Taking A Chance

by Kacey Hamford

  The nurse showed us to her room and said; “Her parents are in there… Normally there shouldn’t be more than two of you in there at one time but I will allow it this once.” She winked at me. Before she left I asked;

  “Is she awake? Is she going to be ok?” I wanted to be prepared for whatever I was about to walk in to.

  “She hasn’t regained consciousness yet… They bought her to this hospital as she has severe hypothermia and one of the best ways to treat it is to withdraw some of her blood, warm it and then re insert it back into her body… It’s an effective way of warming the body without her organs going into shutdown… That would have been why you couldn’t see her straight away, she needed to be treated as soon as possible.”

  “Thank you.” I said to her, forcing myself to give her a little smile. The nurse walked away, I took a deep breath and motioned for Bonnie to go in first. Bonnie pushed the door open and Rose’s Mum and Dad were sitting on one side of Rose’s bed. They greeted Bonnie, both hugging her and asking if she was ok. I used this time to go and see Rose. I picked up her hand and kissed the back of it.

  “Please wake up, babe… We need you… Don’t leave us.”

  “Excuse me young man.” I heard a male voice behind me speak. I stood up straight but didn’t let go of Rose’s hand. “I don’t think you should be here.” It was Rose’s Dad, I couldn’t believe what he was saying and I was shocked, so shocked that I couldn’t speak.

  “Please leave… You have been a bad influence on our daughter and we don’t want you near her.” Rose’s Mum said sternly.

  “Please, I just want to make sure she is ok… I love her so much.” It was breaking my heart that they wouldn’t let me stay in there with her; I needed to be close to her.

  “Do I need to get security?” Her dad asked. I shook my head, kissed Rose on the top of her head and told her that I loved her. As I walked through the door I heard Bonnie telling them how I was the one who had saved her, how I was the one who had pulled her out of the water. The door had closed before I heard their response.

  I walked out into waiting area and Matt and Joseph stood up.

  “Is she ok?” Matt asked.

  “Is she awake?” Joseph asked.

  “She isn’t awake…” I sighed as I plopped down into a hard plastic chair.

  “Then what are you doing out here?” Joseph asked.

  “Her Mum and Dad kicked me out of her room… Said I was a bad influence on her.”

  “What?” Matt asked. “This was all Amelia’s fault… Do they know that?” I shrugged my shoulders. I didn’t know what they had been told and I didn’t know how Amelia was either.

  “Can you take me home?” I asked Matt.

  “You sure you want to leave?” Joseph asked me.

  “I need a shower and to pick something up… Can you stay here and call me if they tell you anything?” I asked Joseph. “Stay away from her parents, you may get a few things said to you as they will think you are me, we know they think I’m not good enough for Rose.”

  “Sure.” He sat back down and picked up a magazine to read.

  “Thanks.” I said to my brother. “Let’s go.” I told Matt and we walked out of the hospital and towards his car.

  Chapter 29

  Rose

  I felt sore and I was struggling to wake up. Did I really drink that much last night to have such a major hangover? Everything felt strange, my bed wasn’t as comfy and it was really bright in my room. I tried opening my eyes and they wouldn’t work. I lay still for a minute trying to reserve my energy. If I was hung over I didn’t want to move too fast and end up being sick.

  As I laid still memories of last night started flooding back. We were at The Archer, Bonnie and I were dancing and drinking. Jacob and his brother was there and Matt and Amelia. Oh, Amelia dragged me out of the club by my arm, she was saying over and over again about how she was meant to have Jacob and not me… Oh my God, the car, the river… Jacob was with me. I couldn’t breathe, I felt like I was choking.

  “Jacob.” I called out. I still couldn’t open my eyes, I felt drowsy. “Jacob.” I mumbled. “Jacob.” I sobbed. Then darkness hit me.

  Jacob

  We arrived back at the hospital within an hour and Bonnie was sitting in the waiting area with Joseph. His arm was around her shoulder and she was snuggled in close to him.

