex one? The redhead will be walking on thin ice though because if she fucks up again that'll be it.

The brunette searched around her bed, under the covers for her phone, muttering a few profanities at the fact she had managed to lose it under there. After finding it, she dialled Alex and hushed her friends.

"Hello?" The redhead sounded confused when she answered the call, probably wondering why the person who seemed to hate her the most at the moment was calling her.

"Um hi, uh what are you doing?" Jennifer cringed at herself for sounding so awkward. Phone calls between her and Alex used to flow so easily.

"Just about to get in my car, I've just finished work. Why?"

"Come to the hospital, I want to talk to you."

"Alright I'm on my way." And with that long and totally not awkward conversation the two hung up on each other.

"All of you need to leave." Jennifer announced as she locked her phone.

"Aw. Can't we watch the show?" Ally joked.

------------------------------------------------------

"Hey." Jennifer greeted when Alex walked through the door.

"Hey." The redhead returned, taking a seat by Jennifer's bedside. "You wanted to talk?"

"After reading your letter and having a good, long talk with my friends, I've come to a decision..." Jennifer trailed off, pushing her newly acclaimed glasses up her nose.

"Jennifer before you go any further can I just say one last thing to try and change your mind?" Obviously, Alex thought this was going in a completely different direction. "I'm so sorry for calling you immature, I was the one being immature. You're so mature it's insane, that's what drew me to you. In any other scenario I could never imagine myself dating an eighteen-year-old but you were different. You're mature for your age but you also remind me that I'm still young too and I love that about you..." Alex smiled through her teary eyes and Jennifer tried her best to remain expressionless.

"Stand up." Was all Jennifer said and Alex furrowed her brow, reluctantly doing what the brunette said. "Come closer." She motioned with her finger and Alex leaned down slightly.

Unexpectedly for Alex, Jennifer grabbed her by the back of the neck and pulled her down into a kiss. The redhead had to place her hand on the headboard to steady herself in the rather awkward position.

"Is this you telling me you're giving me a second chance?" Alex pulled away slightly and asked hopefully.

Jennifer nodded and bit her bottom lip. "It's also me telling you to shut up." She laughed pulling Alex's face back towards hers.

"What on earth?"

The voice startled both of the girls who instantly broke apart. As soon as Alex got out of the way, Jennifer was met with the sight of her step mother looking a mixture of shocked and horrified.