Ada
Everything felt so surreal. Almost as if I wasn't really there. Maybe I was in a fantasy world. Maybe I died and I was sent to heaven with God. All that I knew is that I felt numb and that everything was pitch black.
It was a weird feeling if you had asked me. My eyes were glued shut, and I felt nothing in my legs, yet I could hear everything. My head was clearer than ever. Millions of thoughts ran and pranced around my brain on a big rubber track. Despite that, everything that had happened to me this school year felt clear. I understood what was going on. I couldn't have understood any of it better.
I wasn't scared anymore. I wasn't letting myself be afraid of Braxton anymore. He was gonna serve for what he did. No matter what. Jeremiah wouldn't let him get away with what he did to me. Even if I was dead. He wasn't the type to just let something like that happen. Jeremiah was gonna get justice.
I so badly wanted to open my eyes, but it was almost as if my body physically wasn't letting me do that. I could hear the machine beep and I could hear everyone speak. I heard everything Jeremiah said, and when I heard about how he felt, all that I wanted to do was be there for him and to give him a hug. He was just saying how he was the one who deserved this and that he was so upset. I remembered his sobs. I felt the kiss on my cheek. I so badly wanted to touch the ball of my cheek where he kissed me. I really wanted to raise my hand and hold his face to tell him that everything was going to turn up fine in the end.
I also remembered Samantha's cries for me to wake up and her sorries. I remembered her confessing to being such a bad friend and how she should have never dated Jeremiah. I missed that girly so much. I missed last year when everything was comfortable and safe between the three of us. But of course, hormones got in the way of that.
All of us just want to be loved. We were just too blind to see that it was already in front of us. Our little trio had so much love in it last year. And this year, that was all abandoned. I still thought that that was repairable. It was. And junior year, we were going to come back stronger than ever.
"Hey, Adi. I'm not sure if you can hear this, but I-I have to tell you something. I hope you don't hear this in a way..." Jeremiah spoke with uncertainty. His voice faded and then reentered. "I just gotta keep on telling myself to be positive... just like you. And this isn't gonna stop me from getting justice for what Braxton did." His voice faded away, and it felt like I was being thrown in a tunnel far away from everyone. It went dark.
I just wanted to hear his voice again. I wanted to see his face. Why wouldn't my body let me see his imperfect teeth or his short waves? Or maybe his dimples? Or at least his hazel eyes again. I fell asleep, imagining Jeremiah's face.
I woke up but managed to open my eyes. White flooded in my line of sight. Either I had died, or I had finally woken up. It was difficult to tell with my vision being white. Colors began to pepper into my sight, and I half expected to see God himself on a golden chair, surrounded by angels.
The first thing I saw was the white ceiling tiles. I began to freak out as I looked to the side to see a machine beeping quicker than what I heard earlier. I had tried to sit up but felt my whole body ache, hindering it difficult. "Mom?" I croaked, looking around carefully. "Mom!" I met eyes with the face of my mother.
"Oh, honey." My mom hovered over me, caressing my cheek and showering me with tears of joy and kisses. "Baby, I love you so much. Don't scare me like that," she managed to say over clouds of emotion. I smiled so wide at seeing her so happy. "I'm so glad you're awake."
"How long has it been, mom?" I asked through a weak voice.
"It's now Tuesday, honey. The crash happened on Thursday." She brushed a strand of hair behind my ear. "Since it has only been a little bit over a week since the fight, Jeremiah has been staying here instead of going to school. He's really concerned about you." I tried to lift up my legs to stand up, but couldn't feel anything.
"Mom? Why can't I feel my legs? Mom!" I raised my eyebrows, concern etching into my facial features.
"Shh, shh, shh, baby." I looked at her in the eyes, worry flooding my thoughts, and anxiety peaking. My eyes shone glassy and dull. "I'm going to call your dad to tell him to pick up Cameron from school and to come to the hospital."
"What about Jeremiah and Samantha?"
"Don't worry honey, you'll get to see them soon." And with that she walked away, dialing into her phone. After a while, and after I found out what happened, the doctor did tests to see if there was any feeling in my legs at all. Something that gave me hope was that I did have some slight feeling in my legs. I could feel the needles prick into my thighs and calves. This was a good sign, considering that they were unsure before if I was ever going to have feeling again. Shortly after the tests were run, Jeremiah entered. I glanced over to him, barely able to move in the sitting up position they put me in. Water began to develop in the ducts of my eyes and all I could do was smile. I looked into Jeremiah's shining hazel eyes. It looked as if he was about to cry as he smiled so widely that it would've been visible all the way on Pluto.
He rushed over to me and engulfed me into a warm embrace. "I'm so glad you're okay," he managed to choke out through his trembles. I used all my strength to tighten my arms around his neck, nuzzling my face into his shoulder. "I thought that I lost you, too," he finally mumbled after hugging me for so long. I pulled away and rubbed my red eyes.
