For Crying Out Loud: The laugh out loud romantic comedy that everyone's talking about! (The False Start Book 1)

by J. Preston

  “Give me a minute.”

  “Thank you,” I whisper.

  Nurse Riley is back within an hour and leads us to another waiting area near where we were.

  “Just one of you, okay?” She looks at us as we stand in a perfect row and nod in unison. She opens the wooden door, and I unsteadily step into the room.

  It smells clean, sterile.

  I look around and take in the large window, the bathroom door to my right. To my left, a TV is mounted on the wall, and there’s a large wardrobe unit next to it. I look at the one place my eyes have been avoiding thus far.

  The bed.

  The bed and the person in it.

  Aiden is lying on his back, under a thin, white sheet. Is he cold? I take a step toward him and take him in. His eyes are closed and his face is bruised with little cuts all over. There are wires attached to his body and a large tube coming out of his mouth, keeping him alive. That’s all I need to see in order to get my wits back.

  I rush to him.

  His chest and left arm are covered in a cast, as is one of his legs. There are bruises and cuts everywhere, and half of his head is shaved, revealing a big bandage. I shiver, then take a hold of his hand and squeeze it. Hoping, praying for a squeeze back.

  Nothing happens, and I close my eyes.

  “Aiden,” I whisper, my voice cracking. “I love you.” I open my eyes and drink in his face, wishing for it not to be the last time. “Please come back to me,” I croak out and squeeze his hand again.

  I lay my head next to his arm, his hand still in mine, and breathe in his scent. He doesn’t smell like Aiden, he smells like a hospital, like surgery, like medication. Tears threaten to break free yet again, so I take a big breath and sit up. “You have to live,” I say with conviction. “You promised. You promised me we’ll be together,” I say to him. “Until we get old.”

  I pull his hand to my cheek, then gently move it to my lips and place a small kiss on his fingertips. “Don’t break your promise.”

  The large lump in my throat stops me from speaking. I stroke his face and start praying. I’ve never prayed before in my life, but I don’t find it awkward. Instead, it feels comforting. I have this feeling, this belief that someone is listening.

  “I love you,” I whisper again to Aiden. “Come back to me,” I tell him. I’m not giving him the option not to.

  The beeping of the heart monitor is steady, and I take a deep breath, knowing that I’ll need to get out soon. I place a kiss on his forehead and whisper. “You promised me forever.”

  A simple reminder, but maybe he’ll listen. I hold on to his hand for a while longer, then unwrap my fingers and gently place it by his side. I take a deep breath, then get up and start walking toward the door. I’m not going to look back. Looking back would mean I’ll never see him again. So I’ll be strong.

  My gaze fixed on the door, I take wobbly steps. As my hand reaches for the door handle, the sound I’ve been dreading fills the room. One singular, long beep. I pull open the door and shout for the nurse.

  Doctors and nurses rush in, and the guys and I are left alone again. Hoping. Anticipating.

  Was it my fault?

  I fall to the floor and my head drops into my hands. I don’t want to be strong anymore. Can someone else please be strong for me? My heart breaks over and over with every second the doctors don’t come out. Then again, every second they are gone means that they are still trying, doesn’t it? I hope they never come out!

  After what feels like a million years, they do. Their faces grim.

  I stand up and look into the room through the gap between the door, and I nearly cry out as I hear the steady beep of his heart monitor.

  The rest of the day is a blur. We’re told to go home, but we all refuse and, finally, they let us back in to see Aiden. I stay by his side, holding his hand, worrying that if I let go again, he’ll get worse…again. I sleep by his bed that night.

  When I wake up the next morning, Aiden is still alive and still in a coma. I keep talking to him, telling him about anything I can think of. I recite poems, I tell him stories, I read, I teach him all about biochemical techniques and systems used to analyze data. I’m hoping that he’ll get so bored with my aimless babbling that he’ll wake up.

