The Program [Book Two of The Test]

Chapter Seventeen

The Program

Chapter Seventeen

"So," I started, feeling as if I should have nudged John just now. Part of me was trying to fill the empty air between us with some type of conversation, that attempt dying as I couldn't figure out anything worth spilling from my mouth to continue my sentence.

After all, there's only so many chances you get to figure out how to handle finding out you might die.

For me, this was chance number two.

But I had always been one to go in an awkward direction, my mother saying it was a quality I picked up on when puberty struck. Naturally, proving her right, I instinctively bit my lip and tucked some of my hair behind my ear.

"You were saying something." John acknowledged, not really listening. Turns out, though I went with awkward, he was going with daydreaming when finding out he may die with me too.

But I would say the impact was somehow deeper for him. After all, it had occurred because he had to save me, risking his life, for me.

Though I still wasn't sure how he was planning to do that.

I cleared my throat, something I had done a lot in the last few minutes, maybe hoping to catch his attention better, maybe just to make things not seem so quiet. "You didn't have to come in here you know?"

This time he let out a light laugh. So he did hear me. "You telling me you would just willingly die and be okay with the fact that I was your only hope and did nothing to save you?"

"Well if I was dead there wouldn't have been much of an argument to be made, now would there?"

"I suppose not." He mumbled, lifting his head to the sky. I did the same. We both knew the test had gotten worse since he came in, things looking more like a scene in a horror film than actual life. And who knew how much time had passed since he arrived? Maybe an hour, probably not. "He loves you, you know that?"

"Huh?" I slowly turned to him, raising an eyebrow in question. 

"Jack." He said. His voice dropped a bit, a frown almost sticking on his face. "You should have seen him, Lexi. He wouldn't leave your hospital bed for days. And he practically beat the crap out of one of the police officers when they pried him away from you. He also had a bit of foul language, if you know what I mean, spewing from his mouth."

"Yeah," a smile etched its way onto my face. "Wait, how could it be days? Exactly how long have I been in here?" I raised an eyebrow again, confused. 

"Two weeks. Probably longer now." He answered simply.

"But it doesn't seem like-"

He cut me off, getting straight to the point. "Well obviously it has been. I wouldn't lie about something as stupid as that." Then he tensed a bit. "Not that it's not important, it's just not our main priority."