Always and Forever

by Rebeca Aguila

“Well, OK. Go.” Wayne, then, left to go and perform the surgery.

  * * * *

  90 minutes later . . .

  “Is she OK?” her sister asked, barging in.

  “Yes, yeah, my-my father was the one who gave her the surgery,” Edward said over the phone. “OK, bye.” He hung up.

  “Who are you?” Spencer asked.

  “I’m Edward Black. Hannah’s boyfriend.”

  “Wait, are you by any chance related to Wayne Black?” Rebeca asked.

  “He’s my father.”

  “Oh my goodness!! You’re a lifesaver.” She hugged him.

  “Wait, did you say that your father performed the operation?” Spencer asked.

  Suddenly, the doctor burst into the room. “Hi, I’m her sister.” She shook the doctor’s hand. “Is she OK?”

  “Yes, although during the operation we had a few problems, but she’s fine.”

  “Wait, what do you mean problems?” Edward asked, worried.

  “She had another stroke,” Wayne explained to his son.

  “Wait, but if she had another stroke, then will she remember any of us?” Spencer asked.

  “Yes.”

  “That’s a relief,” Rebeca answered.

  “Can we see her?” Spencer asked.

  “Yes, but one at a time. We recently put her in a stable state and she’s still very feeble, so you need to be very subtle and quiet when you enter the room.”

  “OK.” they replied.

  Once, they were inside Hannah’s room, the doctor replied, “The anesthesia will wear off in no time.” He left, closing the door, silently behind him.

  “Who would go first?” Rebeca added, breaking the silence.

  “I could. I mean, if both of you wouldn’t bother.” Edward answered.

  “Oh, of course. It wouldn’t bother us at all,” she answered. Both Spencer and Rebeca stepped out of the room.

  Slowly, Hannah started to wear off from the anesthesia and saw Edward. “Hi.”

  “Hi.” He smiled at her.

  “Where am I?”

  “You’re in the hospital.”

  “Why?” she asked, confused.

  “Well, you had that huge headache and my dad fixed it, but . . .” His sentence trailed off as he thought of what had happened and what he’d been told.

  “What is it? What’s wrong?”

  “You had another stroke.” he answered, holding her hand.

  Chapter Six

  “What? You mean that I have to go through therapy all over again? Square one, all over again. I--”

  Edward, instead of yelling at her, kissed her. “Actually, I can make all of that go away.”

  “You can? How?”

  “I have some things that you don’t know about.”

  “Like what?”

  “Heat vision, super speed, super strength, and super intelligence.”

  “So what you’re saying is that you’re bionic?”

  “Yeah, pretty much. Why?”

  “I actually know two bionic people, two vampires, and a werewolf.”

  “Oh, cool, are they here?”

  “Yeah, let me just call them.”

  “OK, sure.”

  “Hey, Jacob, Lilly. Come on out!!” she called out. Suddenly, Jacob and Lilly Dallas came rushing to her room.

  “Hey, what’s up?” Lilly asked.

  “Is this the guy you were telling us about?” Jacob asked.

  “Lilly. Jacob. Meet my boyfriend, Edward.”

  “Hey, what’s up?” Edward asked.

  “Well,” Jacob answered. “My wife, Lilly, is pregnant.”

  “Oh, congrats, what is it, boy or a girl?” Hannah asked.

  “It’s a girl,” Jacob replied, anxious. “I can’t believe it.”

  “Aw . . .” both girls said, sighing emotionally.

  “How many months?” Edward asked.

  “8. I’m actually due in a few weeks, though.” Lilly explained. Suddenly, she felt a bump. “Um, babe?” she asked, alarmed.

  “Yeah. Wait, don’t tell me. Is it the baby?”

  “Yes.” she said, crying.

  “Hey, don’t cry, OK? That’ll just make it worse.” Hannah explained.

  “Hold her, OK?” Jacob said. “I’m going to get Dr. Granger.”

  “OK, sure. No problem.” Edward answered. Jacob left to find Dr. Granger.

  “I really hope he comes soon. I can’t stand having the baby without him.”

