The Nerd and the Street Racer

9 (ICU)

Mallory POV

2 hours. It's been 2 hours since Reece went into surgery. 2 hours of not knowing if he'll die or not.

I yawn and look over at A.J. who's sleeping on Slade's shoulder. Her dad left a little while ago. I look over at Slade and can tell he's taking this hard. He hasn't slept since they took Reece to surgery. His hair is a mess, his eyes are red from crying, not to mention his knuckles are bleeding from punching the wall.

"He'll be fine. He's a fighter." My voice comes out as a whisper, but Slade can still hear it. He chuckles softly. "What?" I ask with a small smile.

"That's the same thing I said to Reece when A.J. got in the accident." He looks over at A.J.

We sit in silence a little longer, until Slade speaks up, "He loves ya. He looks at you the same way he looks at his d*mn car and he loves that car." We both laugh a little, "he's my best friend. He was the first person to talk to me at school. The guy who got me into racing. He even introduced me to the love of my life. He's gotta pull through."

"If he doesn't I don't know what I'll do." I say looking down at my hands.

"You love him?"

"More than anything. I was going to tell him after the race, but...." I trail off not wanting to say it.

"Yeah. Hey you know, we might not be the best of friends, but you can come to me for anything. I'm always here for you."

"Thanks, I might be needing it."

"I'll be here. I promise." Before he can say anything else, the doctors walks out. I stand up and Slade wakes up A.J.

"So? How is he?" A.J. asks grabbing my hand.

"Surgery went well. We stopped the bleeding and he should have a good recovery."

We all sigh in relief. "Can we see him?" Slade asks.

"He's in the ICU ,so one at a time."

Slade and A.J. look at me. "Y'all sure?" I asked.

They nod, "He would want to see you." I nod and follow the doctor. 

When we get to his room, I walk in. He's asleep and has an IV in his arm. I walk over and sit in the chair next to his bed.

"I hate you so much. I hate that you got in that car. I hate that you love racing. I hate that you could've died. But I hate that I love you so much I can't hate you. I could never hate you, no matter how hard I try and believe me I'm trying so hard right now. I love you too much. I've always loved you, since the moment you walked in A.J.'s when we were in the 6th grade. Since you smiled at me. I love you so much that I can't hate you." I cry, tears are running down my face. I look up at him and all the wires. I scoff getting out of my chair, "And you said racing wouldn't kill ya." I walk to the door. Right when I put my hand on the door handle to open it, and voice stops me.

"It didn't."