  By noon, I really need the toilet and I call Carter in, making him swear to hold Aiden’s hand until I come back. He shakes his head begrudgingly but complies nonetheless while muttering that King Carter should be left out of it. I’d called Aiden’s parents in; they arrived late last night. But they left to check into a hotel. They were not impressed with having their family expanded by four new kids, but they didn’t blow our cover. I think they were just relieved that Aiden was not on his own.

  In the bathroom, I wash my face with cold water. My eyes are red and puffy, but I don’t care. All I care about is Aiden.

  When I come back out, Jason intercepts me, dragging me to the cafeteria and making me drink a cup of hot coffee and eat a stale sandwich. I break all kinds of records with the speed I ingest the food. I’ve been gone for over half an hour. So, once I finish, instead of walking, I run, not wanting to be gone from him any longer.

  I run as fast as my feet allow, dodging doctors and wheelchairs, forgetting all about the fact that I hate running. I run until I don’t.

  Until I see Carter outside of Aiden’s door.

  I come to a full stop.

  What is he doing outside? He promised! He promised not to let go!

  Unless…

  The sandwich threatens to come back up as I take the last few steps towards Carter.

  Then I see his face.

  He’s beaming.

  And just like that, I start crying again. I cry with relief. I let the happy tears fall down my cheeks as my chest fills with air; light, fluffy air. I can breathe again. I wipe my cheeks and fold myself into Carter.

  “He’s out of the coma, grasshopper.” I nod into his neck in understanding. “They’re still inside, unhooking him from the tubes, you know?”

  I nod again and step away, a smile breaking my face for the first time in what feels like forever. “He’s alive and awake,” I whisper in amazement.

  My Aiden.

  He’s alive.

  He’s awake.

  Nothing could make me happier.

  “Listen, there’s something you should know,” Carter says grimly. I look up at him expectantly. “After the coma, he might not remember you.”

  My jaw drops just as the door opens, and a young doctor comes out smiling at us. Nurse Riley is right behind him. She stops in front of me.

  “It seems to me that you all have lost your British accents,” she says, mirth in her eyes. Busted. We managed to keep her away from Aiden’s parents all through the night, but I guess our cover was blown as soon as Aiden woke up and was able to speak.

  Carter pushes me toward the door and whispers, “You go see him. I’ll take care of this.”

  I walk into the room.

  Aiden is on the bed; his eyes are closed.

  “Aiden.” I rush to his side, taking his hand. His eyes flutter open and he looks at me. “It’s me. Jenny,” I say, keeping my voice light. “You might not remember me but…well…you love me and…I love you too,” I rush the words.

  Aiden smiles. “How could I ever forget you?” His voice is hoarse, barely audible, and he squeezes my hand, making my heart jump. “I mean, I tried,” he continues. “For six years, I tried to forget you to no avail. I guess you should just count yourself stuck with me.”

  I smile at him, squeezing his hand back. “Sorry, Carter said—”

  “In my defence, I watched ‘The Vow’ last night. That shit was a true story, so there.” Carter walks into the room, Jason and Hayley behind him. They all gather around Aiden’s bed.

  “You scared us, man,” Jason says, smiling. “For a minute, I thought I’d have to find another roommate, and you know what a hassle that can be. There are some proper British weirdos out there.”
/>   “Shut up.” I laugh. “I think what Jason is trying to say is that we’re all happy that you’re okay.” I lean over him and place a gentle kiss on his lips.

  “Incest!” Carter shouts.

  Aiden looks confused. “Let’s just say that, for the time being, I’m your sister,” I say in a terrible British accent.

  “Oh yeah, we’re all one big, happy family,” Carter confirms in his version of British, wrapping his arms around Hayley and Jason. Jason follows, putting his arm around me.

  We are.

  Happy.

  Family.

  39 The End

  I’m not half as crazy as I look. I’m twice as crazy.

  - Carter

  Aiden

  Being in a car accident is not a cakewalk. Everything hurts, add to that all the tubes sticking out of your body; the incessant itching under the casts, of which I have too many; and you have yourself one very itchy, very annoyed British guy.

