-Nic-

"Jax!!"

I could feel his cold skin brushing against my fingertips as I tried to reach for him, but I failed to catch him. He fell backwards, tripping on the banister, and vanished.

"JAX!"

I hurried to the banister, hoping to see him holding on to it so I could pull him back to safety, but when I looked down, he wasn't there. I could only see the angry river, ten times its normal size, and moving so fast...

My first instinct was to jump after him, but my brain stopped me and urged me to drive after him instead. There was a street right next to it.

I rushed back in my car. Seconds later, I was back on the street, driving so fast I could barely control the strong car. I couldn't see anything behind the rain, but I sped down the street until I reached a calm pond the river ran through. Jax had to be there if he hadn't managed to get out of the stream before the small waterfall. With no time to lose, I drove the car right into the pond, probably killing it for good, then rushed out to go search for Jax.

My Jax...

This was my fault...

"Jax!!"

I saw him! I saw him breaching the surface close by, and he was moving. Thank fucking god, he was moving...

"Jax! Jax!"

I reached him, and tried to grab him, but he gasped in pain. I stopped trying to move him.

"Jax? Where does it hurt?" I asked, but his eyes were closed, and he'd fallen immobile. "Jax!"

I needed to get him to a hospital. I couldn't see any injuries, but that didn't mean there weren't any. I didn't know if I should move him, but he'd held his head up so maybe it was all right if I carried him to safety? I couldn't leave him here. The moving water would drag him away if I did.

Being as careful as I could, I carefully picked him up and carried him to my car. His dress was heavy, but I had enough adrenaline – and fear – to ignore that. My body couldn't feel exhaustion at that moment.

I just needed to get Jax to safety.

Once I had solid ground under my feet, I gently laid Jax down under a tree, then hurried to my car to find my phone and my jacket. While I called for an ambulance, I put the jacket around Jax in hopes of keeping him warm, but the heavy rain got it soaked in seconds. Jax still wasn't coming to... Fear was strangling in my throat as I followed the instructions I was receiving, trying to find his injuries. The minutes felt like eternity, but finally, the ambulance arrived, and they took over.

"Sir? What happened?"

I couldn't take my eyes off Jax. He was so pale... He looked so lifeless... His lips blue...

"Sir?"

I glanced at a cop that stood next to me. I had no idea when they'd arrived. The whole night was just a chaotic mess of images in my head.

"H-he fell... Off the bridge," I managed to tell him, and turned back to stare at Jax while they gently moved him. "He tripped and fell..."

"Who fell off the bridge?" he asked.

"He did," I said, pointing at Jax.

"He...?" The cop took a better look at Jax. "Did he climb on the banister?"

"No... He was standing on top of my car... Is he all right?" I asked.

"They'll take good care of him. But why is there a car in the pond? Is it your vehicle?"

"It's mine. I drove it there," I muttered. "Is he alive?"

The cop sighed audibly. "Sir? Are you injured?"

"No," I said as they were loading Jax into the ambulance. "Can I go with him?"

"...Sure. We can talk later," the cop said. "Just don't leave the hospital, okay? We need to understand what happened here."

"Sure," I said, and hurried to follow Jax.

I couldn't remember much about the drive to the hospital. All I could do was stare at Jax. This was my fault. I'd ruined everything between us, and caused his fall into the raging river... This was all my fault...

I remember asking if Jax was all right about ten times. They reassured me he'd be taken care of. No one said anything about if he was all right.

We reached the hospital, and Jax was hurried in. I followed them as long as they let me. I was finally stopped when they entered one of the rooms in the ER, and they told me to sit down and wait for someone to come talk to me. I only nodded, not really understanding what was being said to me. When they closed the door, I still stood behind it, staring at it.

This is my fault... I almost killed him...

I almost killed the love of my life... Because I accepted the challenge...

I was suddenly suffocating. I couldn't breathe at all. I guess I panicked, and someone noticed it. The next thing I knew, I was sitting in a quiet room, holding a plastic mask over my mouth, and an older woman standing next to me told me to keep taking slow breaths. As I calmed, I took a look at her. She was a nurse.

"Feeling better, sweetheart?" she asked with a kind smile.

How could I ever feel better after all the bad things I'd caused? Jax was never going to talk to me. He'd never even look at me again. He would never be able to stay in the same room with me after everything I'd done...

I lost him... I'd lost everything...

"Are you hurt?" the nurse asked, and I shook my head. "Are you worried about your friend? They're helping him right now. Don't you worry. You just keep taking slow breaths, okay?"

I lowered the mask. "Is he all right?" I asked again.

"I'll go ask soon. Let's take care of you for now, okay?"

