Chapter 12

I was shocked when I regained consciousness two weeks later.

 I was supposed to be dead!

I opened my eyes, it was dark in my room. My mother slept in a recliner pushed up next to my bed, beside her sultan slept in my computer chair, his mouth hanging open as he snored softly. To move at all was painful so I kept perfectly still when I saw my father standing in the door way. I blinked up at him.

“Hi son.” He whispered. I was too weak to even open my mouth so instead I watched him try to  hold back tears. That wasn’t going too well for him.

He made his way over to my right and sat in the chair next to me and touched my swollen cheek. It hurt and I winced. He tried to keep his voice steady as he said; “I’m so sorry.”

I watched the tears stream down his face and I knew he was finally apologizing for the way he treated me over the years, you could hear it in his anguished voice and see it in his tear filled eyes. I arranged my mouth into what I hoped was a smile.

“I love you.” My father said those words to me for the first time.

I felt the tears seep from the corner of my eyes which a short while later drifted close and I fell into a dreamless sleep.

The next time I woke up it was morning and when I tried to sit up every muscle in my body screamed in discomfort and pain. I gasped then groaned at the sharp burning sensation that ripped through my tender chest.

What did they do to me?

I couldn’t even move my legs without feeling a vicious stab of pain. Maybe I should have died when I had the chance because this level of hurt was just too much. It was when my mom entered the room however that I knew the pain was worth it.

She gasped and placed her hand over her heart.

“Oh baby you’re awake!” she was on the verge of tears.

I tried to say something but the pain in my chest was too intense and so I kept quiet. She sat in the recliner and took my hand, squeezing it lightly.

“I thought I’d lost you.” She was sobbing now. I hated seeing her cry. I gave her hand a light squeeze and she smiled through the haze of tears.

“Guys Jasam’s awake!” she shouted and I winced.

“Jace!”

“Little J!”

“Jasam!”

Gabe, Neil and Analise entered the room all shouting different versions of my name. Analise took hold of my free hand and Neil stood at the foot of my bed staring anxiously at me. It was really great to see them.

I felt all the heart ache from not seeing them in months well up and I couldn’t stop the tears. Ever since my encounter with Sven I’d been like a bloody water fountain and I hated it but my family made it somewhat bearable.

“What’s wrong Jasam?” Analise asked when she saw the tears.

“I…missed you guys.” I whispered brokenly but refrained from saying anything else because me chest was on fire.

“Aww jace we missed you too.”

“Yeah, you have no idea how lame it was without you here.”

I smiled ant Analise’s and Neil’s words.

“You need to get some rest hon, next time you wake up we’re going to try some soup okay?” my mom said before leaning over me to plant a kiss on my forehead, then she rushed everyone out of the room.

At the door she turned; “Sultan’s at Tira’s but he’ll be home soon and Cort and Jullian are coming over later.” She smiled and pulled the door closed behind her.

It was 8:00am, a week later and my room was filled with familiar faces. My mom and dad, Sultan, Tira, Mr. and Mrs. Bently, Donald, Gabe, Daniel, Neil, Jullian, Analise, Cort, my uncle Jamie and his wife Jenna, my cousins Billy and Ebonie and even my aunt Sheba, her boyfriend Peter and her daughters Patra and Cleo had flown down to see me.

They were staying until new years which was three days away. I was touched that they all cared enough to take the time out to see me. My small work table was staked with unopened birthday and Christmas gifts as well as get-well-soon cards. There were flowers on my book shelf and both my bedside tables.

I was finally able to sit up for the first time yesterday and today I sat reading the cards and opening the gifts. I ripped the wrapping paper off a gift from Gabe then opened the box and extracted a gold medal. I looked questioningly at him.

“You would’ve won the race if I hadn’t cheated.” He said quietly and I smiled.

“Ok our next.” Sultan announced. “It’s from Tira and me.”

I brushed aside the decorative paper and took out the object from the gift bag.

“A phone.” I stated.

“Yeah you didn’t come back with your old one.” Sultan spoke up.

“Thanks guys.”

“Oh honey this came for you today.” My mother said handing me a small box wrapped in blue paper with pink hearts all over it. “It came with this.” My mom handed me a white envelope.

I opened it first. On the plain white paper were four words written in bold letters on the center of the page; “ I LOVE YOU TOO.” My heart ached at the words and I drew in a shaky breath.

With shaking hands I carefully opened the gift, taking care not to rip the wrapping paper. I slowly peeled off the clear tape and set the wrapping aside before gently lifting the lid off  the brown box. Inside was a stack of photographs of me and Pristine.

Pristine and I holding hands and smiling for the camera, we were at the Panama Canal and we’d asked a guy to take it for us.

The other was of Pristine in the park, sitting on a bench and looking down at the flower I had given her ten minutes before I’d taken the picture. The next picture was my favorite; a photographer had given it to us for free when we were in Mexico; we sat on the last step of a pyramid gazing into each other’s eyes.

It was a beautiful picture. At the time we’d turned to look at each other for some reason and the picture was snapped literally a second before we looked away by a photographer who had spotted us while passing.

“What is it honey?” my mother asked concerned. I showed her the pictures and she gasped. Everyone else moved closer to see them.

“Who is she Jace?”

“Honey she’d beautiful, where did you meet her?”

“Who is she?”

“Never seen her before, she your girlfriend?”

“Wow, you guys look so cute together.”

I couldn’t even address them, I was just blown away. Pristine loved me. She loved me! I felt the happiness wash over me and I could hardly contain myself. I had emailed her from Sultan’s computer two days ago and told her what had happened to me, for two days I’s anxiously awaited a response and the reply she’d given me was better than I could’ve hoped.

I was pretty much over the moon. If I could jump a mile I would, but instead I sat in my bed and grinned like a fool because the girl I loved loved me back.

“She’s…” I trailed off as a wave of vertigo swept over me.

“What is it sweetheart?” mom asked in concern.

“Nothing, just dizzy, may I have a glass of water please?”

“I’ll get it.” Sultan said and left  the room.

“Come on Jace tell us who she is.” Cleo said. I laughed or atleast tried to, she was incredibly perceptive for her age.

“Well her name’s Pristine and I met her in Jamaica-”

“You mean when you came to visit us in October?” Patra piped up.

“Wait, he visited you and you never told us?” my mom questioned aunt Sheba.

“Look it doesn’t matter, I’m here now and no I  met her shortly after dad…I left and we haven’t exactly made it official but I guess you could call her my girlfriend, I love her and she loves me.”

A collective gasp went up.

                                    AUTHOR'S NOTES

IT''S BEEN A LONG TIME COMING..I KNOW

-DoUbLe.A

-unedited