The Accident: A Josh Hutcherson Story

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

"Claudia was here . . ." The way Josh's eyes lit up at her name made Ella's sink. How was she supposed to put this? Would he want her to put it to him straight or to sugarcoat it? Like ripping off a band-aid, she decided. Fast but gentle. "And she was very concerned about you. But . . ."

Even if he couldn't move most of his fact, Ella could see the worry in his eyes that Josh experienced when she said the word 'but'. He obviously knew that the word 'but' never entailed something good, especially when followed after something good. But he continued to stare at her, a signal to keep going and get it over with. 

"Josh, she gave me this." Ella showed him the ring, the damn jewel ontop of the gold band glinting in the overhead light, almost like it was laughing at them. "The wedding's off. I think it's because she didn't have the time to stay without you through this . . . difficult . . . time."

One of the most heartbreaking things you will ever experience is witnessing the people you love cry. Like the first time you see your mother cry, it confuses you because she has always seemed like such a strong character, someone who wouldn't snap like that. Since Ella had never looked up to her mother in any way and had never seen her cry, she hadn't realized how horrible it would be once she did see someone she cared about break down.

It wasn't even like Josh took a full on breakdown but he did cry. A single tear fell out and slid down his cheek. But a single tear was a tear none the less and it was like someone had ripped Ella's heart out of her chest and ground it into the floor until there was nothing left but organ guts and blood.

"Oh don't cry!" she blurted out, using her thumb to wipe the tear away. "That bitch isn't worth your tears. You still have me! You don't need Claudia. I'm not gonna leave because of your accident. I swear it." Ella crossed her heart with her fingertip to emphasize the point.

It didn't matter, Josh still looked broken.

"I know," Ella sighed. "I'm not much use." She used the hospital duvet cover to dry his wet cheek. "All I can do is stand here and say bad things about your ex-fiancee. If you could talk right now, I'd tell you to swear about her, call her every name under the sun. She is a whore ass bitch after all. A controlling whore ass bitch."

The corner of his mouth twitched, like he was trying to smile. Ella smiled back, tucking the duvet back underneath him. "There you go, smiling helps a great deal! It's like the best medicine!" she said. Through his teary eyes, Josh's gaze slid down to her stomach, to the baby bump. "Do you want to touch the baby again?"

Ella took his hand and pressed it against her stomach, like she did on his first night in the hospital. The baby kicked right on cue, a proper kick that almost left her winded. "Still recognizes daddy's touch," she said. "I doubt they're ever going to forget it." His mouth twitched again and Ella grinned, brushing back a dark curl that fell into his eyes. "Whoa, you're hot!" she exclaimed. Another twitch. "Hey, don't get the wrong idea Mr, I mean temperature!"

She took his duvet and pulled it down to his waist, hoping to cool him down a bit. She realized with a blush that Beyon hadn't put his shirt back on (now that she thought about it, probably because of his temperature). Ella normally didn't have a problem with things like that but for some reason, Josh never failed to turn things like that on its head. 

"There, that will help cool you down a bit," she said out loud, more to distract herself from reaching out and tracing beautiful anchor inked onto his torso with her fingertips more than anything else. She scratched the back of her head and pursed her lips in deep thought. 

If Claudia was no longer in the picture did that mean . . . ?

No. She couldn't do that. Who knew how long it would take Josh to get over being left by his fiancee and it would be insensitive of Ella to try and muscle in immediately. No, she was just his carer . . . For now.