Aria shivered and rubbed her arms with her hands in the cold hospital room. She looked in amusement at Ash who was snoring on the couch of the private room. They had stayed with Jace all night after his operation. Only two visitors were allowed at any one time. He had still not come round.
Ms.Anderson had checked in on Jace before going off to check on her daughter and husband. Gwen had a cast on her and was on medication for the pain. Her husband was resting in another room, she will be back soon.
The teenage girl went to Jace's side. It didn't make sense but in the short time she had known him, she had come to care for him. Her group of friends now cantered around him, Chloe and Ash. Life had only gotten better and more interesting after she had met them. Slowly she had overcome her trauma and distrust of people in general. She knew she had her new group of friends to thank for that and her grandfather.
Brrr! The room was freezing. Carefully, she pulled the blanket over Jace's chest and placed his hands under the covers.
"Jace?" she whispered softly. "Jace, please be o'kay." She searched his face for a moment then sighed. She heard people who were unconscious would wake up faster if someone talked to them. She didn't know if it was true but it was worth a try.
"It might still be too early to wake up because of the anaesthetic they gave you for the operation. The doctors said you will be okay, you just need to rest." She paused peering into the youth's face. Nothing. "Umm, your dad and sister are okay. Ms. Anderson, I mean, your mum said your dad is recovering well and your sister has a cast on her left leg. You saved her, Gwen. I haven't seen them though. They are in other rooms."
"Your mum is pretty cool. I envy her. She is so strong and keeps checking in on all three of you. I wish my mum was like that. She looks a lot like you ..." Aria smiled," or should I say, you look like her."
Aria lifted her head to check on Ash. He was still sleeping soundly. So she continued her one sided conversation with Jace.
"By the way, I sent you more Resources in the Game. I'm sure you still need some. Your city is looking better, some buildings are up and your Keeper is busy sorting things out."
"This is crazy. People are after you in the game and people are after you in real life. I can help you in Orc Wars but in real life ... what can I do for you?"
"I know," she continued her monologue talking more to herself now, "I'll ask grandfather to pay for your family's hospital bills. Your parents have more than enough to worry about and you, well ... you may not be able to afford this expansive private room. I wonder why they put you in here and not in the normal recovery wards. It's big, spacious and private. I'm sure your parents want the best for you, but still, this is kind of overkill. I bet it's verrry expensive."
She did not notice his mouth quirking upwards.
"What else? If you wake up soon, I'll treat you to a special meal. I know you haven't eaten any home cooked meals for some time. I don't mean to brag but I do make a mean pasta. Even grandfather had seconds when I made it the other day," she said smugly remembering grandfather Jared's appreciation for her cooking.
"Promise?" a voice said softly.
"Huh?" she looked down in surprise at Jace. His slate green eyes were opened and he had turned his head slightly to face her.
"Promise you will make me your famous pasta."
"Oh!" she blushed embarrassed. She had been rambling on more to comfort and distract herself from his condition rather than actually concentrating on what she was saying. She had not expected him to wake up. Her kohl lined dark brown eyes widened for a second before narrowing dangerously.
"How long have you been awake?"
"Long enough to get a free meal."
"You ... you ..." she spluttered at him. Automatically she hit him on his shoulder.
"Owww!!" he jerked in surprise. "Hey! I'm still the patient here. No hitting patients!"
"You deserved that! You should be ashamed of yourself pretending to be asleep just to get free meals!"
Jace was still smiling in amusement when he tried to sit up. Immediately he blanched, one hand going to his ribs before he fell back onto the bed.
"Aaaaahhh," Jace hissed in pain.
"No, don't get up. You just came out of surgery! The doctors said you should rest," Aria said in alarm. "Are you o'kay? Should I call the nurse?"
"No-ooo, just give me a second to catch my breath. I did not expect that." His face shone with sweat at the effort of controlling his pain. He would need time to recover from the operation.
Aria watched him closely ready to call the nurse as he got himself back under control.
"Jace, just rest o'kay? The doctors said you will be in here for at least two to three weeks, maybe more depending on your recovery rate."
"What? That long? But I can't, I have stuff to do," the youth protested. He racked his brain for something they had in common, something she would understand. "Orc Wars ..."
"Shush now. Orc Wars is nothing compared to your health. Simtrixx can go shove their contract up their asses!" she said fiercely.
He would have laughed if he was not in so much pain. When was the last time he had logged in? He was getting stressed just trying to work out the time frame. What day was today? Oh Gods, how much time had passed? He gritted his teeth and struggled to sit up again.
"Jace Carter!! Don't you dare sit up!" Aria scowled at him whilst pushing him back down firmly onto the bed. "If you try to get up one more time, I'm going to call your mom, wake Ash up, call the doctor-in charge and the nurse!" she threatened. "Seriously!! Boys!!"
"B-but ..."
"NO buts!!You need to rest to recover and that's final!" Aria cupped his face firmly in both hands and stared intently into his startled eyes. She felt him flinch and tried to pull back from the physical contact but she held on stubbornly. She needed him to understand that he came first, he needed to recover, everything else was secondary. Fierce dark brown eyes glared into haunted grey green eyes as she brought her face centimetres from his, willing him to understand.
Jace froze, his mind shutting down. His hands gripped the bed sheets and tightened into fists, white knuckles showing as he fought against his inner demons. He was almost hyperventilating with the need to escape the irrational fear of being touched when he heard her vehement declaration.
"Screw Orc Wars! You are more important!!"
He blinked. Something in him shifted. The suffocating darkness receded slowly allowing reason to return. He gulped for air, breathing raggedly as the overwhelming anxiety faded away.
