I Will Always Love You

Chapter Two: Hospitals

Tori Vega

Jade. My Jade. She couldn't possibly mean my Jade. Jade wasn't that careless. She wouldn't have gotten in a car accident. No, this is all wrong. It was a prank. I knew my head was coming up with these mile-a-minute excuses, excuses was all they were. This was no prank. Nobody would be cruel enough to do this to me, probably not even Ponnie.

I felt my head dizzy and my stomach go nauseous. Was she in surgery right now? Had she died on impact? Was she in a coma? What had happened? Will she be all right? It was only after all the questions ran through my head did I realize I had asked them aloud.

"Jade is in surgery right now," confirmed the speaker on the other end. "But it doesn't look like good news. You will want to get over here immediately Ms. Vega."

I didn't respond for a while, unable to form sounds, much less words. "Of course," I finally said through blubbering sobs.

"I am so sorry, Ms. Vega," the woman said before hanging up. My brain wasn't even functioning. My body moved purely on emotion. I grabbed my coat and ran out the door. Technically speaking I didn't have a driver's license, but I couldn't just sit here, I had to get out on the road now.

Tears stained my cheeks, blurring my vision, the whole time I drove to the hospital. I vaguely wondered if André, Cat, and Robbie knew. But it was a thought lingering in the back of my head. All I could really focus on was Jade.

I must've sped through every light I hit, ironic because Jade had gotten in a car accident so you'd think I'd be more careful, but I wasn't. I finally arrived in the hospital and raced in.

I ran up to the main desk in the hospital, "Name?" Asked the man behind it.

"Tori Vega, I'm here to see Jade West," I said in between tears. It felt like forever but he eventually printed out a visitor's pass with my name on it. I grabbed it quickly, desperate to get out of there and see Jade.

"Jade West is currently in surgery, but for now you should go to Room 501." As soon as the room number escaped his lips I ran towards the elevator. I pressed the number-five button and waited for the elevator to ascend.

Again bad thoughts plagued my mind. What if she didn't make it through the surgery? What if she went into a coma? What if the doctors couldn't fix her? What if they weren't fast enough What if? What if? What if? By the time I got out of the elevator I was hyperventilating.

Jade's room was empty. Where were her parents? Where were Cat, André, and Robbie? I paced the room, checking the clock every five seconds. Should I find a doctor and ask what's wrong? Should I track down some black coffee when Jade wakes up? Eventually I decided to call Cat, André, and Robbie to make sure they were here when she woke up.

"Cat?"

"Hi Tori," she said in that bubbly way she always talked. "Aren't you supposed to be on your anniversary date with Jade?" I cried even more as Cat said Jade's name. "Tori? What's wrong?"

"It's Jade," I blubbered. "She got in a car accident." I heard an over-dramatic but sincere gas from Cat's end of the phone.

"Is she okay?"

"She's at the Hollywood hospital...in surgery," I replied. Another gasp escaped Cat's lips.

"I'll be right over," Cat said seriously.

"Could you tell Robbie and André? I don't think I can."

"Kay kay," said Cat somberly, her usual pep sucked out of her. The monotone beep signifying that Cat had hung up beeped in my ear, but I was unable to move. I barely noticed it as morbid thoughts overtook my brain.

"Hey Tori," said a distinguished voice. I turned to see André standing in the doorway next to Cat. I looked down at my phone; I had been sitting there for a half an hour, still as a statue. I walked over to André and collapsed in his arms. The musician's arms wrapped around my waist in a comforting brotherly way, but all I really wanted was Jade to hold me, for her to comfort me and tell me everything would be all right. I cried into his shoulder, nuzzling my head against him. He hummed a soft, bittersweet song I vaguely recognized as Cat awkwardly patted me on the back. We moved over to the chairs, and that's how we stayed until the Doctor came back in with Jade, lying on a bed, completely unconscious.

New tears formed in my eyes as I stared at the broken beauty. Her hair looked worse than mine when I woke up in the morning. Her arms had cuts all over them and there was a massive line of stitches across her face. I didn't dare look under the blanket, afraid of what I'd see.

"Are you family?" The doctor asked. I didn't hear him. I cautiously approached her; afraid that if I'd touch her, she'd break into pieces. I warily took her hand in my own. Her pulse was exceptionally weak. I leaned over her and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Oh Jade," I murmured, completely lost in my own thoughts.

"Are any of you family?" Asked the doctor again. This time I heard the doctor.

"I'm her girlfriend," I whimpered out. I watched the doctor lift an eyebrow, but quickly look down at his papers.

"Well, I'm not really supposed to divulge any information to anybody outside the family."

"I'm her cousin," Cat volunteered. The doctor observed her, and obviously didn't believe the claim. "I died my hair," she added.

He sighed, still leery. "Okay...well I'm Dr. Charles. It seems that Jade had five broken ribs, which we mended, a sprained wrist, multiple lacerations, massive amounts of blood loss, we had to revive her on the table two times, and suffers from severe head injury." More tears poured out of my eyes. Cat and André's eyes weren't dry either.

"What's wrong with her head?" Asked Cat between small tears.

"Well... she blacked out on impact. She has a major concussion and a very high possibility of amnesia when and if she wakes up." Nobody else seemed to be able to talk after that comment.

"If?" I finally squeak out.

The Dr. Charles cleared his throat. "Yes... well... we had to revive her on the table two times... and well... her body isn't in the best condition. Her brain may not allow her to wake up."

Oh Jade. Why couldn't it have been me?

Jade West

I could feel my heart pump blood, but it was weak. I knew I was barely surviving. A giant volt of electricity spread through me. My body was giving out. It wasn't working. Whatever was happening wasn't working. An unbearable pain spread through my arm and my brain hurt like hell. Another volt of electricity shot through me like a bullet train. I could feel myself getting weaker.

Come on Jade! You can't give up now! Your Jade West, tougher than nails. Pull through! You have to stay alive. For Tori. For Tori.