"What's going on? Where am I?" Vanessa began to look around.
At first, she could not realize what had happened. She tried to get out of bed, but the pain in her body pushed her back.
At that moment, Jackson entered the hospital room. "Nessa, Nessa, take it easy." He approached her.
"Jacks, what's going on?"
"You had an accident. You have probably lost control. The car went off the road and hit a tree. You scared us so much."
Vanessa closed her eyes and gradually began to remember.
"God! It was so stupid of me."
"Don't blame yourself."
"Hello." A doctor and nurse entered the room.
Vanessa and Jackson turned to them.
"How are you feeling, Miss Blake?"
"Other than my body hurting, I feel fine," Vanessa replied to the doctor.
"The blood test results look good. The scanner didn't pick up anything, either. You only have a mild concussion."
"How long have I been unconscious?"
"Couple of hours. But don't worry, this is normal."
"Okay. So, I can go, right?" Vanessa tried to get out of bed again. Her actions were not so abrupt this time, and she managed to sit on the bed.
"Not yet. You must remain under observation."
While Vanessa was talking to the doctor, the nurse injected a dose of pain medication into the system. "Get some rest, Miss. Don't rush. We'll check on you again later."
The doctor and the nurse left the room, and Jackson approached Vanessa's bed. He put one hand under her neck and helped her lie down with his other hand.
"What's the damage to the car, Jacks?" she asked as she adjusted her head on the pillow.
"Don't think about the car now, Nessa. It's fine. We'll fix it. Please rest." He moved a chair next to the bed and sat down. "I will stay with you."
"No need, Jacks."
Jackson looked at her without saying anything. For a split second, his eyes expression looked just like his brother's.
"Willker's look... I guess you'll stay anyway."
"Of course, Nessa! You're part of our family!"
Those words shook Vanessa. They were so strong, although Jackson said them with such ease.
She felt very uncomfortable.
"Now rest and sleep," Jackson continued. "You need it."
Vanessa didn't need much persuasion, her tiredness was overwhelming, and it wasn't long before she fell asleep.
***
Beyond the room door, Cole talked to the doctor in the corridor.
"I assure you everything is fine, Mr. Willker. We are taking care of her as promised. I have assigned a nurse to take care of Miss Blake only. Don't worry."
"Okay. Thanks. Call me immediately if anything changes."
"Of course."
The doctor returned to his office, and Cole got a coffee and went to his car, parked in the hospital parking lot.
He spent the whole day there. And all night.
***
The following day, after Vanessa woke up, she felt much better. Although her body still ached from the bruises, it had responded very well to the nearly twenty hours of sleep.
It wasn't clear when Jackson fell asleep, but he also woke up when the doctor entered the room.
"Good morning, Miss Blake. How are you?"
"Good morning, Doc." Vanessa stood up and sat on the bed. "I feel wonderful. Can I go?"
"We'll do some more blood tests. If everything's okay, we'll let you go home. But only if you promise to follow our instructions."
"I'll take care, Doc," Jackson interjected. "Nessa won't get out of bed for as long as it takes."
"Two or three days of rest will be enough for a full recovery. But first, let's see what the results will show."
The nurse drew blood from Vanessa's hand, then she and the doctor left the room.
"Jacks?"
"Yes, Nessa."
"Will you get me a coffee? Pretty please!"
Jackson laughed and nodded. He quickly went to the coffee machine and got coffee for both of them.
By this time, Vanessa had gotten out of bed and was looking for the cigarettes in her bag.
"What are you doing, Nessa? Why are you up?"
"Don't freak out, Jacks. I'm fine, I told you. I'm just looking for my cigarettes."
"You're not going to smoke in here, are you?"
"Why not?"
Jackson walked over to her, took the packet from her hand, and put them back in the bag.
"Because we are in the hospital?! And it's non-smoking here."
"Urgh."
Vanessa took one of the coffees and sat back on the bed. Despite her displeasure, she enjoyed drinking it.
Two hours later, the doctor came into the room again to tell them that Vanessa's results were perfect. He handed her a prescription for painkillers to take as needed.
And just ten minutes later, Vanessa was already dressed, ready to go.
Jackson put his arm around her waist to support her as she walked, and they both got into his.
***
"Surprise!" Rebecca shouted excitedly with two balloons in hand when her brother and Vanessa walked into the house.
"Welcome home, dear!" Kristen said in a gentle voice and hugged Vanessa. Then she kissed Jackson on the cheek as well.
"Omg! Becks, Kristen!" Vanessa put her hands over her mouth in excitement. "There was no need! I should have welcomed you, not otherwise versa. When did you come back?"
"About an hour ago," Rebecca answered. "Jackson said you're expected to be discharged, so instead of coming to the hospital, we decided to put up some decorations and flowers here."
