Reckless Abandon (Part 1)

Chapter Twelve

This chapter will rotate between Elijah and Harlen's POV!  Enjoy!

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Elijah's POV

Jane and Jeremy had joined me in the waiting room.  Derrick was talking to the cops saying that he didn't want any reporters in here.  He didn't want to disclose who saved her.  He didn't want any news coverage at all.

I was sitting in the chair closest to the doors.  My head bowed over my knees, my hands clasped together around her bracelet, still covered in blood.  She wouldn't cut herself like that.  She wouldn't commit suicide.

"Elijah?"

"No, look," I began, exhausted and lost as my eyes met Jane's now green eyes.  "She didn't do it.  She didn't.  I know what it looks like, but she did not do that, okay?"

She nodded, worry in her eyes.  "Okay, I believe you.  I was just going to say that you should go get some coffee or some rest.  We can tell you when she wakes up, but it's been 16 hours.  We just think that maybe you need a break."

"I have to be here," I mumbled, turning back to my hands.  "She needs me to be here."

"She needs you to be okay," Jeremy spoke, leaning over from his seat across from me.  "She needs you to be at your best so you can help her get back to hers."

I shook my head as the last four weeks came crashing down on me.  My eyes filled, my shoulders shaking.  "I'm not okay, guys.  I'm not.  She needs to wake up.  She has to wake up."

Jane sat down next to me, placing a hand on my back.  "I can't promise that, Eli, you know that.  I can only promise to be here for you whatever happens."

I ran my hands through my hair, the tears falling.  "I love her, Jane.  I am in love with her, so she has to be okay.  She has to be okay."

Jane was quiet and I knew this was a hard subject for her, so when Jeremy walked up and took her place, I wasn't surprised.  "Hey, man."

I covered my face with my hands.

"Look," he said, putting a hand on my back.  "It's not cool to cry in front of girls, so you need to stop that so I can talk to you, okay?"

I could hear the glare on Jane's face, but what she didn't know was that Jeremy had a way with words.  He always meant something different than what he said.  He needed me to stop crying to I could actually hear what he needed to say.  So I could look in his eyes and understand everything.

So, I wiped my eyes and swallowed my tears and met his eyes.  His stare was always so intense, but it was comforting all the same.

"Okay, now listen.  Jane is right.  We cannot promise something even the doctors can't say for sure, okay?  But we can promise this; that girl loves you too.  She loves you more than anyone we have ever seen before.  Any girlfriend or fan girl or passerby has ever loved you like she loves you and do you know what that means?"

I shook my head.

"It means that she isn't going to give up that easy.  You know her better than us all and you know how she was when you met her and how she was when she left your house that night.  You have seen everything she has been through and you have seen her survive.  She will survive this simply because you are the person who helped her heal herself and no one else has ever done that before.  She wouldn't leave without telling you how much you mean to her.  How much her father means to her.  Would you give up on her if it were you in the ER?"