Real but Fake

Chapter 18

Lisa and Grayson were sitting in the waiting room of the hospital, waiting for a doctor to tell them about Ayla. Lisa was holding Grayson close to her, trying to calm him down. He hadn't stopped crying since he saw Ayla.

His heart was slowly breaking in his chest. 'This is all my fault! I did this! I got her involved! I asked her to help me! This is all my fault! I caused this! I made her do it! I broke her when I knew she was hurting! Why was I so stupid?!' he thought to himself while they waited.

He broke the hug with his mom and looked at her with teary eyes. "This is my fault, isn't it?" He asked with more tears threatening to fall. Lisa frowned at him and shook he head as she held his hand.

"Gray, this isn't your fault!" She reassured him.

"But it is," he replied. "I asked her to help me. I asked her to be my fake girlfriend. I should never have asked. I should have listened to you. I'm sorry. You were right. I should never have asked her. She was too sweet and innocent. And now look what I've done!" He paused. "I broke her".

Lisa pulled him into a hug and held him tight. They were interrupted by a doctor speaking, "Ayla Thompson?" They jumped up at her name. The doctor smiled at them as they stood in front of him. "She is currently unconscious, but she is fine. She will need to stay for a few days so we can look after her. She lost a lot of blood and will need a blood donor. We're currently trying to find her type of blood. She has a rare blood type, so it's slightly more difficult," the doctor explained.

"Can we see her?!" Grayson asked.

"Yeah," the doctor replied. "Follow me, I'll take you to her room". Lisa and Grayson followed the doctor through the hospital corridors to Ayla's room. They arrived at a door. Grayson stopped before entering the room. He looked through the glass window to see Ayla sleeping in the bed. He breathed in before walking into her room.

When he got near her bed, his heart had fully broke. His heart broke by the sight of her. She had bandages wrapped around both her wrists. She had a heart monitor attached to her chest. She looked so peaceful sleeping.

Grayson sat down in the chair next to her bed. He held her hand and began to draw circles with his thumb on her hand. He couldn't look at her, it caused him too much pain. He knew it was his fault. He had caused her to be in here.

Lisa sat on the couch of the room, allowing Grayson to stay with Ayla. They were sitting in silence when the door opened to reveal Ayla's brothers. They looked at Ayla with worried eyes. They rushed to her side and checked to see if she was fine.

Nathan glared at Grayson. "What did I tell you?!" He yelled. "We told you to stay away from her! And now look what happened! This is your fault!" Grayson sighed, not wanting to argue with anyone.

"This is not his fault!" Lisa protested.

"Mom," Grayson said calmly. "It is my fault. This is all my fault. And I'm sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen. But it did. And I hate myself for letting it happen. I should have been there sooner. I could have stopped this. But I didn't".

"What do you mean 'been there sooner'?!" Noah asked.

"I'm the one who phoned the ambulance," Grayson explained. "I tried to talk to her, but she was ignoring me. I had to see her, so I went to your house. We spoke, but she wouldn't let me see her. Eventually, she locked the door and I went home. I tried to text her, but she wouldn't answer. I began to worry, so I went to check on her. I knew she wouldn't answer the door, so I climbed through her bedroom window. When-"

"Wait!" The twins stopped him. "You climbed through her window?!"

"Yeah, it wouldn't be the first time," Grayson instantly regretted saying that the minute it escaped his mouth. Ayla's brothers looked like they were going to murder him. "Anyway, I saw her bathroom door locked. I knocked on, asking her to open the door, but she wouldn't answer. I broke into her bathroom to see her... um... I found her on the floor... and..." he trailed on, not wanting to say what he saw.

"You called the ambulance?" Grayson nodded unsure. Unexpectedly, Nathan and Noah hugged him and thanked him for saving Ayla. Grayson was shocked and didn't know what to do. "If you climb through her window again, I'll murder you," Nathan whispered in his ear.

After a few minutes of silence, the door opened to reveal Ethan. He seemed out of breath and scared. He looked around frantically for Ayla. He saw her lying in the hospital bed, unconscious. He stood at the foot of her bed and sighed.

"Why would she do this?" Ethan asked.

Grayson bowed his, avoiding eye contact. "It's my fault," he explained. Ethan looked at him with a confused look. "I hurt her. I already knew she wasn't happy with herself. And I didn't try to help her. Instead, I was selfish and stupid. This is my fault".

"How would you have known that she'd do this?" Ethan asked.

Grayson was still holding Ayla's hand, not wanting to look at anyone. "I knew she was harming herself," he started. "She told me why she did it. She trusted me. I made her promise to stop, but then I broke her. I was reckless and selfish".

"Why would she harm herself?" Noah asked.

"She thinks she isn't perfect," Grayson replied. "She told me how she saw herself. She told me how she felt about herself. She hated herself because she thought she wasn't perfect. I could have helped her - I should have helped her!"

Ethan stood next to Grayson and placed his hand on his shoulder. "But you saved her," Ethan pointed out. "You were able to save her life. If it wasn't for you, she would have bled to death on her bathroom floor".

"If it wasn't for me, she wouldn't have done it," Grayson added.

"You need to stop beating yourself up," Lisa said. Grayson looked up at her with dull eyes. "Things happen that you cannot change. No matter how hard you try, the past cannot be altered. Everything happens for a reason. Maybe all this was supposed to happen".

Grayson looked back down at Ayla's hand in his. "Yeah," he admits. "Maybe". Everyone sat in the room in silence. No one dared to speak. Ethan was sitting on the couch with Lisa while Nathan and Noah stood by Ayla's bed. Grayson hadn't moved from the chair.

The door opened and a doctor entered the room. The doctor smiled at everyone before speaking, "Visiting times are over. You can come back tomorrow and see her. I think it's best if you all go home and rest".

Everyone stood up, except Grayson. He didn't move. Everyone frowned at him. "I don't want to leave her side," he explained. "I left her once, and this is what happened. I'm not going to let that happen again!"

"Gray," Ethan said. "She's in a hospital, she'll be fine".

Grayson shook his head, refusing to leave her side. The doctor sighed. "You can stay the night with her," the doctor stated. Grayson gave a small smile as he cherished Ayla's hand. "I'm sure she'd like to see her boyfriend when she wakes up," the doctor added.

"Oh, um... I'm not her boyfriend," Grayson clarified. "I'm just a close friend".

"A close friend who is in love with her," Ethan states. Grayson glares at him while everyone else chuckled. Ethan smirked at Grayson while he says, "It's true, don't deny it. I know you like her". Grayson turned away, trying to hide the redness in his cheeks.

They all left the room, leaving Grayson with Ayla. He stayed in the chair, not letting go of her hand. He was drawing circles on her hand to calm himself down. He looked up at her and felt tears forming. "I'm sorry, Ayla," he whispered.

When you break someone's heart, you also break your own.