  “Bonnie?” I asked. “Is she awake?” Matt walked up to Bonnie, pulled her up and gave her a hug. When he sat down he pulled on her hand so she had to sit on his lap.

  “She woke up briefly… She called out your name.”

  “She did?” I felt hopeful that she was going to be ok. Bonnie nodded.

  “I need to see her… Are her parents still there?”

  “The doctors were doing more tests… They went to see Amelia.” Bonnie explained to me. That was my chance, to see my girl and sit with her for a bit. I walked up to the desk and asked if I could see her and the nurse called another nurse to take me back. It was the nice nurse from earlier.

  “The doctors have just finished… She is still unconscious and not responding… Talk to her.” She squeezed my arm and I walked into her room. I was thankful that we were alone. I sat in the chair beside her bed and held her hand in mine.

  “Rose… Babe? If you can hear me, I need you to wake up… You have a lot of people worried… We need to see those gorgeous eyes, that lovely smile. I need to kiss your soft lips and have you kiss me back… I have something for you.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out what I had gone home to collect. I had bought it a few weeks ago. I hadn’t been planning on giving it to her yet but after the accident, after almost losing her, it showed me just how important she was to me. How I could never be complete without her, she was the other half to my soul and I needed her to be able to breathe, to smile, to love and to live. I grabbed her left hand and slid the ring I had bought her onto her ring finger. It looked perfect, like it always belonged there and now everyone would know she was mine and I was not leaving again without putting up a fight.

  ***

  I had been sat with Rose for three hours; I was surprised that her Mum and Dad hadn’t come back. I was talking to her constantly and I was telling her how I imagined our life would be in the future. I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t a little bit worried that she would in fact take the ring off and throw it in my face. I mean we were technically broken up when the accident had happened, though before Amelia dragged her out of the club she was smiling and walking towards me. She had also called out my name after I pulled her out of the water and when she was semi-conscious. I would show her what she meant to me and I would try everything and anything possible for her to take me back. I was lost in thought and didn’t hear the door open. I looked up when someone had cleared their throat.

  “I thought we asked you to leave.” Mr. Baker said to me. I turned back to Rose and whispered in her ear that I loved her and gave her a gentle kiss on the lips.

  “No-one was with her, I have been sitting with her for the past three hours… I didn’t want her to be alone.” I told him and his wife.

  “Well, we are here now… You can leave.” Mrs. Baker said as she walked past me and sat next to Rose.

  “I’m not leaving.” I said sternly.

  “You will leave… If you don’t I will get security to remove you from the hospital and not just this room.”

  “She would want me here.” I told them.

  “You two were broken up… What’s that?” Mrs. Baker asked, pointing to Rose’s hand.

  “I bought that weeks ago and I want her to have it, we belong together.”

  “You can’t just put a ring on her finger, you need to ask her… You need to ask her Dad for permission.”

  “I did ask her, she just hasn’t responded yet… As for her Dad, I didn’t see the point, we both know he would say no and I would have still asked her to marry me.”

  “I will not let this happen… I’m calling security.” Mr. Baker said. W
e all froze when we heard a cry coming from the bed and my name being called out. I rushed to Rose’s side.

  “Babe? Can you hear me?” She nodded and I turned to her Dad. “Get a doctor.” He hurried out of the room and a couple seconds later a doctor and a nurse rushed in. I stepped to the side so they could check on her. They flashed a light in her eyes and asked her multiple questions.

  “Jacob?” She cried, holding out her hand.

  “I’m right here, babe.” I told her, grabbing her hand and kissing it. She seemed to calm down.

  “Can you remember what happened?” The doctor asked.

  “Yes, Amelia drove her car into the river and…” She started crying. I sat on the side of her bed and pulled her close to me. She laid her arm across my lap and snuggled her face into my chest while she let it all out.

  “I will come back later… Rose will need to have a CT scan just to make sure there is no damage to her brain… It’s just a precaution as we don’t know how long her brain suffered without oxygen.” The doctor explained to Mr. and Mrs. Baker.

