vain ➸ jackson whittemore

f o u r

     Every thought had left Jackson at that moment. He was rooted to the spot, frozen as he watched her still body laying on the ground.

Students and teachers rushed to her side, desperately trying to wake the unconscious female whilst someone was calling the ambulance nearby.

But Jackson couldn't hear anybody. It was like he lost all the vital senses and he was no longer inside his own body. He felt a million miles away, trapped inside an alternate dimension.

     When the male had finally came around, the hall was bursting with activity. Ashley was no longer lying on the ground nor was there any concerned students. They were buzzing with conversation, spreading around fake rumours about her.

Lydia had looked in her boyfriends eyes, worried about his sudden actions. "Jackson?" She asked in a low whisper, almost afraid of his reaction. She knew how much Ashley meant to the male.

"I need to get to the hospital." Jackson mumbled before speeding off, not saying another word to his girlfriend. He couldn't care less about school at that particular moment.

     As soon as he reached her room, a sigh of relief escaped his lips. The love of his life was okay. She was being fed through a drip but apart from that, she was fine.

He leaned against the doorframe, a small smile on his face. "Hey beautiful." Ashley blushed against her pale skin before beckoning him forward, one hand covering her chapped lips.

She didn't want Jackson to see the mess she had become. It was bad enough he had seen her faint at school. Luckily the bruises on her arms had faded, the others being concealed from him. Ashley didn't want to worry him.

It was no accident that Ashley had collapsed at school. Her body was slowly shutting down on her, her organs failing to work as each day passed. The doctors said she was lucky to be alive, but she knew different. Her death was coming; she could feel it with every breath.

Jackson gently took the hand away from her face, holding her frail hand in his. He leaned forward and kissed her lips softly. Ashley immediately kissed the male back before the the two pulled away.

     "Jackson—" Ashley started until Jackson cut her off. "You don't have to speak."

Ashley smiled gratefully. She was finding it harder to speak as the seconds went by. However, the pair conversed via writing on a piece of paper. They had talked for hours, all the worries leaving their bodies, just like it had all the other times.

But as Jackson came back with a bottle of sprite — requested by Ashley, — he was devastated by the sight. He had only left for five minutes, but within those moments, Ashley's heart had stopped beating.