Sugar // Marliza

14

- Maria -

Alex came to visit at about 5pm, carrying a bouquet of hydrangeas, a box of chocolates, two giant teddy bears (one red and one blue), and a small wrapped box. I almost laughed at the fact that you couldn't even see his face, since he was carrying so much.

He stumbled in the door and promptly dropped the bears and chocolate onto the chair that was sitting in the corner. He set the flowers and the mystery box on the side table and immediately wrapped me in a tight hug, doing the same to Eliza right after.

"Words can't eve describe how heartbroken you two must feel right now. Let me tell you, when I got that text, I broke down myself. You two deserve so much better than this... I'm so sorry." He said with a frown, sitting down in the chair by the bed.

"It hurts so badly. But I don't want to think about it... can you distract me, please?" I asked, helplessness filling my voice as I glanced between Eliza and Alex. I needed to keep myself distracted from the immense physical and emotional pain I was experiencing. But these two always have good stories, so I have no doubt that they'll do a good job. Alex spoke up first.

"So about a month and a half back, I asked John Laurens out, right? And he ran off. Eliza remembers that whole thing, don't you?" He began. Eliza smiled a bit and nodded.

"To fill you in a bit Maria, John and I have been best friends since middle school. I've always had this lingering crush on him, but the intensity of it would fluctuate. But after I broke up with Eliza, it just hit its peak and I decided I had to ask him out," he explained, moving his hands as he spoke. I nodded, focusing on the information and trying to ignore the horrible cramps I was having. The doctors warned me about miscarriage and how to avoid it early in the pregnancy, but they never said it hurts so badly...

"Anyways, he ran off when I asked him out. So the next day, he came back into the dorm and he was a total wreck, but it's fine because I was too. And he's soaking wet from being in the rain, and I'm all curled up in this blanket working on a paper," Alex said. He talked pretty fast, but towards the end of his sentence he slowed down a bit, trying to draw out the suspense.

"And then, he grabbed my laptop and pushed it aside, and stood me up from the couch, and just wrapped his arms around me in this huge blanket, and he kissed me!" Alex said, a happy smile spreading across his face along with a light blush.

I couldn't help but giggle a little bit and squeal. I'd seen Alex and Laurens around the campus for the past few years and I'd always thought that they were meant to be.

"So then what? What about the whole date thing?" I said, successfully distracted. I never really got invested in stories or gossip like this, but it was Alex and Laurens. Plus, Alex has a way of speaking that gets everyone to listen. Even Eliza was fully focused, even though I one hundred percent guarantee that she's heard this story at least five times before.

"Well, then he said that he panicked about the date thing because he wasn't expecting me to ask him out, and he apologized like, fifty times for it. And then he said that he would love to go out with me, but only if I would be his boyfriend!" He exclaimed. A wide smile spread across my face and I laughed genuinely for a moment, taking it in. My OTP!

"I'm so happy for you. Do you know how long I've been rooting for you two to be together? Like, three years!" I said. He smiled and blushed a bit, thanking me.

It felt really good to have this little circle of friends. Who cares that it's just the three of us? They make me feel like I can really be me. I feel like a normal 20 year old-college student should; talking about relationships with my friends, laughing and having fun despite the circumstances.

"I'm happy for you two, also. You really are meant to be." He said after a short pause of talking. Eliza and I shared a quick glance before turning back to him with slightly confused expressions. We never announced that we were dating, because we technically weren't. I mean, Alex had seen us kissing before but we never actually told him we were together.

But now that James is out of the picture...

"Eliza?" I said, at the same time she said,

"Maria?" We laughed for a moment before saying in unison, odd enough,

"Will you be my official girlfriend?"

I squealed immediately and nodded, throwing my arms around her neck as she covered my face in kisses. The moment was so beautiful, until an intense stabbing pain flared up and I pulled away, clutching my stomach.

"What's wrong? Should I get a doctor? How bad does it hurt?" Eliza asked, falling back into a more serious mode. I could barely speak from the pain, and the edges of my vision began to go black as I tried to speak. I opened my mouth but nothing came out of it.

"Maria?" I heard Eliza ask frantically. I slipped in and out of consciousness for a moment and saw her running into the hallway, calling for a doctor.

"It's going to be okay. I love you." I heard her say. And then, it all went dark.

a/n: ok I think this is going to be the last hospital chapter. The next one might take place in the hospital for 1/3 of the time but idk still. Also, the wrapped present and why Maria passes out will be explained next chapter.