(Sequel) Through Thick and Thin [Jason Todd x Reader]

Chapter 4

I awoke to the sound of my phone ringing and being partially awake, I could see that it was morning. I groaned and grabbed my phone to turn off the alarm. My eyes began to slowly close again as I soaked into the soothing silence.

I don't get why my alarm goes off so early in the morning. What do I even need to do today?

..... hold on. I never set alarms.

It started ringing again, and I realized it wasn't an alarm that had gone off. I hurriedly sprang from my bed and checked my phone to see that it was an incoming call from Jason. I answered.

"Jason? You're back?"

"Yes, but first let me explain. I'm sorry to wake you up. I know you're in bed during this time, but it's an emergency"

"Sure, what happened?" I was about to yawn when I rubbed my eyes instead.

"Lina is in the hospital right now"

That sentence jolted me awake. "What...."

"I'll send you the location, and when you get here, I'll tell you what happened"

Without giving a reply, I quickly ended the call and prepared myself to go outside. I received Jason's text and took a taxi to the hospital. I noticed my hands were trembling. I was nervous, and I was perplexed. Just yesterday, everything was fine. She was okay. So why? Why?

Am I going to lose her too?

No, I can't. It's probably nothing bad, and I'm just overthinking it. 

When I got there, I rushed inside to where he told me he was waiting and saw him reclining against the wall. I clutched his upper arms "Jason! What exactly happened? What happened to her? Can I see her?"

"She's in the ER right now. I'm still waiting to hear from them "He looked me in the eyes, and while he did, I saw just how disheveled he looked. It seemed like he tried to clean himself up a bit.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, his forehead leaning on my shoulder. "This is entirely my fault. If only I had noticed what she was doing and stopped her. We were fighting someone Artemis knew who was possessed by The Bow of Ra. Lina was caught up in it. She tried to help but struck her head hard on the ground. Bizarro attempted multiple times to defend her, but in the end, he also fell unconscious. Artemis and Ma Gunn are looking after him right now.... How did things go so wrong?" He held me tightly with his arms fully wrapped around me. I returned the embrace because I understood what he was feeling.

I knew that he was blaming himself even though it wasn't his fault. Perhaps he was even lying to himself, thinking that everything would work out just fine, or that all of this was just a dream, a nightmare. Bizarro is his closest friend. Lina was someone he had promised to protect. When he promises, he expects to keep it. But promises can be his weakness when he fails.

"Jason... I don't blame you," I held him even harder.

"Excuse me, are you relatives of Lina Aldaine?"

We both stepped away as though nothing occurred and turned to see the doctor. "We're her friends. She doesn't have any relatives" I replied. "How is she?"

The doctor gave a nod, "Ms. Aldaine is no longer in critical condition. Her brain injury was not serious enough to leave her permanently disabled. However..."

Jason's grasp on my wrist tightened as he wore a pained expression. I could see it in his eyes as we heard the doctor deliver the dreadful news.

"A physical assessment revealed that her body remained unresponsive, despite the fact that her operation was successful."