A/N: (I think the ending of the last chapter was surprising, shocking, and confusing to people! LOL! Hopefully this chapter can clear this up!)
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I can’t believe I’m doing this.
Trace, Elisha, and the guys came over and INSISTED that I go out with them tonight to a club. I said no at first, but with their stupid puppy dog pouts, I finally gave in.
I gotta learn how to resist those faces.
So here I am in a club standing in a circle with my friends while they try their best to get me to dance. It just feels wrong to be here and I’m afraid tomorrow I’ll see in the news, ‘Is Rachel moving on quickly?’. All I know is I’m not dancing with any guy tonight.
“Come on, Rach! Just dance!” Elisha shouts over the loud music.
Another song comes on and in the beginning, I listen to what the song’s saying.
Late night, long day
Somehow it’s never quite enough
And maybe, I’m lazy
It's been so long sometimes I feel like giving up
So now I'm staying up all night
Cause I'm trying to understand
Why I feel like I've been stuck here forever
I'll break out today
I'm throwing my life away
You don't even know
I'll break out today
I'm throwing my life away
You don't even know
I feel as if the song relates to me. I like it. Plus, it’s got a good beat to it. I finally forget everything that’s going on and begin to dance. Everyone in the circle cheers.
Maybe I'll get through
Just one more day of feeling dumb
I don't think I need to
Get over this until I feel like growing up
So now I'm staying up all night
Cause I'm trying to understand
Why I feel like I've been stuck here forever
I'll break out today
I'm throwing my life away
You don't even know
I'll break out today
I'm throwing my life away
You don't even know
I have to admit that this feels great. It feels good to just go out for once and not think of anything except having a good time. Now I’m happy the guys and Elisha convinced me to come out. I really needed this.
I'll break out today
I'm throwing my life away
You don't even know
I'll break out today
I'm throwing my life away
You don't even know
We all cheer as the song ends and we all get in a group hug. For the first time in over 2 months, a smile is on my face and a laugh escapes my mouth.
‘Ladies’ begins to come on and Elisha and I immediately get into the song. The guys join us and we continue to be crazy.
I feel like Pringles”after all, once you pop the fun don’t stop.
Hey Mr. DJ turn the music up loud
And everybody report to the dance floor now
I wish I could just freeze this night forever. For once, I’m not crying. For once, I’m not moping around everywhere I go. For once, I’m laughing and having a good time.
But I never forget that someone’s missing in the gang.
**********
The young man in the hospital bed looks around the room slowly, unsure of what’s going on. He feels a hand in his and looks over to see his Mom smiling, but crying.
The doctor walks to other side of the bed.
“Welcome back, Justin! It’s a miracle you’re here. Someone up there must really like you.”
“What…what happened?” Justin says, even though his voice is scratchy since he hasn’t spoken in a couple months.
“Well, you were in a car accident caused by a drunk driver. You had very bad bleeding from the head, but we stopped that and put some stitches in. We lost you for a little bit, but we got you back. Unfortunately, you slipped into a coma. But now you’re awake! You should feel very lucky to have survived that for over 2 months!” The doctor explains.
“2 months?! So this didn’t just happen yesterday?!” Justin asks frantically.
Lynn begins to talk, “No, honey, this happened in February. Now it’s the middle of April.”
Justin laid there in shock. He couldn’t believe this was happening.
“I’ll be back in an hour or so to check on you. Take it easy, Justin,” the doctor says as he walks out of the room.
Justin continues to be quiet, but then looks around the room as if he lost something.
“Where’s Rachel?”
Lynn sits there quietly. She knew this day would eventually come. She was happy that her son had survived, but she was unsure of how he would take what she was about to tell him. Most of all, she was afraid of how everyone would take it.
“Justin,” she starts slowly, “Rachel…doesn’t know you’re here.”
Justin begins to worry, “Why?”
Lynn takes a deep breath before telling the truth to her son, “Because she doesn’t even know you’re alive. No one knows you’re alive except your Dad, Paul, and your brothers.”
She takes a look at Justin’s face. She really has no idea what he’s feeling right now. Angry, shocked, confused, upset”probably all of those.
So she continues, “Remember how the doctor said that they lost you for a little?”
Justin nods his head slowly while Lynn goes back to that night to explain what happened.
~~~~~~~~~~
“We did everything we could..I’m so sorry..”
Lynn watches as Rachel begins to break down into tears. While everyone else rushes to comfort her, Lynn walks over to the doctor with a determined look on her face.
No, she would not let her son die. She can’t let her daughter-in-law suffer the rest of her life, along with her family and friends.
She could feel there was still a chance.
“Doctor, can I talk to you in a different room, please?”
“Sure,” the doctor says.
They walk down the halls slowly and Lynn begins.
“How long ago did this just happen?”
The doctor thinks for a moment, “About 5 minutes ago. We haven’t taken the life support off of him, but we’re ready to pull the plug.”
“Isn’t there anything else you can do?!”
The doctor sighs, “Well we could see what happens if we continue to keep him on life support, but I highly doubt it’ll work by now.”
“I don’t care! Do whatever it takes to let my son have a chance! To let that girl who broke down have a chance!” Lynn exclaims.
“Alright, Mrs. Harless. We’ll do our best,” the doctor says as he rushes off to the emergency room.
~~~~~~~~~~
Justin listens in shock as his mother continues her story.
“After everyone else left, they put you in this room and I stayed beside you. Five hours later, you came back, but went into a coma. And now here we are,” Lynn says. “No one knows about any of this because I never told them. Both the doctor and I didn’t want to get anyone’s hopes up and then you not end up making it. But you did. And I couldn’t be more thankful to God for giving you another chance.”
“So you’ve been keeping this from everyone?” Justin asks, showing signs of anger.
Lynn sighs, “Yes. I’ve regretted doing it every day, especially right now. I’m so sorry, Justin.”
“I understand where you’re coming from, Mom, but out of all the people you’ve kept this from, why Rachel?!”
“…I have no idea,” Lynn says as she starts to cry. “That’s the last person I wanted to keep this hidden from, but I just didn’t want her to be broken more than she already is. Every time I go over to see her, she puts this fake mask on, trying to show that she’s all right. But she’s not. And every time, I’ve always wanted to tell her, but…I just didn’t..”
Justin watches his mother cry, but he can’t help but feel anger towards her. He still loves her like he used to, he just can’t believe she would do something like this.
“Mom, can I be alone for a while?” Justin asks calmly.
“Sure, honey,” Lynn says as she kisses him on the forehead and leaves the room.
As soon as Lynn left, Justin broke down into tears. He couldn’t believe all his friends and family thought he was gone, that they were mourning over nothing.
But most of all, he couldn’t believe that Rachel thought he was gone. The person he loved with all his heart was suffering from his ‘supposed’ death.
“I love you Rach. I’m so sorry,” Justin says to himself as he continues to cry.
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Song credits: Stuck”Allister; Ladies--Sarai
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