No Strings Attached

Chapter 42: The End

After spending six weeks in the hospital, I peeked behind the curtain to see Aria's two older brothers Jason and Issac standing near their parents' bed.

They both have jet black hair, brown identical eyes, and fair skin. And while Jason wears a gray t-shirt, jeans, and black sneakers, Isaac wears a gray business suit.

Throwing her arms around her older brothers, Aria wept like a baby. She kissed their foreheads, cheeks, and tears.

"I miss you guys!" squealed Aria.

An ecstatic Isaac lifts her up like a child while Jason kissed Aria's pink cheeks.

As for Marco, he reunited with his girlfriend Felicia, who threw her arms around his neck and kissed him until they couldn't breathe.

"I am so happy you're alive, baby," Felicia says tearfully.

She wears a dark purple tank top and jeans shorts; her white sandals clicked across the pale blue floors as her dark brown hair shone like the sun.

Gazing at her beauty, Marco kissed her nose twice. "Me too."

As we watched our friends reunite with their friends and family, James did a weary sigh.

"What's wrong?" I ask quietly.

We were sitting on my white hospital bed adorned in light blue gowns. Stroking his soft cheeks, I kiss James' forehead then stare at his solemn eyes.

"As soon as the hospital discharge us, " James began quietly. "I am going to get involved in helping poor communities."

I smile widely. "Okay. What do your parents think?"

James leans his head on my right shoulder. "My mom is supportive of my decision, but my dad he's.  . ."

"What happened to him?" I ask worriedly.

Watching Issac wrestle with his little sister's hair, James shrugs his shoulders.

"I don't know," he answered. "The last time my mom has heard of him is that he's in Spain, settling down with some Italian model."

Wow. I thought silently.

That's one way to get over someone.

"I don't miss him at all, " James went on, "my dad's better off with some girl than getting involved in my life."

He pressed his lips against the tip of my nose then studied the smile on my face.

"Now that I am with my parents, " I began.

"My mom told me that she sued her boss and employees at her TSA job."

James' blue eyes brightened. "Really?"

I nodded.

"Yeah, " I answer. "My dad told me that after my disappearance, my mom reported her boss and racist employees to some CBS executive and got them fired."

"Now, there are a lot of slots for people to apply."

James immediately threw his arms around my torso and hugged me tightly.

"I am so proud of her, how did she—"

"I guess she was inspired by my audacity," I say with a nervous chuckle.

Thrilled, James allowed his hands to caress my dark chocolate cheeks. "You're a hero, Nadine."

That's when my smile vanished. "No, I am not."

James wrinkled his nose in disbelief. "Why not?"

"Back at the lab, I saw Mr. Jefferies killed that innocent man, " I explained.

"It wasn't your fault, Nadine."

"It was," I argue. "I couldn't save him the same way I couldn't save my best friend."

James frowns but listens to me patiently.

"What if Mr. Jefferies is right?" I shake my head furiously. "What if I am a monster?"

"Nadine, you are not a monster. "As James says this, he took ahold of my hands.

They felt warm like sun melting away the frigid aura off my hands. With a simple gaze, James' aquamarine blue eyes gave me a sense of hope, love, and comfort.

It was then the emaciated, tortured soul transformed back into the boy I loved.

And I thanked God for that. 

Kissing me softly on the lips, James murmured: "You are the bravest person I have ever met."

James says it with so much compassion that I collapsed in his comforting arms. His hands brushed against my back as his head rested on my left shoulder.

"You know I love you, right?" he whispers to my ear.

My eyes widen. "Wait, you do?"

"Does that scare you?"

"No, " I respond firmly. "Not one bit."

I smile once more as James broke our loving hug to kiss me again when my dad barged in.

He wore a maroon red t-shirt, khaki pants, and black flip-flops. In his right hand carried a McDonald's paper bag filled with Egg McMuffins.

"Hey Nadine, " greeted my dad. "Your mom and I thought you were hungry so I brought us some—"

He interrupted himself when my dad saw James sitting awkwardly across from me.

"Uh, hello James?" Dad greeted in an unsure tone.

James bobbed his head in silence. "Hi, Mr. Jackson."

"What were you doing on my daughter's bed?" Dad asks suspiciously. "Are you two having sex?"

I drop my jaw in complete shock while James quietly excuses himself from my bed then avoided my dad's bewildered stares.