Twenty One (Love by Numbers Book 2) (3 page)

Everyone turns to us as we enter and in one co-ordinated swoop, I am gathered up by both Nate and Mr Fox, who lift me from my feet in celebration.

I cannot help but giggle at the overwhelming joy saturating this room. It feels as though the fog that had settled on us, clogging our lungs with dread, has finally dissipated.

“Has anyone seen him yet?”

I know his family will need to see him first; I just need clarification that he’s well.

I want desperately to see him but I will patiently wait my turn so long as I know that he is safe.

Nate speaks first, “Not yet, Mum and Dad are going in first when they get the all clear from the Doc. Seeing as the first thing he asked for when he opened his eyes was you, I think we all agree that you should be next in to see him.”

He smiles and looks around at everyone else seeking agreement, they all smile back at me, all wanting to give Jake what he asked for.

“If you’re sure, I’d love to go in to see him but not until it’s ok for me to do so.”

I thank him for his gracious offer by giving him a hug. Not for one second am I going to argue about getting the chance to see Jake with my own eyes. He’s only here because he foolishly tried to save me. In fact it’s becoming a theme, Jake laying himself on the line to protect me.

“We want to keep the invalid happy and if seeing you is what does that, we all agree it’s the best thing for him. He can be a right pain in the arse when he doesn’t get his own way.” Liam laughs. His laugh gets even louder when his mother jokingly scolds him for talking about his brother that way.

“What Ma, you know it’s true.” He pulls his mother in for a hug and soon all the brothers surround her in a big Fox cuddle. I’m surprised she can breathe with all those strong bodies surrounding her. The sight warms me from the inside.

This is what a real family feels like.

M
r & Mrs Fox-Williams are called in by Jake’s doctor a few minutes later, leaving the rest of us to chat in much lighter spirits.

I tell Liv all about Max’s funeral. She wanted to go with me but I insisted she stay with Nate to be there for any news about Jake. She was confused as to why I wanted to go in the first place and in all honesty I couldn’t tell her the reasons myself, I just felt like I had to.

He was the catalyst for the events of that day and although I truly didn’t blame him, I needed to pay my respects. I needed to forgive the man that indirectly caused the situation we were in. The rational side of me knew that he was not to blame and I wanted to tell him in the hope that he could hear me.

Crazy reasons I know but they seemed to make sense to me at the time.

T
hirty minutes pass in quiet but happy conversation; I even get to finally hold a conversation with Laura, Josh’s pretty wife. She is adorable and they are very much suited, they make the perfect couple. Josh with his bookish good looks, who wears an air of intelligence like a second skin and Laura, quiet, sweet, exceptionally pretty and at ease with everyone and everything.

I’ve never met a couple more obviously in love, even if they did make me feel both nauseous and jealous in equal measure. You could tell they were childhood sweethearts and best friends; they have a connection that many people search a lifetime for, yet did not take each other for granted.

A pure love, a love between soul mates, a love based on mutual respect and adoration; yeah you can see where my sickening jealousy might manifest from, yet they were impossible to dislike or begrudge.

L
iam regales everyone yet again with the “My Little Pony” story and I, for once, let those who haven’t heard it before, believe his fabricated version of the day that we met.

I am happy just to sit here and laugh along with his cheeky untruths as he winks knowingly at me. Our friendship is back to the easy and uncomplicated state it was before Jake went missing.

I’m relieved to have my friend back but a small part of me wants to ask him why he cut me out. I thought what we had was stronger than that. I thought that, after Liv, Liam was my closest friend, so his icy treatment of me while Jake was missing still stings.

W
hen his parents return, all eyes focus on me knowing I get to go in next.

“Has he woken up again?” I ask before standing slowly.

His mother shakes her head slightly, her eyes filling with tears yet again.

“He’s comfortable and stable. The doctor said it’s just a waiting game for the moment. They will rehydrate him intravenously and allow him to wake in his own time. They have no concerns other than getting plenty of fluids in him. His severe sunburn will be painful but will heal in time and they feel he is very lucky to be alive.” His father speaks as his mother seems unable to. Obviously seeing her son still unconscious and fragile, no matter what the doctors say about his health, has to be extremely upsetting for her.

All four brothers stand up from their seats and engulf their parents in a group hug. The support this family has for each other is so beautiful. It takes me back to a few months ago when I was lying in a hospital bed unconscious and the only family that cared for me were my Dad and Liv. An envious pang hits my chest. Not because of the love this family shares but because sometimes I wonder if my mother ever really loved me at all. If she did how could she have forsaken me so easily?

I
quietly slip out of the room so as not to interrupt and make my way to the nurse’s station to request to see Jake.

“You must be Emma.” The friendly yet matronly looking nurse states as I approach. “Jake’s Mamma said you are to be next to sit with him.” She smiles at me and motions me down the hallway.

“He is in here, don’t be upset he is not awake, talk to him, he might be able to hear you.” She gives me another soft smile before returning to her duties.

I stand warily outside the door for a few seconds before taking a deep breath to prepare myself and gently opening it.

T
he room is private and the shades have been lowered slightly, blocking out the majority of the bright sunshine outside.

Soft music plays quietly from a small radio in the corner, something I’ve never encountered in a hospital room before. I guess it’s to soothe away the silence for both patients and visitors and I have to agree, it makes entering the room less daunting.

I look over at the only bed in the large room and slow warmth envelopes my body.

He looks utterly serene, like he’s in a peaceful slumber. The only tell tale signs that he’s not just taking a nap are the monitors attached to him and the drip going into the back of one hand.