  Or, at least you would, if it wasn’t for one little ray of sunshine in this whole awful scenario.

  Jenny.

  She hasn’t left my side since I woke up after the surgery, and while some people might find that a bit too much, for me, it’s a breath of fresh air. It’s exactly what I need. Her. I need her.

  Having her here with me, by my side, makes it all easier to deal with. Especially when she puts on that god awful British accent whenever any of the staff comes into the room. She cracks me up, making me forget all about the pain.

  She doesn’t have to, though. Her presence alone makes the pain go away. Her smile… Her smile makes me forget that anything was ever wrong. And she seems to be the only thing that calms my overachieving parents down. Thankfully, as soon as I woke up from the coma, they decided that they should go back to London, since I was ‘just fine’. Otherwise, I would have lost it a million times with them.

  “You ready?” Her eyes, full of wonder and relief, lock with mine, and her lips twitch into a smile, making my heart jump in my chest. I nod and place my hands on the armrests of the wheelchair they insisted on. I could limp with one leg in the cast. No problem. But, apparently, there are protocols when it comes to ‘early discharge’. Not that it was that early.

  It felt like I’ve been cooped up in the hospital for far too long when, in reality, it’s only been three weeks. I was ready to face the world last week if you asked me, especially since classes started back up.

  Kitten wheels me outside straight to her car, parked right up front.

  Oh yeah, I forgot my car—which would have been so much more appropriate for transporting me back home—was totaled in the crash.

  The crash, which was a bit more sinister than we initially thought. After I woke up, we had a visit from the police. The blue truck that hit my car belonged to none other than Benny’s cousin. Apparently, Diego was watching our house, trying to figure out where Benny was. Somehow, he knew I was Benny’s Big Brother and was trying to send a message. What sort of a message, I don’t know. I’m just happy that I was the only one who got hurt and that Diego ended up with an extended sentence and no prospects for parole anytime soon. Most importantly, he never got to Benny, who was back at his mum’s.

  Jenny and I talked for hours about everything that went down as soon as I was able to stay awake long enough to hold a conversation. I couldn’t shake the feeling that she felt guilty, somehow responsible, for what had happened. When, in fact, I knew it was my stupid brain and the fact that I decided to keep shit to myself that caused all of this mess. It seemed like neither one of us wanted to back down, though, so we agreed to disagree, especially when Jenny promised to make it up to me ‘when I was well enough’. I could get down with that. Literally.

  I smile as Jenny gently buckles me up in the backseat, propping blankets around me.

  “I’ll drive carefully.” She kisses my lips, and I pull her in closer, deepening the kiss. The last three weeks drove me crazy. Having her near but not being able to hold her in my arms, kiss her like I wanted to kiss her, was my personal hell.

  Jenny pulls away, and my eyes zero in on her swollen lips, making me think of all the things I will be able to do to her once we’re back home.

  “We’re still here, you guys.” Jason clears his throat. “And I’m still finding this very, very wrong.”

  “Oh well.” Kitten beams up at him, her voice a bit hoarse. “Meet you at the house?”

  “Yeah,” Jason hesitates. “We’ll drive slow. Really, really slow in fact. Take back roads and all. Maybe go for food.” I grin at him as he shakes his head in disgust. “Maybe…I’ll stay over at Carter’s tonight. Don’t think I’ll be able to handle you two.” He makes a gagging noise.

  “Agreed,” Carter says. He’s not looking at me. He’s staring at his hands, glancing up at Jenny every so often. His eyes are sad, and I feel a ping in my chest. My best friend is hurting, and I have a good idea why. He needs a distraction.

  “Suit yourselves.” Jenny laughs, then hops into the driver's seat, waving goodbye at our friends.

  She drives carefully, glancing into the back mirror every minute, checking if I’m okay. This is the first time in three weeks her back is to me and, even though she is still very close, only a few feet away, her seat between us, my body aches for her touch. My skin is crackling with anticipation of her being near again.

  When we arrive at the house, she takes great care in helping me out of the car and into my room.

