1283 Vouchers
PART 2 – CHAPTER 139
LUKE
I hadn’t slept in days. Every second Jess was in that hospital bed felt like a fucking eternity. My mind kept replaying every
some sick word, every look, every argument we’d had, like fucking loop I couldn’t break out of.
We missed the game. Coaches were pissed, but Jocelyn managed to pull some strings for me, and it looked like his agent could do the same. I was surprised, to say the least, when I called Jocelyn; she was very… understanding and helpful. Frankly, I was shocked.
Tomorrow, I had to fly out, or I’d be on the bench for the rest of the season. And even though I knew that every logical part of my brain screamed I had to go, I didn’t want to leave. I would watch the world burn if it meant I could stay…
I
But after the incident with my father, I knew I was cut off financially, and I needed to make something of myself, for Jess… She deserved better, the fucking best.
The emergency surgery, the brain bleed, the doctors talking about taking her off sedation like that was some kind of miracle cure–it was all bullshit. She’d been out for over a week now, and still, nothing. No signs, no movement, no Jess.
Hated every second of not knowing if she’d wake up or even be the same Jess when she did. Every minute that passed felt like another chunk of my chest being ripped out, and all I could do
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was sit there, pretending like I had any control over this shit.
I needed a shower, but I couldn’t force myself to leave. What if she woke up when I wasn’t there?
And then I heard it.
“She’s waking up!” Jess’s mom’s voice pierced through the hall, and I shot up so fast the world spun around me. Everything blurred for a split second, but I didn’t care.
The next moment, I was running, my heart pounding in my throat, my feet flying beneath me.
When I reached her room, Josh was already there, standing frozen in the doorway, staring.
Jess.
Her eyes were open. Holy shit. She was looking around, blinking, moving–awake. Finally.
My heart should’ve felt lighter, but it didn’t. Something was
wrong.
She looked… off. Her eyes were darting around like she didn’t know where she was, and her hands twitched against the sheets like she wasn’t in control of her own damn body.
The nurse was by her side, calm as ever, acting like this was just part of the fucking process. But I could see it. Jess wasn’t calm. -Jess was scared.
“Jessica, relax,” the nurse said, her voice soft and soothing. “You’re in the hospital. Just breathe, okay? Deep breaths.”
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Jess’s head jerked toward her parents. They were standing at the bedside, tears already streaming down her mom’s face. Jess didn’t even recognize them. Her own fucking parents and she looked at them like they were strangers.
“Don’t try to speak yet. You’ve been through a lot,” the nurse. tried again,” You’ve been unconscious for a week.
“Oh my God, Jess…” Her mom choked out, taking a step closer, her voice trembling.
“Jessica, honey.” Her dad’s voice broke, and that was the first time I’d ever seen him like that.
“Who–who are you?” Jess’s voice was barely a whisper, shaky and hollow, and it felt like a punch straight to the gut.
“Jess… baby, it’s us,” he said like was supposed to just know them. “It’s Mom and Dad. You don’t remember?“”
But Jess didn’t move. Her eyes were wide, filled with nothing but confusion and fear. She didn’t fucking know them.
How the fuck was this happening? This wasn’t just confusion. This was something else, something much worse.
“Jessica, you’re safe,” the nurse said, trying to get her to focus. “You’ve been through a lot.”
Jess’s breathing picked up, chest rising and falling like she couldn’t get enough air. Her eyes were darting between faces, the second. Her dad leaned in closer, growing more frantic by the second. Her dad leaned in closer, desperation written all over him.
“Sweetheart, please. You’ve had an accident-”
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“Don’t touch me!” Jess flinched away from him, her voice sharp, panic thick in the air. “I don’t know you!”
I clenched my jaw so hard I thought it might break. Seeing her like this, seeing her terrified of the people she should know. better than anyone, it made me feel like I was losing her.
My hands curled into fists, nails biting into my palms, but I couldn’t fucking do anything.
I wanted to scream. I wanted to punch something, break something–anything to stop this. But I couldn’t. I just stood there, frozen, useless.
“Jessica,” the nurse said again, her voice still calm, but more urgent this time. “Do you know your name?”
Jess’s eyes filled with tears, and she shook her head, her lip trembling. That’s when I fucking broke. That look–her looking at us like we were strangers, like she didn’t even know her own name–was too much. I felt my throat tighten, and for the first time in a long time, I didn’t know if I could hold it together.
She didn’t know who the fuck she was.
The nurse stepped forward, blocking our view. “Everyone out. This is overwhelming. We’ll try again later, one person at a time.”
“But-” Jess’s mom tried to protest, but the nurse wasn’t having
- it.
“She’s overwhelmed,” she said, cutting her off. “She needs space. I promise we’ll try again.”
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Josh didn’t move. He was standing there like a statue, his body. tense as hell. I knew what was going through his head. He wanted to fight this, push past the nurse and stay by Jess’s side. But I also knew we couldn’t. Not right now.
I placed a hand on his arm, firm. “Come on, man. We gotta go.”
Josh’s jaw clenched, his body shaking with barely–contained rage. But he finally nodded, his face torn apart by the same pain I felt. He took a step back, defeated.
I glanced back at Jess one last time before we walked out. Her eyes, so full of fear and confusion, burned into my fucking soul.
And for the first time in my life, I didn’t know if I could fix this.