"That's so kind, thank you," Vanessa told them heartily and hugged Rebecca.
"But now, Nessa, you need to go to bed." Rebecca sounded like Jackson at this point. "We're having a family dinner tonight, so get some rest so you can join us later."
Family dinner. Vanessa closed her eyes. That meant Cole would be there too. She didn't feel ready. Her desire to avoid him landed her in the hospital. But eventually, sooner or later, she would meet him again anyway.
She sat down in one of the chairs by the dining table. "It's okay. I've laid enough. I'll hang out here for a while."
Jackson also sat in a chair next to Vanessa, and Rebecca stood across from them and happily began to tell them about the trip. Meanwhile, Kristen made everyone's coffees and served them to the table.
A bell at the door interrupted Rebecca's story. Jackson got up and opened the door, and Danny came in with a bunch of flowers.
"Hello, everyone," he greeted, walking over to Vanessa and handing her the bouquet. "How are you, Nessa? I just found out about the accident. I went to the hospital, but they said you're already discharged."
"Danny, thank you," Vanessa told him, smelling the flowers in the meantime. "I'm fine. Everything's okay."
Kristen, Rebecca, and Jackson watched in astonishment from the sidelines, Jackson's eyes even showing some irritation.
Danny felt that it was not the time to intrude—he had come without warning—so he decided it was best to leave. "I'm so glad to hear that. I was worried. Well, I just wanted to ensure you were okay, so I'm going to go now. See you soon."
"See you."
Not even five minutes passed after Danny left, and the doorbell rang again.
"What's going on here today?" Jackson muttered as he went to open it.
"Hi, Jacks," Mike greeted him on the other side.
"Mike, hi. Come in."
"Hello. Nessa, how are you? I'm glad you're okay." Mike babbled without even waiting for anyone to answer and approached Rebecca directly. "Becca, I need to talk to you."
Rebecca crossed her arms and leaned against the table. "Talk about what, Mike? Are you going to explain why you didn't even call after sleeping with me?"
Vanessa smirked—maybe only she was aware of what happened between them. Jackson and Kristen, for their part, looked very surprised.
"Yeah, I owe you an explanation," Mike replied with a great deal of awkwardness. "But not here. Let me take you out to dinner tonight."
"If you have something to say, say it now."
"Becca, I don't think this is the right place. And time..."
"I see nothing wrong with the place or the time," Rebecca continued insistently.
The others watched from the sidelines. Although all three probably felt they should leave Rebecca and Mike alone, no one was moving away from the living room.
"Okay." Mike took a deep breath. "The truth is, I wanted to talk to Cole first. And then the shooting happened—"
"With Cole?" Rebecca interrupted. "What? Did you sleep with him too?"
"It's not funny, Becca."
"Good, because I'm not laughing, Mike!"
"It was important to talk to him. Anyway. Next, I wanted to talk to Nessa."
Vanessa got surprised to hear her name mentioned but stood silent.
"Wow, that's a big relief," Rebecca replied wryly. "I feel great knowing I'm the last person on your list to talk to about what happened between us."
"This is not going well. Rebecca, please, let's go out tonight and finish the conversation."
Mike stepped toward Rebecca to take her hands, but she pulled away.
"I've heard enough, Mike. The conversation is over."
Mike stepped back as well and took another deep breath. A very, very deep one. "Okay, let me try again." He reached into his inside jacket pocket, pulled out a small velvet box, and knelt. "Rebecca Willker, will you mar—"
In just an instant, the atmosphere changed dramatically.
Rebecca jumped for joy. "Oh, my God! Yes, yes, yes!"
Everyone smiled, and Mike started to stand up, but the next moment Rebecca stopped him.
"No."
"No? What do you mean?" Mike asked her, startled.
"What? No! Not no."
"So it's a yes?"
"I want to hear the speech!" Rebecca sighed, arms folded in front of her body.
"Okay. I hope you say yes after that." Mike smiled slightly and looked Rebecca in the eye. "Rebecca Willker. It may seem rushed, but it's not to me. We have known each other since we were kids. We have always been friends. And also, there has always been something more between us. If it was real love, we couldn't tell back then because we were young. But after all this time... When I kissed you again, I felt the same way as I felt when I was kissing you before. And now, I can tell—it was love back then. And it is love now. I love you, Rebecca Willker! I have always loved you! You are the love of my life! And I don't want to wait to see where this will go. I don't want to wait for anything. I want to spend my life with you. And I want to do it with you as my wife. Because I already know what the happening between us means—it means that we belong together!" Mike stood up and walked over to Rebecca. "Will you marry me, Becca?"
Tears began to well up in Rebecca's eyes.
"Yes, Mike!" she exclaimed. "I will marry you!"