Live For Today

Chapter 18.

RONNIE'S POV

I rocked myself back and forth in the waiting room chair, staring at the wall in front of me and muttering incoherent reassurances to myself. To outsiders, I probably looked fucking insane. 

It was 1 a.m, and the waiting room was surprisingly empty- except for my guys and the girls, who were pale and wide-eyed, being held by Jacky and Ryan. Jacky had called them all and given them a heads up from the hospital, then taken the white SUV back to the bus and picked them up. Adeline was having an exploratory surgery to make sure nothing was ruptured or anything. It's been two hours already, and there's no information yet.

This was all my fucking fault... the police had met us at the hospital after arresting the two douchebags, and they'd taken my statement. They'd asked why I hadn't reported them to the police once they started making threats; I'd told them I didn't think they were dangerous. Then, they told me that because of the severity of their posts, they could have been arrested for assault and harassment and conspiracy for murder, and that all of this could have been avoided if I had just fucking reported them.

This was all... my fault. I brought this on her- I told her to trust me... and now we didn't know whether she would live through the fucking night. 

This... was my fault...

"Friends of Ms. Rayne and Mr. Biersack?" A brown haired man emerged from a door, clad in blue scrubs and a white coat. Jacky had to tug me over to him, because my knees had somehow turned into jello. 

"Y-Yes?" I stammered, my heart racing. 

"As for Miss Rayne, she is now out of surgery, and she's stabilizing. None of her organs were ruptured, and her arteries remained intact. We removed 7 bullets in all, and she's currently beginning to wake from the anesthesia. You can go see her if you like.

"Mr. Biersack is stable as well- his wounds were not as severe. He will be discharged in the morning- he received 46 stitches in all, which is... very lucky, considering what happened. They both are being held in the open ICU room- I'll show you the way," he informed us. I sagged with relief into Jacky, and we all followed the doc. Ashley hadn't been admitted- he just needed a gauze wrap for a minor graze. 

The doc led us to a deep brown door, and we parted ways with him. I took a deep breath... and opened the door. Adeline was in the bed closest to the door, and Andy was in the one 5 feet from her; the other two beds, which were on the wall opposite them, were thankfully empty. 

Jake, Jinxx, Ashley, and CC went to Andy's side- who was sitting up and watching his TV, eating crackers. Adeline, however, was laying on her side, watching her TV, which was set on... Comedy Central. She looked... ill. Weak. Her tan skin was pasty, and her eyelids drooped. There were dark circles under eyes, and her lips were slightly open, and dry and cracked. 

"Adeline?" I said. Her eyes flickered over to me, and everyone behind me.

"R-R-Ron-nie?" she stuttered. We made our way to her bedside, and the girls both hugged her. Lightly, of course.

"How do you feel?" Marissa gripped her hand. Adeline gave her a feeble smile.

"I feel ok," she answered in a broken voice. I stood behind them all, still wearing the black tank top, black skinny jeans, and black Vans from the performance. I stayed in the back of the group while the rest of them visited with her. When she started getting tired, it was already almost 3 in the morning. The guys, Alexx, and Marissa filed out, and Jacky paused at me.

"You staying?" he asked. I nodded wordlessly. "I'll tell Josh to postpone our shows until further notice." 

"Thanks, man," I croaked. When they were all gone, and Andy was snoring, I pulled the chair up to her bedside and rested my arm on the bed by her own.

"C-Can you get the l-light?" she asked, gesturing weakly to a lime green cord behind the head of her bed, connecting to a small wall lamp. I pulled it, plunging us into darkness. Her face, hair, and arms were illuminated by the glow of the TV. 

The ends of her hair were still stained a dark pink... God. She looked so unusually frail.

Then again, getting shot 7 times and having exploratory surgery would do that to someone. 

"Adeline..." I started, wondering how to phrase my question. 

"Yeah?" she asked, a twinge of anger in her voice- which I totally understood. This was my fault. 

"Why... Why'd you take the bullets for me?" I whispered. She sighed deeply, and winced. 

"Ronnie, I was going to get shot anyway. I might as well get you out of the way and spare you," she explained. My voice got caught in my fucking throat, and I had to clear it several times. Maybe I was totally wrong... maybe she did have feelings for me... 

I shook that notion. She was just that kind of person- always putting others before herself. Just one of the traits that made her so remarkable. 

"You... I can't believe you did that," I shook my head. "Especially considering this is all my fault."

"What do you mean?" she questioned.

"Adeline, if I'd reported them, this never would have happened to you," I berated myself.

"I won't lie, Ronnie. It is partially your fault- but it's mine, too." My eyes snapped up to hers. "I was just as able to report them as you were- and I didn't, either. Granted, it was because you told me to trust you, but still. I could've done it just as much as you could."

"Hello," someone entered. It was a different doctor than before.

"Hi," Adeline greeted.

"So, how are you feeling?" The doctor asked, her hands deep in her pockets, a look of concern on her face.

"I feel ok... I hurt a little," she answered. 

"Yeah, that's going to get worse as the last of the anesthesia wears off. If it gets too bad, press this little red button-" she gestured to a small black rectangle with a red button on top  "- and it'll adjust the pain medicine."

"Thank you," Adeline smiled appreciatively.

"My pleasure. We almost lost you, you know. One bullet almost perforated your lung, and another missed your aorta by only a millimeter. Any closer, and you would have bled out and died before they could have gotten you here. During the surgery, when Dr. Jones attempted to remove that bullet, your blood pressure plummeted. Luckily, we were able to stabilize you," she informed her gravely. She looked at me. "You are very lucky, sir," she told me, then left. My breath quickened- she'd almost died? I couldn't... I couldn't fucking think about that- I'd have a motherfucking panic attack.

"Ronnie, I'm... uh, I'm about to try to go to sleep, ok?" she informed me.

"Ok," I said.

"You're staying, right?" she asked in a small voice, almost desperately. 

"Till they drag my ass out," I smirked. She smiled, and nestled her face in to her pillow. "Do you want me to turn the TV off?"

"No," she shook her head furiously. I nodded, settled back into the chair, and shut my eyes as I cossed my arms. An hour or so passed, and I couldn't sleep for shit.

"Ronnie?" Adeline whispered quietly. My eyes snapped open immediately and trained on her.

"Yeah?"

"I... I can't sleep, uh.... without you in the bed with me," she admitted sheepishly. I smiled to myself and leaned forward, kicking off my shoes and socks. She pulled the blanket back, and I crawled into the bed, laying behind her. She struggled to turn around, but once she did, she laid her head into my chest, and snuggled close.

I wrapped my arms around her and rested my cheek on her head. Soon- as in, not even 5 minutes- her soft, cute snores sounded.

I fell asleep with the girl of my dreams in my arms.

AWWHHH OK SO WHAT DO YOU THINK 

I loved writing this chapter, as well as the previous one. What do you thinkkkk????

FEEDBACK

 Ronnie to the side :)