Falling For You

Chapter 21

Hey everybody!!! I just wanted to thank you guys for actually taking the time to read my story!! Upwards of 4,000 reads!! Like WHAT?!? I just wanted to say that you peoples are awesome for voting and reading and commenting and I'm so happy that I get to share these amazing characters with you! I'm sorry if I have slow updates-- I'm working on another story that I'm really into called Pretending to Fake It (you should totally go check it out, btw :D), a few more behind the scenes things (i.e. Outlines, finding inspirational music, editing, peer editing, post edit editing, actually writing the chapters, things like that :D), AND I am working (more like detailed thinking) on another story I'm trying which is going to be set back in medieval times which should be really cool!! Tell me what you think about ALL THIS STUFF down in the comments or send me a message!! Sorry for the long intro!

Without further adieu, I give you Chapter 21 :) :)

**These are characters of my own creation!! I did not steal them for anyone else :D**

Paige's POV

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I blearily opened my eyes to see a white ceiling to the sterile smell of a hospital.

Wait, hospital?

I blinked a few times and tried to move my arm to rub my eyes, but it looked like one had an IV tube and the other had something to track my pulse.

Why was I here? Who brought me here?

I racked my brain, trying to remember anything when I realized that I must have fainted when I got home from football and-

Andrew.

He probably didn't even know I was in the hospital.

I mean, the last conversation we had was basically him telling me to shut up, go away, and never seeing my face again.

I turned my head to the right and found a call button on the remote to the small TV in my private room.

I pushed down on it and waited.

After a few minutes, a friendly looking, middle-aged nurse rushed in.

"Paige! You're awake!"

"Um, I guess. Why am I here?"

"On Friday night, your friend Maddy came to your dorm and found you passed out on the floor. You were rused to the ER and they sent you to emergency surgery after they ran some tests and figured out your appendix had ruptured. We had to go in and clean everything out, but you are good to go now! You really are one lucky girl."

"Why?"

"Because if Maddy had come in an hour later, you probably would have died, due to infection from the burst appendix."

I pressed my lips together and looked out of the window. If I had died, my brothers would never be able to try out for the Olympics. Maddy would have to find a new roommate, and Andrew....

"Paige!" The nurse said, snapping me out of my trance.

"Oh, sorry. What were you saying?"

"I was saying that you've got quite the crowd out there waiting for you to wake up honey!"

"Really? Who?" I said, thinking about Andrew again.

"Your parents, of course, Maddy, and a very handsome young man."

My heart almost stopped. Andrew. He was here. He did come. I had to talk to him.

"How long has he been out there?"

"All day, every day. You should feel really lucky that you have someone like him in your life."

I scoffed. "Yeah, really lucky." I wasn't going to forget what happened that easily.

He broke my heart. If anyone was going to fix it, it might as well be him.

And he better fix it well.

Andrew's POV

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Life at the hospital is extremely boring. I'm talking getting bored of falling asleep boring. Who gets tired of falling asleep? I would do this all over again in a heartbeat for Paige though. She is worth way more than merely sitting in a hospital waiting room for what seems like days on end. I've missed her so much. It's only been a week or so, but I miss her (I lost track of what day it was a long time ago). Her laugh, her clumsiness when she wasn't dancing or playing football, her quirks that I do find adorable.

I was getting some drinks for Maddy and I when I heard the sound of someone running behind me. I turned around to see a very out of breath Maddy.

"Maddy? What-"

"She's awake."

As soon as Maddy said that, I dropped the waters I was holding and took off running. I didn't even think twice about what I was doing before I ran. We sprinted through hallways and doors, past nurses' stations and doctors. All I could think about was Paige. Would she ever forgive me for being such an idiot? Or would she just completely blow me off again? Would things between us ever be the same?

I'm pretty sure I heard a few people shout things like "Slow down!" or "No running!" at us, but I didn't care. Paige was awake.

As Maddy and I reached her room, a nurse stopped us.

"Sorry guys, it's family only for right now."

I looked behind the nurse to the curtain that was making it so I couldn't see through the window. Maddy had started to argue with the nurse, while I sneaked around her to try to get the door open. I tried the handle. Locked. I was about to walk away when I heard voices coming from inside the room.

"So she'll be ready to start training in the spring?" I heard an unfamiliar voice ask. It must have been one of her brothers.

"Yes. It usually takes at least six weeks for someone to recover from something as serious as this, but considering what a fighter she is, she will probably be up and at 'em in three weeks. Just don't push yourself too hard, okay Paige? Take it easy for a few weeks."

I practically heard Paige roll her eyes. "Fine."

"I'll come in and check on you in a little bit, okay?"

"Okay." I heard the doctor's footstep getting closer to the door. "When will I be able to see my friends?"

"Soon enough," the doctor replied. "Your nurses have been telling me that there's a boy who's been very worried about you. He'll be very excited to hear that you're okay."

I heard Paige sigh. "So I've heard. Thanks again, doc."

I scrambled away from the door as the doctor pulled the handle and walked through.

"How is she?" I immediately asked.

"She's fine. She's awake, and all of her vitals are normal."

I felt my whole body relax for the first time in a week. "When will I be able to see her?"

"Most likely later tonight. I want the nurses to make sure that everything is okay before anyone outside of her family visits her."

I nodded as the doctor walked away and Paige's parents and what I assumed was one of her brothers came out of her room.

I plopped down into a chair in the waiting room and started to think about what I was going to say to Paige.