More Than Friends

Chapter 16

Jackson POV

Three hours. That's how long we've been in this hospital room, three hours. The doctors took her away half an hour ago for something, I wasn't paying attention.

I've been distracted ever since we got here, not paying attention to anyone or anything. No one except the adults is in here with me; our friends had to stay in the waiting room even after Aria's dad, a doctor at the hospital, fought for them to be allowed in. Something about procedure. I'm still not sure why I was allowed in if I'm not family, but maybe Mom lied and said that I'm her brother and she's Kimmy's lesbian lover. I have no clue.

Ramona has a couple of the same doctors Dad had, and they all recognized me immediately. Maybe that's another reason why I'm allowed here; she was when Dad died.

No one tries to talk to me for the entire time we're in that room. I guess they all know that I don't want to talk to anyone right now; I just want to blame myself. Had Ramona and I not been fighting, she wouldn't have had a panic attack, and if she didn't have a panic attack, she wouldn't be here right now.

I'm going to go insane if I don't find out what's wrong right now, no joke. The clock is ticking away the seconds and my sanity. I need to focus on something, anything.

"Jackson? Ben and Aria are coming in soon," Kimmy says gently, drying her tears. How do you do that; instantly dry tears? I need to learn that for situations like these.

I just nod in response; not bothering to speak. My voice, I can tell, is too weak to make a sound that's not a sob. If I don't cry, it's not real. If it's not real, it's not happening. This can't be real; this has to be a dream. Please, let this be a nightmare. I'll wake up and Ramona will be fine; unharmed.

The door creaks open slowly and I see Aria poke her head in the frame. "Hey dude," she says. Aria is probably my second closest friend, second only to Ramona.

"Hey dudette," I respond, voice breaking along with my heart. The thought of Ramona, it hurts me. I can't live without her, and this is so insane that this is reality.

Ari doesn't finish our trademark greeting from fifth grade, rather, she opts to give me a hug. I breathe, finally letting the tears flow. It's weird; I feel safer crying in her arms than I do my own mother's. I guess that's just how it works now.

"Mrs. Gibbler," Dr. Goldman says, walking into the room. "Your daughter had a severe panic attack, and it has led to loss of consciousness. She will, hopefully, make a full recovery in two to three weeks. The only problem is, she hasn't woken up yet."

My sobs grow louder, and even Mom can't hold it in anymore; she tears up. Kimmy is in hysterics, Aria's crying, and Ben is sitting with his head in his hands. Him and Ramona are incredibly close; this must be breaking his heart as much as it is mine.

"When is she supposed to wake up?" I ask, voice barely above a whisper. I need to know, I need to know.

"Within the hour. I assure you, your girlfriend is in the best care here," he assures me. I roll my eyes out of instinct.

"She's not my girlfriend," I correct him and he looks taken aback for a moment. "She's my best friend, and yes, I love her, but no, it's not in a romantic way."

"Well, then your best friend is in the best care. You will be the first to know when she wakes up," it isn't until now that it finally hits me: Ramona's not going back to this room.

"Where is she?" Ben asks, voice unstable. Aria stops hugging me to go comfort Ben. Makes sense; they are dating.

"She's in the ICU. Only two visitors are allowed there at a time, and they have to be family. You all are welcome to stay in here and bring your other friends in here as well," Dr. Goldman claps his hands together and walks out of the room.

"One way or another, you're all getting into that room. She's said it before; you guys are her chosen family. Jax, follow me," Mom orders as we walk to the ICU.

"Mom, are you really sure this is a good idea?" I ask, in a low voice.

"No. I pulled you out here to talk to you. Look, you're going through a lot right now. And this is the way you reacted when your dad died. No, actually, you're worse. So, you wanna tell me what's really going on?" Curse mothers always knowing what you're thinking.

"I feel like it's my fault, what happened." I get an eyebrow raise, so I just keep speaking. "Ramona and I hadn't talked in three days, and I wanted to talk to her, make things right between us. So, I went into her room. When she was there, she was only wearing a towel, which she dropped. I then spoke, and she ran out of the room, embarrassed, and into the bathroom. That's when Aria found her, Mom."

"Why weren't you and Ramona speaking?" She asks.

"Because it may or may not have come to light that I threatened our entire grade that if they broke her heart, I'd break their bones," I admit.

"Jackson Michael Fuller! Did I really raise you to be such an idiot? You know I love you, but that was a bad move." Great; even my mom's judging me for this.

"In hindsight, it may not have been the best idea," I admit and she rolls her eyes.

"It definitely wasn't a good idea, but what was the real reason you threatened them? Don't give me any of this she's my best friend bull either because I know you're lying." Goddamn; mothers may know everything.

"It's recently come to my mind that I may have a tiny crush on Ramona," I admit and she just smirks.

"I knew it!"

Alex and Sky run up to us, out of breath and crying. This is really bad. Is she dead?

"She's okay! She's alive, and woke up. She said she wants to speak to you, Jax," Alex explains and I start tearing up out of joy. "Oh, also, we heard what you were saying and Jamona will most certainly happen now."

"Shut up, Alex, I've gotta get to Mona's room," I diss him, voice back to it's normal level. Thank God.

I run the three flights of stairs, two corridors, and  two rooms to where Ramona is, smiling widely. She's alive!

When I walk into her room, out of breath and sweating, she's already laughing at me. "Happy to see me?"

"Understatement of the century," I smile and plop down next to her on that uncomfortable hospital bed.

"So, Jacksito, I've been told I had a panic attack that sent me in here and that you blame yourself. I've also been told that I now have to see a shrink when I'm here." Ramona smiles, and I know that she's back.

"Yep. I take it you've forgiven me for threatening all the boys in the grade?" I ask tentatively, and she giggles.

"Yes, I have. You now have to deal with me annoying you all of the time again," and with that statement, my heart is healed. Fully.

"Wanna watch some Netflix or talk to people that are nowhere near as interesting as I am?" I ask, swinging my arm around her shoulders.

👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

Y'all, I'm on break! No forced interaction with people I don't want to talk to! The best.

Later loves,

~Ry