  “I’m sure he’s coming,” Hannah replied, holding Lilly’s hand. “Just relax. Everything will be fine.”

  “OK,” she replied. Soothing her thoughts, in came Katherine and Alex. “Oh, good, you’re here. How’re the girls?” Lilly asked.

  “They’re great. I just left them with Alex’s mom.” Katherine said to her sister.

  “How is she?” she asked, her voice shaking.

  “Not good,” Alex answered, shaking his head. “She’s dying.” Looking toward Hannah, he smiled and said, “Oh, hey. What are you doing here?”

  “I had a head surgery for a VP shunt. Turns out I had a stroke during the procedure.”

  “OK, I’m here,” Jacob replied with relief. Along with Dr. Granger were 2 more doctors.

  “Hey. Are you Alex Vazquez?” Edward asked.

  “Yes. And that’s my wife and my sister in law is the one next to her. That’s her husband next to her.”

  “How’d you know that I was going to ask that?”

  “I’m a mind-reading vampire.”

  “No kidding!!! I’m bionic,” he said with enthusiasm.

  “Oh, cool. What can you do?”

  “I have heat vision, super strength, super speed, and super intelligence.”

  “Nice!! Well, we should go. Hannah shouldn’t be around a lot of people.”

  “OK, sounds good. See you around.”

  “OK. See you.”

  Alex closed the door silently behind him. “Who was that? Was that Alex?” Hannah asked.

  “Yeah. So, um, how are you feeling?”

  “Horrible. I mean, I’ve been better. It’s not the first time I’ve had this problem.”

  “Well, I’m going to go. Rebeca and Spencer want to see you.”

  “Wait!!” she called. Edward then turned around.

  “What?”

  “Will you stay? Please?” And she looked at him with puppy dog eyes. He couldn’t resist.

  “OK. You got me. OK, fine. I’ll stay. Just let me ask my father if I can.”

  “OK. Sure.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Don’t leave for too long.” Once he was allowed to stay with her, he stayed the night.

  Chapter Seven

  “Hey, Hannah.” Rebeca surprisingly said the next morning. She was standing next to her bed, along with Spencer.

  “Hey, what are you two doing in here?” she asked.

  “What, you don’t want us here?” Spencer asked.

  “Of course, I do.”

  “Well, Spencer and I wanted to see you.”

  “Aren’t you mad?”

  “Mad why? My baby sister is in the hospital.”

  “Because of me coming back from the ‘dead’”

  “Spencer explained,” she answered. “How’d you escape?”

  “I had some help.”

  “Who? You were alone.” Spencer answered, perplexed.

  “I have friends and they helped. Hey, do you want to meet them?”

  “Sure.” Rebeca and Spencer answered in unison.

  “OK,” she answered. “Hey, guys. Come on out,” she called out. And out came Lilly, Jacob, Katherine, and Alex.

  “Who are these guys?” Rebeca asked.

  “You don’t remember them, Becca?” Hannah asked her sister. She shook her head ‘no’.

  “These are Lilly, Jacob and Katherine and Alex.”

  Her heart shattered at the sight of Jacob. Oh, my god. “I, um, I have to go.” Rebeca suddenly dashed out of the room, Spencer right behind her.
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  “Hey, hey. What’s the matter?” Spencer asked, mesmerized, catching up to her.

  She stopped and looked at him. “I don’t want to talk about it,” she answered, scared.

  “Baby, what’s wrong?”

  “I don’t know. When I saw Jacob, I just ran out.”

  “Why?”

  “It’s a long story.”

  He looked around and smiled at her. “Well, I have time.”

  “You sure? I don’t want to be a bother.”

  “Hey, you’re my girlfriend, you can tell me anything. Now, what is it?”

  “I-I . . . When I saw Jacob I just remembered about something that happened between us.”

  “What’d you remember?”

  She sighed deeply and tried to conceal her thoughts. “I’d rather not talk about it.”

  “Really? You look like you need to talk.”

  “Really, I-I’m fine.” she stammered.

  “No you’re not.” someone said. It was Jacob. He was standing right next to him.