"What?" I asked, puzzled. Jeremiah looks up to me, immense despair replacing his previous joyful expression.
"Uh... Li-Liam. He's in a coma. He wa-was the other dri-driver," he managed to say through his trembling voice. A sorrowful expression fell over my face. I started crying which only made Jeremiah's eyes floodgate break. I moved my face against his chest. "He might never wake up again, Adi," he sobbed, his body shaking and his hand wrapped around the side of my face. He kissed the top of my head, a much more touchy side of him being revealed. I didn't want to leave his side at that moment. I just wanted to stay by Jeremiah for the rest of my days and to forget about all the hurting and darkness in the world. I backed away, causing him to grip onto my face with his hands. I looked at his hazel eyes and only just noticed that on the outer rim of his eyes was a crystal blue. His eyes weren't just hazel. They had blue, green, and amber in them. And they had so much sorrow in them. I studied his eyes deeply and noticed every single pattern and color in them. I looked down when I realized I was blanking out and just staring.
"And uh..." He sniffles and rubs his eyes. "Sam and I broke up. It-it was a mutual decision. And she made me realize something." He scooted closer to me, leaving us only inches apart. We rested our foreheads against each other. I felt my heartbeat accelerate colossally. "I... I love you Adelaide Rose Smiht. And I want you. I need you. I'm not complete without you and you drive me crazy in such a good way. And I'm sorry if this is-" I tilted my head slightly sideways and connected our lips before he could say anything else and ruin the moment. He embraced my waist and back, and I held onto his shirt by his abdomen to pull him closer. Fireworks and stars imploded in my gut, and I couldn't help but smile. That kiss was truly magical and like no other kiss I had. We pulled away to catch our breath, both of us smiling simultaneously like a couple of idiots. "Thank you for stopping me from being a total mood ruiner," he professed complacently.
"Wanna know something else?" He stared at me with a puzzled face. "I love you, Jeremiah Benjamin Boyst."
"You did a lot better at executing that than I did. At least you didn't stutter." We both laughed before I grabbed onto my stomach in pain. He massaged his own abdomen. "Are you alright, Adi?" I could see the worry in his multi-colored orbs. I nodded yes and he sighed out in relief. "My arm injury resurfaced again and I have two broken ribs and a fractured rib. Also, my concussion got worse."
"Are you alright?"
"It's fine, I don't even need the sling anymore. What did they say about your legs?" He trembled as he spoke.
"Um, well they did something called the ASIA exam which showed that it is a level D spinal injury which means it isn't that bad and that I will walk again with therapy more than likely. It is a sacral spinal injury, causing paralysis in my hips, thighs, calves, feet, and toes, but in most cases, people walk again with these. And it is an incomplete spinal injury which means that I have some feeling, which is also a good sign. Throw in a concussion and some cuts and bruises, and that's all," I smiled meekly, making me wonder he had even the slightest bit of 'survivors guilt' like me.
"Jeremiah, do you feel like you're at fault for this?" He snapped his gaze toward me. "Like you should be here, paralyzed, or that you should be the one in that coma?" I felt like I had read straight through him with his response. He grabbed onto my hand, looking down and frowning. He swallowed before pressing his lips against my fingertips.
"Your fingers are cold, Ada. Do you want me to get you something? I went back to your house yesterday and grabbed the hoodie that I gave to you when we went skating," he kindly offered, putting the hoodie over my head.
"Thank you." I smiled and pulled my arms through the sleeves. "Aren't you wearing the same hoodie you wore the day of the accident? The PlayStation one?" He looked at me sheepishly.
"I haven't been home since Thursday. My dad brought me some stuff so I could stay clean. I've been sleeping aside you or Liam, although I haven't slept very well." I studied his exhausted looking face. He had large bags under his eyes and his face looked paler in comparison to his usually tan and exuberant skin. There was some stubble growing along his jawline, but it was quite charming. He kind of looked like a stressed-out father of a newborn child. He rubbed his red eyes again before sneezing.
"Bless you." I looked at him and touched his forehead lightly. It was burning hot. I pulled my icy fingers away in surprise. "Jeremiah, please get some rest. You are looking really unwell. You're already bad enough off with those rib injuries. Not getting sleep won't help that any. I don't want anything else bad to happen." I placed my hand back over his forehead to cool his forehead down.
"You're starting to sound like my mom. I don't want my girlfriend to be my mom," he sniffled, looking at me with those precious worried eyes.
Girlfriend?
"Did you just call me your girlfriend?" I stated in disbelief. I bit my bottom lip in anticipation for what he was going to say next.
"If that's what you want to be. Of course, I'd want to ask you out on a date first and then officially ask you to be my girlfriend once you can leave the hospital. If I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it right." I gave him another savory kiss to stop his rambling.
My New Years wish came true.