His beauty takes my breath away.

Even with a sore and blistered face he is the most breathtaking man I have ever seen.

Everything else just fades away when he is near.

I
quietly walk towards his bed, taking in his shallow breaths that imply he’s in a deep slumber.

The closer I get to him, the more I have the urge to scoot up on the bed and lay next to him. To place my body next to his, absorb his warmth and relax into the comfort that only his presence will allow.

I want desperately to be here when he opens his eyes but that seems unlikely and very selfish of me as he has a whole room of people desperate to get in to see him.

So I take what I can now.

I carefully pick up one of the chairs by the bed and move it closer to him. I sit for what feels like hours, gently holding his free hand and staring at his face, willing him just to wake up if even for a second.

I
lay my head on the bed, my forehead touching our joined hands and listen to the beautiful song quietly playing in the background.

The words could be straight from my very soul, it’s a song filled will yearning, need and heartache. I want to lay down beside Jake and let my body revive him, comfort him and heal him.

My eyes close of their own accord, my weary body finally relaxing from the state of anxiety that has held it captive for days.

Without realising it I fall asleep to dreams of Jake and I lying side by side.

T
wenty one; I count twenty one ceiling tiles above my head before my brain catches up with the fact that I’m awake and in an unfamiliar room.

I feel disorientated and woozy, like I’m drowning, fighting for oxygen in a pool of water the thickness of treacle. My head feels separate from my body, my arms and legs weak and my whole body aches.

Emma…..

Thoughts of her infiltrate my muddled brain; her hand in mine, her eyes smiling up at me and her taste on my lips.

I fight the lethargy consuming me and attempt to sit upright, the strain of this simple task almost too much but I have to find her. What if she hasn’t been found? What if she is still stranded, stuck where I abandoned her in my foolish attempts at being her hero?

Emma….

It is only then that I feel the warmth of a hand holding mine. A slight move of my head allows me to see the vision next to me.

She is sitting awkwardly in a plastic hospital chair, her head resting on the bed next to my legs, her hair fanned out all over the blanket and her hand is encased in mine.

Relief floods my veins and I want nothing more than to run my fingers through her caramel waves, brush my fingertips over her jaw and trace the plump contours of her lips.

I pathetically do not have the strength to do any of those things but I do manage to squeeze her hand in mine. The pressure only a fraction yet it causes her eyelashes to flutter before a small sigh leaves her lips and she stirs slightly from her slumber.

I am unable to tear my gaze away from her, it feels like forever but is likely just moments, before her eyelids open and I am hit with the full force of those soul destroying eyes.

Eyes that I have dreamt of for days.

She startles and immediately straightens, concern etching her face.

If I thought her beautiful before, the sight of her sleep filled face searching mine, has just elevated her to exquisite.

She tentatively reaches out her free hand and lays it on my cheek, her eyes filling with wonder before she grants me a small smile.

“Don’t you ever do something as stupid as that again, are you listening to me?” she tries to scold me but the smile that remains on her lips betrays her.

“If you mean leaving you, I am never planning on doing anything as foolish as that again ever.” My voice is hoarse and scratchy and my lips crack with the movement of talking.

She runs her thumb gently across my chapped mouth, “Sshhh, don’t speak if it hurts, let me go and tell everyone you are awake, they will be so relieved Jake, we have all been so worried about you.”

“Not yet, just stay a few moments longer, please?” I wish I had the strength to touch her, to hold her. “I’m so thankful you are safe Emma, I dreamed you were.” Even to my ears my voice sounds weak.

“As much as I’d love for it to be just you and me, I have to go and let everyone know Jake, plus the nurse needs to check you over. It would be selfish of me to stay in here with you when they are all outside still worrying.” She cups my jaw before leaning over and placing a sweet kiss to my cracked lips.

She touches her forehead to mine before kissing it softly and then quietly leaves the room. Giving me a beaming smile as she pulls the door shut behind her.

I
close my eyes and savour her touch, the areas her lips caressed are still tingling and without even knowing it a small smile forms on my mouth.

What feels like less than a minute later the door of my room swings wide and my family pour through it in a cacophony of noise.

My mother is first to rush to my bed, smothering my face in overwhelming kisses, her eyes assessing every part of me for pain or damage.

My father is immediately at my other side, picking my hand up in his and looking down at me with a huge smile on his face and tears threatening to spill from his eyes.

At the foot of the bed stand Nate, Liv, H and Liam, with Josh and Isaac behind them.

Normally this kind of family gathering would really grate on my nerves but I feel oddly comforted that all those I love are here for me, worried about me and supporting me.

I guess the word I would use to describe it is blessed, I feel blessed and that is a new sensation for me. It’s not that I don’t love my family but I never knew, until now, how much I took their love for granted.

W
hen my mother finally releases me, after kissing every available area of skin on my face, I suddenly realise that I cannot see Emma in the throng that surrounds me.

Instantly panic flares through me, my eyes scanning the room in case I missed her.

My mother sees my distress, not one to miss out on anything amiss, “What’s wrong my love? Are you in pain?” her face has taken on a concerned look and she begins to once again assess my body for injuries.

“I can’t see Emma, has she left?”

“Oh she didn’t want to wear you out with all of us in here. When we found out you were awake none of us wanted to wait, so she’s outside. She’s such a thoughtful girl Jake.” She leans in close to whisper into my ear, “Don’t mess this one up son, girls like Emma do not come along often. She’s special that one and my boy deserves special.” She places a kiss to the side of my head and runs her hand over my hair just like she did when I was a child.