  “I-I have to go.” she stammered. She immediately exited the hospital, ignited her car and headed home. “What’s wrong with me?” she asked herself, tears running down her cheeks.

  She stopped in front of her house, turned off the engine, got out and went inside. Her mother stopped her. “Hey, what’s wrong?” her mother asked. “You seem stressed.”

  “I don’t want to talk about it,” Rebeca said, moving away from her.

  “You sure? You seem like you need to talk.”

  “I’m sure, Mom. The last thing that I need is for someone to lecture me.” And she escalated up the stairs and went into her room, closing the door behind her. What’s wrong with me? she thought to herself as she lied down on her bed, looking up at the ceiling.

  “I think I can answer that.” someone answered as if they were reading her mind.

  “Spencer, I--” She stopped at mid-sentence because she sensed someone was in the room. “Who’s in here?”

  “You know who.”

  “Jacob?”

  “Yes.”

  “What do you want?”

  “Same thing that I had when we were in school together—you.”

  “Why? You’re married and to my best friend.”

  “So? That can’t change how I feel about you.”

  “Well, it has changed how I feel about you.” And jumped out of the room, through a window and onto a tree.

  “How’d you do that?”

  “Gymnastics.”

  “Can you guess what I am?” he asked.

  “Why should I care?” she asked, annoyed with herself for letting him inside.

  “I’m a vampire.”

  Chills ran down her spine when he said that. “Wait, are you going to suck my blood now?” she asked. He jumped on the tree, where Rebeca was.

  “Um, no. Why would I?”

  “Nothing.”

  “No, no. Tell me.”

  “What do you want me to say? That I’ve loved you ever since freshman year and that I’m mad at Lilly for marrying you?” She immediately covered her mouth thinking about what she’d just said. “I-I didn’t mean it,” she said fast to cover up the truth.

  “Really? You didn’t mean it?” he asked, coming toward her.

  “No, I didn’t.” His face was inches from her, thinking that he might kiss her. “Why do you want me?” she asked, looking down.

  “Because you’re beautiful,” he said, raising her face with his finger. A tear ran down her cheek and he wiped it with his thumb.

  “I can’t, Jacob.” And jumped down from the tree. “I-I have to go.” And rushed toward her thinking spot. Why would Jacob want me if he’s married to Lilly? she asked herself. Suddenly, someone was behind her. “Who’s there?” she asked.

  “It’s me.”

  She got goose bumps thinking it was Jacob. “Spencer, what are you doing here?” she asked, sniffing back tears as she looked at him.

  “I should ask you the same question.”

  “I can’t help to think that I’m in love with Jacob.”

  “Wait, what?!?”

  Chapter Eight

  “Yes, I’m in love with my best friend’s husband.” She started sobbing silently as she covered her face.

  “How?? You don’t even know him,” he replied, sitting next to her.

  “I’ve known him since 8th grade.”

  “Wow. So you guys go way back.”

  “Yeah, um, anyway we went out for a year and then I found that he was cheating on me while we were dating. And he also raped me one time while I was on my way home from school.”

  “Whoa.”

  “Yeah, that’s why I ran out when he saw me.”

  “I can imagine.”

  She changed the subject. “How’s Hannah doing?”

  “She’s better. Edward and his father are taking care of her.”

  “Well, then she’s in good hands.”

  “Wait, but if he’s been doing those things to you, then why do you have feelings for him?”

  “I don’t know. And I told him the entire truth.”

  “Well, that’s really all you. You let the truth slip out sometimes.”

  “That’s true, but . . .”

  “But what?”

  “I want him, but I can’t break Lilly’s heart. She’s my best friend and Jacob’s wife.”

  “Well, then don’t. Do you love him?”

  “Part of me does, but the other half of me hates him for what he did to me.”

  “Then, why don’t you turn him into the police?”

  “He has a lot of money and a lot of lawyers.”

  “Well, then, file a complaint.”

  “How? I can’t just file a complaint. He follows me everywhere. I just have to move to another country, I guess. But he always has someone on my back. Besides, if I tell Lilly or anyone else, he’ll kill me.”