  When Rose had finished crying and wiping her tears on my t-shirt her Mum said;

  “I think we need to be left alone with our daughter now.” I nodded as I didn’t want to upset Rose by arguing with her parents. I placed my hands on either side of her face.

  “I love you.” I told her and kissed her lips. When I pulled back she placed her hands over the top of mine and I heard her gasp.

  “What’s this?” She whispered, holding out her left hand.

  “I’ve had it for weeks… I love you and never want us to be apart again… You don’t have to answer straight away.” I kissed her again.

  “I love you too… My answer is yes.” She smiled brightly.

  “Really?” I asked, surprised.

  “Of course… I love you so much… I wanted to tell you for so long.” She explained to me. Her Dad cleared his throat.

  “I will just be outside, babe.” I told her stepping away from her. Her chin wobbled and her eyes began watering.

  “Don’t leave me.” She sobbed.

  “Rose, we need to talk.” Mrs. Baker said to her.

  “I’ll just let Bonnie, Matt and Joseph know that you are awake… I’ll be back in ten minutes. Ok?” She nodded. I kissed her again and then left the room.

  Chapter 30

  Rose

  “Now, are you going to tell us what happened?” Mum asked me.

  “Where’s Amelia?” I asked. I didn’t know if she was alive or dead, conscious or not.

  “She has been taken to a specialist place.” Dad told me.

  “What specialist place?”

  “We have sent her to rehab where she will get a psychiatric evaluation done on her too.” Dad said as Mum cried in the chair by the side of my bed.

  “What? Why?” I was confused, the rehab I could understand by not the mental hospital.

  “She has had some assessments while she was in hospital; they think she may have had a psychotic breakdown… She seemed to think Jacob was her boyfriend, she kept asking for him… She told the nurse they were in love and getting married… When we went to see her she asked if you survived. When we said yes she screamed the place down… I’m sorry, Rose.” Mum explained to me in between her sobs.

  “Could it have been the drugs? Making her say that?”

  “Possibly, sweetheart.” Dad said.

  “I don’t understand what I did to her, to make her hate me?”

  “She is ill… She needs proper help.” Dad said.

  “I want to be alone.” I told them as I turned my back to them. It hurt me to know that my sister wished that I had died. I just couldn’t get my head around it.

  Knock. Knock.

  Someone had walked in the door and I looked up to see Bonnie standing there.

  “Are you ok?” She asked quietly, hovering by the door.

  “Yes, come over here.” I told her, opening my arms out for her. She hurried over to me and we just sat for ages holding each other. Bonnie was like my sister, I felt closer to her than I did Amelia and I hated to think of what she had been going through.

  “Sorry to interrupt… I need to take you for your CT scan.” A nurse said as she stood by a wheelchair.

  “Do I really need to go in that? I can walk.”

  “Sorry, hospital policy.” She wheeled the chair over to beside my bed and I climbed out and sat in the chair. “She will be back soon.” The nurse told Bonnie.

  “I’ll be here when you get back.” Bonnie told me. I nodded and waved goodbye to her.

  Jacob

  “You asked her to marry you? What were you trying to get her to do?” Joseph asked.

  “I asked her to marry me because I’m in love with her and can’t imagine my life without her… These last few hours have been torture.”

  “Congrats, mate.” Matt said, slapping me on the back. I saw him look over my shoulder and his face lit up like a Christmas tree. I turned around and saw Bonnie walking towards us.

  “Rose is asking for you… Nice ring by the way.” She giggled. I pulled her into my body and thanked her for saving Rose’s life. She tried to argue that it wasn’t her but we knew if it wasn’t for her medical knowledge that we could have potentially done more damage to her.

  “You look tired.” I told her.

  “Thanks… I’m exhausted. Rose has ordered me to go home.”

  “I’ll take you.” Matt said as he stood beside her. She stepped closer to him and held him tightly. He kissed the top of her head and Joseph said he would be leaving too. “Call me if you need a ride home?”

  “Thanks, Matt, I will… See you all later.”