Aria still held his face close to hers, but there was nothing sexual or threatening about it. She was not hurting him. The unreasonable fear faded. He realise he could break away at any time by pushing her away. She was trying to drive home a point.
Her gaze softened as her hold on his face relaxed. She brushed his cheek gently with a thumb. One hand rose to gently cover hers. This was not so bad. Jace stared at her in wonderment.
Suddenly, they heard a soft cough followed by some noisy throat clearing. They turned as one to look at a grinning Ash.
"Umm, you can let go now. I think he's got the point."
---------
"Psst! Pssst, Ash!"
"Hmmm? What?"
"Shhhhh!! Don't wake her up," Jace beckoned urgently at Ash.
Ash grinned and rose lazily from his arm chair. Aria was fast asleep on the couch, it was her turn to rest. The blond teenager had earlier been shocked when he caught Aria holding Jace so close. Ash had been afraid of his friend's reaction. It would have been a disaster if Jace had freaked out violently.
Amazingly, Aria had held fast despite Jace's obvious distress. He had been about to call out to her when a miracle happened. Ash saw the tension flow out of his best friend and his posture relaxed. Jace had even managed to touch her hand. The look of disbelief and hope on his face was enough to convince Ash that something positive had happened. It had been an unbearably sweet moment.
The handsome youth had given them a full minute before he decided to alert them of his waking up. He did not want them to think he deliberately kept silent in case they did something more. Ash grinned to himself, it would have been interesting though, he thought mischievously. Ahh, he should have recorded them, what a waste he had not thought to do that earlier.
Ash had teased them a bit but not too much. This was a tiny step forward but whatever Aria had done to Jace was a good thing. He did not want to spoil anything by over teasing and calling too much attention to the event.
He went over to Jace. "What?"
'I wanted to talk to you alone."
"What's on your mind?"
"When mom came by earlier, she said dad and Gwen were recovering well." He took a breath and continued, "She didn't mention anything about you know who ..."
"You don't have to worry about her anymore. It's all over the net. Your dad is pressing charges against Monique for aggravated assault. It seems she was intentionally aiming for him but when he jumped out of the way with your mom, she went for you and Gwen. She is also being charged for injuring several people who were there. The restaurant owner is trying to get some compensation for the damage and substantial repairs. The place was trashed."
"Aggravated assault ... that means she will be imprisoned for a long, long time, right?" Jace whispered in a shaky voice.
"There were too many witnesses for her to get away with anything," Ash confirmed. "Luckily none of you died, or it would have been premeditated murder," he said sombrely. "As it is, your dad is going to push for maximum sentencing. I don't think he will ever forgive her for what she did. He was really pissed when he saw you and Gwen hurt. He knows Monique will try again if she is not locked-up."
"He is not going to let her get away with her crime," Ash added looking as Jace's pale face. "She also violated her court orders not to be within a hundred meters of you. Rest assured, she is in big trouble with the law. She is going to be locked-up for a long, long time."
"Thank god." The dark haired youth let out a shuddering breath and closed his eyes. "So, it's really over?" he asked softly, almost talking to himself. "She won't be able to hurt me again. She won't be able to chase me, stalk me or harass me out of my mind ever again."
Jace pulled up his legs and hugged them tight letting the information sink in. Then he started shaking with emotional reaction. Tears ran down his face as he sobbed uncontrollably and buried his face in his arms. Ash said nothing, he just sat in silence beside his friend letting him get it all out of his system; the horrors, the dreadful nightmares and whatever shame he could not talk about, even to him. He had guessed the gist of it but since Jace could not seem to talk about it, he had kept his mouth shut. Hopefully now, his friend's terrible nightmares will end.
After a while, Jace looked up and sighed. "By the time she gets out, if she gets out, I won't be a vulnerable teen anymore. I'm really free."
"Yeah, you are. She won't be bugging you anymore."
"Thanks, Ash. Thanks for the good news. Now I can finally breathe again."
Ash cocked his head. Acknowledging and accepting was the first steps to healing, Jace was doing just fine. Now is a good time to change the subject.
"Umm, by the way, Aria still doesn't know who you are. She calls your mom Ms.Anderson," Ash grinned.
"That's what you call mom."
"I know right. She just followed me. She probably thinks your dad is Mr.Anderson!" Ash winked and gave a small laugh. "She didn't even bother to look at the news on the net because you are a nobody right? Wait until she finds out who you really are. She will flip!!"
"Aria is from out of town. She only moved here recently, remember?" Jace defended Aria. "... and she knows I'm a Carter."
"She knows but she didn't seem to really realise who you really are," Ash quipped and laughed.
"I really should tell her. I don't want to keep secrets between us."
"Us? Oohhh, you are moving fast!" Ash teased, laughing boyishly.
"Shut up! You know what I mean," Jace growled. "By the way, how long was I out? She won't tell me," he whispered worriedly. "The accident, operation, recovery ... I haven't logged into Orc Wars for some time. The gatekeeper's contract ..."
"Hey, don't worry. I messaged Simtrixx saying Lazarus needed some time for sudden urgent personal matters. I got you two days."
"O'kay."
"The problem is ... your two days are almost up."
Jace thought for a while. "Go get my virtual gear, ipad and laptop, get yours too if you will be here most of the time."
"Huh? Why? Even if I bring yours here, you are definitely not allowed to go virtual!" He glowered at Jace daring him to object.
"I know I can't until I've recovered but you can. I need a favor, Ash. I don't want to give Simtrixx cause to haul me off to court for breach of contract. Can you help me?"
"As long as you take care of yourself and not going virtual than yeah. Sure. Anything. What do you want me to do?"
"I need you to go in for the minimal contract hours. I'll compensate Valentine gold for your time."
Jace gripped Ash's shoulders.
"Ash, I need you to be Lazarus."