  “Not if he goes through me first. I’m might be a human, but I’m a human-vampire. I also have bionics, so he’s not going to get you. I’ll make sure of that.”

  “Really? Oh, thank you, Spencer!!!!!” She kissed him on the cheek. “You’re a lifesaver.”

  “You’re welcome. Hey, but didn’t you tell him that you don’t love him and that you’re with me?”

  “Yes, I did. But he doesn’t care. He’s still in love with me, despite him marrying Lilly.”

  “Does she know?”

  “Know what?”

  “That he did all of those things to you in 8th grade.”

  “No, she doesn’t. He covered it up.”

  “Well, would she want to?”

  “Even if she would, I wouldn’t be able to talk to her.”

  “Why not?”

  “He watches me like a hawk.”

  “You know what?”

  “What?”

  “Both me and Edward can take care of you while you’re talking to her. I promise that you’ll be in good hands.”

  “How can you promise me that?”

  “Come here.” She did. “This was my mother’s. I want you to have it.”

  “What is it?” Suddenly, Jacob appeared and tried to punch Rebeca, but Spencer stopped him.

  “You really shouldn’t have done that.” he replied.

  “How’d you do that?” Jacob asked.

  “Like Edward, I’m bionic, and a vampire.” Like a pin, he struck Jacob against a wall. “I’m also a werewolf. So if you ever try to hurt my girl again, I will kill you.” He started to twist Jacob’s arm as if he were to break it with a snap.

  “Stop, Spencer, stop!!!” Rebeca yelled out. When he heard her, he started to storm off. “Hey, Spencer, wait. I just didn’t want you to break his arm.” She was in front of him in a matter of minutes. “Hey, will you take me home?” she asked.

  “Sure,” he whispered. They walked to her house in silence until they got there. “Hey, um, I think we should talk,” he answered, breaking the silence and looking at her.

  “Yeah,
I know, Jacob is crazy. And this is my last year of high school. Who knows where you’ll be in 3 months.”

  “Exactly,” he answered, looking around.

  “OK, then.” She held out her hand and he shook it. “Your hand’s really warm,” she replied to the warm feeling of her skin against his. She started feeling this weird sensation to kiss him.

  He stepped forward. “All I think about is you,” he whispered to her, stroking her hair.

  “All I think about is you too,” she whispered back. Then, he kissed her.

  “Do you want to go?” he asked in her ear.

  “Go where?” she asked to him.

  “You’ll see. Get on my back and we’ll be there in a flash.”

  “OK, but you sure that’s safe? I mean, I don’t want to get on your back and fall off on our way over there.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll hold you tight, like a baby.”

  “OK.” She hopped onto his back and took her where he’d promised. True to his word, she got there without a scratch.

  “Here we are.”

  “Wow, this is beautiful, Spencer.” They were standing under a waterfall. A tear dropped from her eye. “Thank you,” she whispered.

  “Hey, do you remember down at the beach when I tried to give you something?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  “Well, I still have it. Do you still want it?” She nodded her head ‘yes’, afraid to speak. Suddenly, she had a burning sensation in her chest. She screamed. “Hey, hey, what’s wrong?” he asked, panicked.

  She couldn’t answer. All that she could feel was the burning pain inside her chest. He quickly called Edward.

  He answered. “Hello?” he asked.

  “Hey, Edward. Where are you?”

  “In Hannah’s room. Why?”

  “Can you get your father? It’s an emergency. Rebeca’s having a heart attack.”

  “OK, I’ll go tell him.”

  “OK, hurry.” Edward hurried to his father and told him everything and Wayne went where Spencer and Rebeca were located.

  He got there in seconds. “OK, I’m here.” Spencer looked at him with gratitude.

  “Oh, great, you’re here,” he replied. “She’s having a heart attack.”

  “I know. Let’s get her to the hospital before it gets worse.” Wayne answered. They got to there in a dash.

  “Where are you taking her?” he asked, panicked.

  “We’re going to give her a few x-rays.”

  “OK. Sure. I’m going to go see Hannah and Edward. Call me after. I want to see her.”