  I walked back into Rose’s room and she was curled up in bed. I sat in the chair by the side of her bed and she moved over slightly and patted the bed next to her.

  “I don’t wanna hurt you.” I told her.

  “I need you to hold me.” I couldn’t say no to that, she looked upset and tired. I kicked off my trainers and climbed in beside her.

  “How was the scan?” I asked.

  “It was fine… No damage, they said I was very lucky.”

  “When can you go home?”

  “Hopefully, tomorrow… You won’t be allowed to stay overnight with me.”

  “I will be here first thing in the morning… I still have some of your clothes at my place. Should I bring them?”

  “Yes please… Jacob?”

  “Yeah, babe?”

  “Can I come and stay with you, when I get out of here?” She sounded worried that I was going to say no. She was drawing circles on my chest; I didn’t think she knew she was doing it.

  “Of course you can… though I don’t think your parents will be too happy.”

  “They told me to take the ring off and that I wasn’t allowed to marry you and that they expected me to stop seeing you… I told them I was moving out.”

  “Are you sure?” I wanted her to be positive that she was making the right decision.

  “Yeah, I can get my own place if it will be too crowded at yours, I can get a job and go to college.”

  “No, I make enough money for both of us and have a healthy savings account… Move in with me and the guys until we find the perfect place.”

  “Ok… I don’t know what I done to deserve you. I’m lucky you love me.” She moved her hand up so it was at the back of my head. She pulled me down until our lips were nearly touching.

  “I’m the lucky one.” I told her before crashing my lips onto hers. I had missed kissing her and was not going to go a day without kissing her again. I cupped her face in my hands and tilted her head so I could deepen the kiss. A few seconds later a nurse walked in.

  “Sorry to interrupt… You are setting your heart monitor off.” Once I pulled away from Rose the heart monitor calmed down and she giggled. “Also, I’m afraid it’s time to leave.”

  “Ok, I will be gone in two minutes.” The nurse nodded and left the room.

  “I don’
t want you to leave.” Rose sulked.

  “I won’t be gone long… I will be back in the morning.” I kissed her again. “I love you, Rose.”

  “I love you too, Jacob.”

  “Goodnight.” I said as I stood up and bent to give her one more gentle kiss.

  “Night.” She whispered. I left her room and sent Matt a text asking him to come and get me. I was happy that she was ok and that she wanted to live with me.

  Chapter 31

  Jacob

  Rose had been out of hospital for a month and we were still living with Matt and my brother. We had been looking at some flats but there was nothing suitable. Rose said she liked living with Matt and Joseph. I had noticed that Rose and Joseph had become quite close; he looked out for her and drove her round if me or Bonnie were busy. She had managed to successfully wind him around her little finger. I was glad that they had developed a brother/sister relationship and there was no way she would fall for his cockiness.

  “I’m gonna go make some coffee… Get that sexy butt in the shower.” I told her.

  “No, stay in bed with me.” She said as she sat up so the duvet fell to her waist, giving me a lovely view of her breasts. “I’m still throbbing baby… Your release is seeping down my leg.” She knew that talking to me like that would either get me back in bed with her or cause me to pin her up against a wall.

  “Babe.” I said in a warning tone. She huffed and fell back onto the bed making her breasts jiggle at the same time. I stalked towards the bed, kicking my boxers off as I walked. I pulled the duvet off of Rose’s body, grabbed her ankles and pulled her to the edge of the bed. She hooked her legs on my hips. “Wrap your legs around me, babe.” Once she did, I picked her up and walked to the closest bare wall. I pushed her into it the same time I pushed my cock into her wetness. I wasn’t being gentle, we had already done the slow and sensual love making and this time I was going to fuck her. She was going to be feeling me all day. I clasped both of her hands in one of my hands and pinned them above her head. I sucked on her nipple not moving my cock at all. I knew this drove her crazy. I could feel her pulsing around me and I knew that as soon as I started to move I would lose my shit and come within seconds. I had to get her ready to explode with me.