"I don't care about me right now! I need to know if he's all right!" I said too harshly. "No one is telling me anything!"

"I know you're worried about him, but we don't have any answers for you right now. But I can assure you, we will do everything we can to help him," she said patiently.

"You should be helping them instead of wasting your time with me," I told her.

"There are plenty of people helping him already. I'd only be in their way," she said with a smile. "Why don't you lie down for a moment? I can bring you some dry clothes. You're completely wet."

"I'm fine..." I muttered.

"Let me get you dry clothes. Just wait here and keep the mask on for now, okay?"

I looked away but did as she asked and put the mask back on. Breathing was easier with it... But I didn't deserve that... I ruined everything...

The nurse didn't take long before she returned to me with gray pants and a matching shirt.

"Here. I'll give you some privacy so you can change your clothes. You look cold," she told me empathetically, and left the room.

I stared at the clothes for a moment, still unable to think about anything else but Jax. Why wasn't anyone telling me what was going on? At least they could've told me if he had dangerous injuries. Did he hit his head? Break his neck? Was he suffering from internal bleeding? Punctured lungs?

Broken heart...?

I forced myself to change the clothes, only then realizing how cold I'd been. Once I was done, I opened the door. The nurse was talking to a cop down the hallway, and I stopped to stare at them. They were talking about Jax, but they noticed me before I could hear anything useful.

"I'll be right there with you," the nurse told me.

I ignored her and exited the room. "How is he? Please, I need to know. If you know anything, tell me."

The nurse sighed. "All right. I'll go ask if they have any news."

She entered the room they took Jax in. I stood right behind it, trying to listen, but it didn't sound like they were struggling to save his life or anything. Everyone spoke calmly, and too quietly for me to hear.

"While we wait, would you mind answering a few questions?" the cop asked me.

I glanced at him. "I... Sure..."

"What's your name?"

"Nicholas Gabriel."

"And your friend?"

"Jax... I mean... Chase Jackson."

"How old are you both?"

"I'm... Seventeen. Jax is eighteen, I think..."

"Would you like me to call your parents?"

My stomach dropped at his words. "I... Sure..."

"Can you give me their number? And his as well?"

"I can give you my mom's but... I don't think I have his."

"Can you give me their names? So I can look them up?"

"Alex and Jessie Jackson."

"And your mom? Do you remember her number now?"

"Yeah..." I muttered and gave him the number.

"All right. I'll tell my colleague to call them. Wait for me here, okay?"

I nodded and continued staring at the door. I tried not to think about anything. I'd panic if I let myself... think. It didn't take long for the cop to return to me.

"All right, he'll call your parents," he told me calmly just when the nurse returned to us as well.

I tried to see behind her when she stepped back out, but she closed the door too fast.

"Well the good news is, they haven't found any life-threatening injuries. He's suffering from a mild concussion, but there are broken bones. Quite a few of them. But like I said, nothing life threatening," she told me.

I breathed out in relief. At least... At least he wasn't going to die... But he was in pain... Because of me.

"Are you sure you're all right, sweetheart? I don't think you're doing too good," the nurse told me.

I forced myself to look at her. "I'm fine..."

"Well, in that case, would you mind answering a few more questions?" the cop asked.

I didn't want to. I wanted to go to Jax, but... Did he want me there anymore?

"Can you tell me what happened?" he asked when I didn't reply to him.

"We..." What was I supposed to tell him? That I'd ruined my entire life the second I accepted that stupid challenge? "We had a fight..."

I felt numb while I talked about what happened. I stared at the door the entire time, wishing so hard things would go back to normal. But nothing was ever going to go back to normal. Not with Jax in my life. I just knew that...

I should've let him walk home... He wouldn't be here if I'd done as he asked...

When I fell silent, the cop took a deeper breath. "All right. I think you should go lie down now. I'll talk to your mother once she arrives. But you need to rest now, kid."

"Agreed," the nurse said gently. "Come. Let's get you back in your room."

"I'm fine."

"Would you at least sit down?" she asked, pointing at the opposite wall.

That... That I could do. When I sat down, the nurse told me she'd be right back, and took the cop to the side so they could talk without me hearing them. I ignored them.

And then I waited.

It was my mom who arrived first, but when she rushed to me, her expression scared and worried, and tried to pull me into a hug, I kept her back.

"Honey?" she asked in a broken voice.

"It's my fault," I whispered to her. "He fell because of me. He's hurt because of me."

"What happened? One minute you were at the party and now... What happened? How did he...? Is he all right?"

"They said he's not in danger, but he's hurt... He has broken bones..." I muttered, fighting back tears, but failing. "We had a fight, and he climbed over my car, but he fell into the river..."

