The Unexpected

Chapter 19

Do you guys like the new cover better or the one being used now?

I had to do a lot of researching for this chapter, but is you see any mistakes please point it out for me because I probably still got something wrong lol.

I will announce the winners of the contest in the next update, so you still have time to be all creative-ey ;)

If you haven't ever heard the song to the side, it's The A-Team by Ed Sheeran. I didn't get the meaning until the millionth time I heard it (and that's only because I read a comment explaining it), but I wanted to cry when I did. It's so sad, but then again most beautiful songs are.

Not edited (but really, when is it ever?)

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Chapter 19

I didn't realize I had fallen sleep until I was being shaken awake. I opened one eye to see Aaden standing above me before rolling over. "Go away." My voice was groggy and laced with sleep.

Aaden tweaked my nose before I swatted his hand away. "As cute as you look while you're sleeping, Princess, you need to wake up," he teased, but his voice also held worry.

I blinked my gray eyes open to meet his gaze. One glance at his serious expression had me wide awake and jolting up, one word leaving my lips. "Emma."

Aaden watched me carefully. "She's in the hospital, but not in critical condition." I kept silent, hoping for more information, but he merely shook him head. "That's all I know."

"She'll be okay?" I asked quietly, almost afraid to get my hopes up so soon.

"She should be."

I closed my eyes and let out a breath, a silent thank-you prayer running through my thoughts. I reopened them to find Aaden still watching me, a curious expression on his face. I fidgeted, slightly embarrassed by his careful gaze. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just," his head tilted slightly to the side, "I find you stranded in the middle of the woods, having just been attacked by some guy in a mask, and upon your first waking moment you ask if your friend is okay."

That didn't make any sense. "And that's a bad thing why?"

He shook his head. "No, not a bad thing. Just, surprising. Most people would be freaking out, wondering what the heck happened. The first thing you thought of wasn't your own safety, but Emma's."

"She's my best friend, Aaden. She would have done the same thing."

"I'm just saying that it wasn't what I expected." His corner of his mouth quirked up in a small smile. "You're a caring person, Ricki, someone who would sacrifice herself for someone she cared for. It's a trait many people are too selfish to posses."

Those were perhaps the most poetic words I've heard come out of his mouth. "Oh," I said simply, fiddling with a stray fabric on the couch I had woken up on.

Wait, couch?

I glanced at my surroundings, surprised I didn't notice any of it before. I knew I had been in that room before, and it suddenly occurred to me I was in the living room of Aaden's temporary home.

"Why am I here? What happened?" I asked him, watching as he made his way to the conjoined kitchen.

"You passed out in the car," was his simple reply.

"I passed out?" I repeated incredulously, running through my memories of the night before and realizing I remembered nothing from the moment Aaden half carried me to his car until I woke up here.