THE END OF THE FUCKING WORLD

CHAPTER NINE

Alex walked down the street, red roses in hand. The thorns breaking his skin ever so slightly, yet he was unbothered because they were Morgan's most favorite flower in the known universe. He looked down at them as he walked and thought of her. She was like a rose to the boy himself, beautiful and sharp. And he knew how much she cared for him, and he cared for her just as much, if not more. James valued the good in people and he saw immense good in the heart of the girl who now lay in a coma because of his own actions. He couldn't help but wonder if he should be blaming himself for the state she was in.

He was at least appreciative of the fact that she cared so much about him and that she was currently alive. The bullet missed her heart by a mere two inches and the nearest major artery by 2.5 millimeters meaning she should wake up at some point. At least that's what the first doctor had said.

Then when she didn't wake up after a few days they called in another doctor for a second opinion and he wasn't as sure about her well-being as the first doctor had been. All of the optimism James had near and dear to him was now being held on by a mere thread that was doing it's best to keep him going.

The only thing that really kept him going was the possibility of Morgan waking up while he waited next to her bed. The thought of looking into her eyes once more surely kept the thread as trustworthy as it needed to be.

It'd been weeks since the incident and while there thankfully hadn't been a single trace of the Bonnie who was fully responsible for Morgan's scarily catatonic state, James couldn't help but to look over his shoulder every chance he got so as to assure himself that he was safe. He felt that she was return soon, emanating from somewhere that lay deeply within his gut. He knew she was coming back for him, and now she was most likely going to seek revenge on his new love for getting in the way of her dastardly plans.

He couldn't help but show his true emotions for all the world to see as he made his way downtown. Walking quickly so as to get back to the woman he loved most so he could protect her the same way she'd done for him. Pain etched into every feature of his face, and not because of the thorns in the beautiful flowers he'd set out to retrieve for Morgan.

James missed her lively energy, the way she always knew what to say. How amazing she'd make him feel when he was at his most vulnerable, he could talk to her about anything. And now he didn't know if he'd ever get to share that deep emotional connection he had with her ever again. It had been weeks, and for all he knew it could be months, or years even before he'd get to take another look into those beautiful eyes of hers. He missed the way she really saw him, really saw him. Like she was looking into his soul when their eyes connected, and she liked what she saw.

James knew it wasn't just about what was on the surface either, the two of them truly cared for what really mattered in life. It didn't matter that they weren't vivaciously rich, or famous. They had each other and that was all that mattered to the two of them. Not to mention they hadn't gotten to go on skate date yet and he was really looking forward to seeing what kind of skate tricks she had up her sleeve.

All which he might never get to see. He went over and over the last moments he'd shared with her when she was last awake and consciously aware as he walked through the automatic front doors of the hospital, noting how easy it would be for Bonnie to pay the two of them a visit if she had really wanted to. He made his way upstairs to the room they'd been keeping Morgan in, ICU 333.

She hadn't had any visitors other than him and he couldn't help but feel sad for her. He wondered if she'd had any family that missed her, or even knew of the life or death state she was in. The thought really bothered him and he almost wondered if he should look through her contacts just to be sure. James wondered if Morgan would appreciate the thought or see it as a violation of her own privacy.

But there wasn't really a sure fire way of knowing before she'd woken up and he didn't want to risk her leaving this world without anyone she cared for knowing about it. So as he ascended the stairs to room 333 he made the executive decision to check her messages when he'd reached the room just to see if her could find either of her parents phone numbers so he could let them know that their daughter might not make it through this one.

He felt his heart rate increase as he neared her room and he couldn't quite tell if it was due to the fact that he might be invading her privacy in a few moments or if it was just because that's always how she made James feel. Better than Alyssa ever could. With the butterflies and the lightheaded-ness you felt when you were around someone that you truly loved. He chalked it up to a combination of both notions as he turned the door handle to her room, half expecting for Bonnie to be waiting for him as he braced himself for what he might find.

But as he entered the room all he found was Morgan, laying peacefully in bed without a care in the world, and he let out a long breath that he didn't even realize he'd been holding in. It was almost as if she'd just been sleeping, and he admired her soft features as he replaced the withering roses next to her bed with the fresh ones he'd just picked up from the grocery story that was a few blocks from the hospital.

For a moment he'd almost forgotten about everything that had to have happened to bring the two of them to this moment, and he just appreciated the fact that she was here with him. Whether she was aware of it or not, her presence was still comforting. As he watched her heart no inter fluctuate he suddenly remembered that he was going to find one of her parents so that he could alert someone that knew her about her catatonic state.

He retrieved her phone from the back pack he'd made for her when she awoke from her coma, filled with clothes and comfort items so as to be fully prepared for her return. He also wanted to make things as easy for her as possible after the trials and tribulations the two of them had faced together.

He held down the power button and waited patiently as he took his seat next to her bed. James was fully prepared to search through her phone for a way to contact Morgan's parents, but what he was not prepared for was the knowledge that she'd been texting Pete.