BEASTLY

Chapter 29

Ava shot out of her sleep with a startle, her heart thumping wildly against her chest as she looked around. Contrary to the scene she had woken from, there was no gore and bloodshed and instead, the room she recognised as the hospital room. The walls and the positioning of the blinds clicked in her memory. It was the same room she had been in as last time. The feeling of loss clenched her heart and she groaned out loud as she got to her feet. Her feet took her to the door and just when she was about to open it, it was thrown open, Cole standing looking at her. He managed a smile at her, even as her heart bled.

"Good morning powerpuff." He said. Pushing past him was the first thing that came to mind but as she tried, she realised that it felt like she was pushing against a rock. Her muscles were weak. When she saw there was no way past him, she looked up at his face expectantly, tears glistening in her eyes

"Where is he?" she asked, her voice shook along with her fingers

Cole closed the door behind him gently, facing her with a square expression. She looked disoriented and on the verge of breaking, and he wondered if she even remembered what she had done.

"It's okay Ava." He said. His arms snaked around her as he pulled her to his chest, feeling the quick rise and fall of her shoulders

"Okay?!" she screamed, shoving his chest harshly "I saw him die. I felt him die!"

The blood rushing to her ears gave her a headache, as she remembered how his eyes lost their light before her. She had been so close and even after she had promised. She had promised damn it. Yet, she was too busy closing herself off and hiding from Xander to fulfil it. Horrible was an understatement of what she felt. The tears rushed out of her eyes slowly but surely as a sob racked through her.

"I couldn't save him Cole. I was right there." Cole didn't let her break down crying as he grasped her shoulders tighly, her eyes shooting to look into his

"No Ava. You did save him. Jamie is alive." His words promptly stopped her breath, but the tears flowed down non-stop

"W-What?" she breathed

"He's alive. You did save him. You and Xander." There was no time to dwell on how it happened for her and she clutched Cole's shirt as she cried into it, sobbing loudly. The relief was unmatched and she let all the emotions she was feeling pour out in the moments that Cole spared for her. He, on the other hand, didn't mind and he let her cry as much as she wanted. She needed it more than anyone else did and he would provide support in anyway he could, because she was the one person that his best friend needed and the one of the few people he could trust more than Xander.

He held her till she quieted down before he spoke again. "You know, Xander will have my head on a stick if he catches us like this." His joke had the desired effect as she chuckled softly. Lifting her head, she stepped out of his arms and raised her hands to clean her tear-streaked face "Done already? I was beginning to enjoy it."

"I'm trying to keep you alive for your mate." She answered. He smiled brightly, stretching out his hand

"Want to see him?" Ava didn't waste time, nodding and taking it, without hesitation. As they left the room and walked the hallways filled with various health care workers, she was very much aware that she looked a ruin, with red eyes and tear stained cheeks. She wasn't wearing any slippers and she felt like the thud of her heart against her chest was in sync with the quick bounce of her feet

Her mind compounded a million thoughts and the one that stood out, was her hope that this wasn't a dream and she would actually see Jamie again.

'Stop worrying.' Keira said lowly, but Ava felt how anxious she was as well. Her ears picking up almost everything in the hospital building didn't help to manage her thoughts effectively and her breath caught in her throat when they stopped in front of a door