Their Guy

Chapter 28

Leandrea's POV

"Leah dear please eat something," my mom said waving a sandwhich before my face.

I simply shook my head pushing the sandwhich away, ignoring the grumbling in my stomach that had been aroused by the tempting smell.

Marlene was alright now, I guess. But I still wasn't allowed to see her. The uneasy feeling in my stomach refused to go away until I saw her myself.

"Leah please?" My mom pleaded again but I just shook my head. She sighed and walked away, leaving me sitting alone on the hospital bench.

It had been 15 hours and 32 minutes since Marlene had been admitted and I hadn't budged an inch.

I refused to. For the past 15 hours 35 minutes now, I'd been focusing all my attention on the door before me, hoping and praying that Marlene was okay.

"You're still here Leandrea?" I heard Ryden's familiar voice say and I snapped my head up towards him. He'd gone home a while ago, changed into a grey sweatshirt and black pants and come back with two Starbucks coffees. My heart slightly fluttered when my eyes scanned his muscles buldging on either side of his body, and I forced my lips into a smile.

"Yup," I said as he settled next to me. "I want to be here when they let us in to see her. I want to be the first one."

"Don't worry," he said handing me one cup. "Now that everything's okay between you two, she'll be perfectly fine."

"You knew?" I asked, surprised. "Marlene told you?"

"She didn't," he said. "But it didn't take a genius to figure it out. It was pretty obvious."

"Oh."

An awkward silence spread between us. I could tell he was staring at me, willing me to tell him what went wrong, but I couldn't tell him, could I?

Ryden would probably kill himself if he realized that we fought over him- and I really didnt want that happening.

"So what happened to her?" I asked completely changing the topic. "You called me from the ambulance. What happened before that?"

"I'm not really sure," Ryden began. "We were watching Stranger Things up in Marlene's room and I'd gone downstairs to get some food. When I came back, she was lying on the floor, surrounded in a pool of blood - clutching her stomach. She only muttered your name before passing out."

"She what?" I asked in disbelief.

"She said your name before she passed out," he repeated. "When I called the ambulance, thankfully Dr. Stone came along. She told me this reaction had something to do with stress, not taking her meds on time and a blocked artery or something."

She said my name before passing out.

The scene before Marlene's anesthesia kicked in, replayed before my eyes. Her mouth struggling beneath the oxygen mask to say three words.

I love you.

She'd cared.

She'd cared all along.

She'd cared the entire time while I thought she didn't. 

I groaned, putting my head in my hands, realizing what a complete idiot I'd been.

"It isn't your fault Leandrea," Ryden said gently pulling my hands away from my face. "Whatever happened between you had nothing to do with this."

"It is!" I wailed. "You don't understand Ry, but it is! I'm the one to blame for this condition of hers. I-"