This time, I was too weak to keep her from hugging me. I broke down in tears, scared and filled with so much self-hate I couldn't stand having to be me at that moment. She wrapped me in a hug, trying to soothe me while I cried my eyes out.

I'd ruined everything...

Then Jax's parents arrived. I couldn't face them. I couldn't tell them their only child was in a hospital because of my selfish actions. Because I'd broken his heart. Because I'd not listened and let him have his space...

"Nic?! What happened? How is Jax?" Alex asked with panic in his voice. "They told us he fell into a river? How? We thought he was with you!"

"He was... He was with me..."

Oh god... If I now told them the truth, they'd throw me out and stop me from seeing Jax. And I needed to see him. Even if I'd never see him again after this, I wanted to make sure he was all right before he'd tell me to stay away from him for good.

"We had a fight," I said, and repeated the same story for the third time. When I finished, I stepped to Jax's parents, still sniffing and feeling like shit. They just stared at me in shock after hearing what happened. "I'm so sorry... I didn't mean this to happen... I just wanted to make sure he'd get home safely..."

"How is he now?" Jessie asked, while his husband stared at me, trying to decide if he was angry at me, or if he was able to forgive me.

"Broken bones... Mild concussion, but nothing life-threatening," I said. "That's all they told me."

The nurse returned to us and told them the same thing I'd already told them, but more thoroughly. Her words seemed to calm them, but not much.

"When can we see him?" Alex asked once she was done.

"Soon. Right now, they're still running tests, but as soon as they're done, I'll come get you. Would you like to wait in the waiting room? It's quieter in there."

After a lot of hesitation, we agreed to follow her to the waiting room. Mom held her arm tightly around my shoulders as we walked, and once in the waiting room, she sat down right next to me, still holding me against her side.

"Everything will be all right, sweetheart," she whispered to me.

"But it won't be..." I whispered back.

"Of course it will," she told me, but I didn't reply to her.

She didn't know what I'd done...

And we waited. It felt like an eternity before a doctor finally stepped into the room to greet us all. We all stood up, anxious to hear more.

"You are Chase Jackson's family?" the doctor asked.

"Yes. We're his parents," Alex told him. "How bad is it?"

"Your son suffered a minor concussion and some fractures and broken bones. We're already scheduling him for surgery to fix his broken arm. The rest – a few fractured ribs and fingers – will heal on their own. He's going to stay here with us for a few days, but he's free to go home after the surgery."

"That's a relief..." Jessie muttered. "Is he awake? When can we see him?"

"He is awake, yes, and you can see him right away. They moved him into a new room, but I can show you the way," the man said.

When I stood, I felt numb. My body was heavy, but not as heavy as my heart. I followed the rest of them through the hallways, and soon, the doctor entered a room. Jax's parents followed him in, but I stayed behind the wall, hidden from Jax's view.

"Honey?" Mom touched my back soothingly. "It's all right."

"No... It's not... He won't want to see me," I told her.

"What do you mean? Is it about that fight?" she asked.

"Yeah..." I breathed out.

"Maybe it's all right," she said.

It was not, but I had to see Jax. I needed to tell him how sorry I was. For everything. For breaking his heart and causing this.

So... I took a breath and entered the room.

Jax lied in his bed, his expression tired. Jessie held his hand against his cheek with tears in his eyes, while Alex was crying and hugging his son. Jax didn't notice me there... I could've left, saved myself from the final heartache, but I needed to tell him...

"Jax?" I spoke his name, and all eyes were on me. "I'm so sorry. I should've left you be like you asked. This is all my fault, and I'm so, so sorry. I didn't mean–"

"Leave me alone," Jax said, his voice hoarse and weak. He looked away from me.

"Jax, please..." I said, stepping closer, but I knew it was over.

"I said leave me alone," he said, his words so cold I was freezing to my core. "Get the fuck out of here."

"Honey..." Mom said, taking my hand in hers.

"I'll go," I told the love of my life. "But please... I'm so sorry–"

"Get the fuck out!" he yelled at me, and Alex took a threatening step toward me.

Mom pulled me out of the room, while Jax's father came to slam the door shut in my face. I stopped to stare at it, my heart bleeding.

Silence filled the hallway for a brief moment, but then Mom let out a sad breath.

"You told him about the challenge, didn't you?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah..." I whispered, tears running down my cheeks again. "It's over now."

With a heavy heart, still feeling numb, I turned my back to the door. I had no other choice but to walk away. There was nothing else left for me but to accept the fact I'd ruined the best thing I had in my life. That I'd lost the person I'd loved more than anything...

Jax...

It was over.

Two chapters left~