  “Kitten, I’m not made of glass. I won’t break,” I tease.

  She gazes at me, searching my eyes, then sits next to me on the bed. “You nearly did. You nearly didn’t come back…to me.” Her voice breaks, and something in her words tugs at my soul. It’s like I’ve heard her say this before…

  I frown, concentrating. “I’ll always come back to you.”

  “Good, because you promised.” She nods, giving me a small smile. “You promised me forever and I will hold you to that.”

  Her words play on repeat in my head until I find what I was trying to grasp at. I remember. I remember her words, the only thing that kept me grounded while I was in the comma. I thought I imagined it all, but could she have actually spoken them to me?

  “You said that before,” I hesitate. “I remember…” She looks confused. “I heard you.” Words rush out of my mouth. “I heard your voice. You said to come back to you, you said I promised. I promised you forever.”

  “You heard that?” Tears start rolling down her cheeks as I nod, pulling her to my chest. “Kitten, you’re the only thing that kept me alive. Your voice, your touch, they gave me hope. They reminded me that I’ve got something to live for,” I whisper into her hair.

  She hugs me tighter, and I wince in pain but don’t say a word, revelling in her proximity.

  “I love you,” she mumbles.

  “I’ve always loved you.”

  “Bull poop,” she sniffles, laughing.

  “You don’t believe me, huh?”

  “Nope. I have it on good authority that you hated me.”

  “Now that is a lie. I managed to convince myself that it was true for a short period of time, but deep down inside, it has always been you. As soon as you sauntered back into my life, wiggling that amazing butt of yours at me, I was a goner.”

  “Ah-ha! So you only like me for my butt! I knew it!” She laughs.

  “Kitten, kitten, kitten… I don’t like you. I love you. And I sure as hell love your butt. Now, do me a favour and reach into my nightstand.” I arch my brow at her suggestively.

  Her eyes go huge, and I have to stop myself from laughing.

  “Okay.” She opens the little door and looks confused. “They’re just books…”

  “You have a dirty mind.” I smirk. “And I like where it’s gone. I promise, we’ll get to that in a second. Now, take the books out.”

  She obliges, pulling the stack of paperbacks. She scans through the titles, when finally, she notices. Her lips part as her hand reaches her mouth, and all books
but one topple down to the ground. I smile.

  “You kept it all this time?”

  “Must have read it a thousand times by now.” She gently strokes the cover of the book she gave me so long ago.

  “But it’s been forever.”

  “Jenny.” I tsk. “When will you learn that you are my forever?

  I take the copy of Life of Pie out of her hand and pull her to me, placing a kiss on her lips and gently prying her lips open with my tongue, tasting her. She moans into my lips and runs her fingers through my hair.

  “You’re home,” she whispers. “I have finally found my home.”

  Epilogue

  Jenny

  6 years later

  “This bloody thing won’t close!” I exclaim, exasperated. You’d think that after all this time, the monster would give out and die on me. But noooo… He just keeps on living his best life, mocking me every time I travel anywhere.”

  “Awww, kitten, you want me to close Sully for you?” Aiden comes up behind me and kisses the nape of my neck. I turn around and wrap my arms around him, the suitcase all but forgotten. “Yes, please, Mr. Vaughn.” I pull his head close to mine and land a big smoocher on his stubbly face. He has not shaved in over two weeks, and I have to say I’m digging the stubble, especially in the bedroom…

  “At your service.” He winks at me.

  Aiden, ever the seducer, trails his fingers down my side, lifting me up and wrapping my legs around him. “Mmmm, I will never get tired of this.” He nuzzles my neck, the scruff of his beard rubbing against my sensitive skin.

  “Good thing I’m keeping you.” I smile into his hair, then sigh. Aiden strokes my face once, twice, then gently drops me to my feet and turns to face Sully. With minimal effort, he closes that fucker and zips him up. How the hell? This hunk of a man never fails to impress me. We’ve been together for over six years and, with a hand on my heart, I can honestly say I have never been happier. He is the key.