A/N:
Check out the song "Love You More" by JLS, it's beautiful and is perfect for this chapter.
Enjoy guys!
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Chapter 33 - Wide Awake
Scarlett's POV
Everything was white.
Blindingly white.
I could feel myself, physically and mentally trapped within the twisted labyrinths of my mind as it all came flooding back.
Marcus.
My mother.
Jasper.
Oh, God - Jasper.
My heart peaked as I felt myself dipping in and out of consciousness, unable to rid my imagination of the God awful images of Jasper being hurt.
I could hear the desperate, shrill sound of beeping penetrating the silence of my mind as I felt a warm hand clasping mine.
It was him, I knew it was.
The sounds around me became heightened as I finally felt fully conscious for the first time in God only knew how long.
I could feel myself being poked and prodded for what felt like hours until it was just the silence and I, alone.
I forced my eyes open, immediately regretting it as they were greeted by a blinding light.
"Scarlett?" Jasper's smooth voice called out, as I made out his figure approaching me.
"Jasper," I barely whispered, my throat incredibly hoarse and dry.
"Sh, baby, don't speak," he said softly as he filled a cup with some water, holding it to my lips as I drank, quenching my thirst.
He carefully placed the cup back onto the table beside me as I narrowed my eyes in confusion.
"Where am I?" I asked, my voice a little less hoarse.
"You've been in a coma for almost two weeks, Scarlett," Jasper replied, his voice low and quiet.
My eyes traveled to my leg which was clad in a cast as the memory came flooding back.
"Jasper, my mom-"
"Sweetheart, shh," he interrupted, rubbing small circles onto the back of my hand. "She's gone and she is never coming back."
My bottom lip quivered as I allowed myself to watch him.
He had lost a lot of weight, the circles around his eyes were darker, he looked physically and mentally exhausted.
"I'm so sorry!" I burst out crying, tears streaming down my cheeks as he wiped them away.
"You scared me so much, do you know that?" He whispered, stray tears falling from his eyes causing me to cry harder. "I thought I'd lost you forever, Scarlett. The heart monitor stopped, the line went dead and I thought you'd left me forever. I failed you, my love, I failed to look after you. I failed to give you the protection I promised. I failed in every -"
"I love you," I choked out, interrupting him. "I love you so much, Jasper, I'm just so sorry it took me this long to tell you."
"God, I love you, Scarlett. I love you so much, it fücking scares me how I can fall in love you more with every waking minute and with each and every breath I take," he breathed, brushing the hair away from my face.
"I wanted nothing more than to die during all those days I was without you, it was killing me slowly." I whispered, looking away from him.
"Don't say that, baby, please," he sighed softly, staring me dead in the eye. "I promise to you, Scarlett Valentina, that from this second forward, no one will ever think to harm you for as long as I live, so help me God. I'm not losing you again."
He gazed into my eyes as I watched him, the sincerity of his promise emitting from within every hidden depth of his mysterious blue-green eyes.
"Scarlett?" A soft voice called out as the door opened.
"Elena," I smiled as she enveloped me in a tight hug, her silent tears seeping through the hospital gown I was wearing.
"Scarlett, we thought we'd lost you," she cried as I squeezed my eyes shut - how much more pain was I going to cause these people?
"I'm sorry," I murmured as she pulled back, staring at me incredulously.
"Did you suffer memory loss, too?" She questioned genuinely as I shook my head in confusion. "What are you apologizing for, then? You're the one who's been through hell and back, why-"
"I think we get the point, Elena," Jasper interrupted irritably as she coughed uncomfortably, nodding in agreement.
"Scarlett!" Two new voices spoke as James and Estelle rushed in to the room.
"You have no idea how happy we are," Estelle began, taking my hand in hers. "My daughter in law is a miracle in herself."
My cheeks tinged pink upon being called her daughter in law as I didn't dare look at Jasper.
"Sexy and a defier of death," James grinned as I let out  a laugh, especially when the rest of the family were glaring at him in disapproval. "You saved my boy and our family from a lot of heartache, Scarlett, I don't think we would have been able to move forward if you'd left us."
I smiled at him, not knowing what to say. I couldn't believe that despite all the hardships and grief I'd faced throughout the last few months, I'd gained a real family who genuinely cared for me and had made a place within their hearts for me.
"We'll leave you to rest, dear," Estelle smiled warmly as she, James and Elena left the room, closing the door softly behind them.
"How are you feeling, baby?" Jasper asked concernedly.
"I'm fine," I replied, propping the pillows up behind me so I was sat up. "Are you okay?"
"Typical Scarlett," he snorted, shaking his head. "Really does go through and hell and back, yet enquires whether I'm the one who's okay."
I rolled my eyes at him as he chuckled softly.
"I'm more than okay now, Scarlett," he replied, pressing a gentle kiss to my forehead just as the door burst open, ruining our tender moment.
"Jasper Queen!" A shrill voice screeched as my eyes travelled to the door where a furious looking Melissa stood, sporting a huge baby bump.
"Oh, dear God," Jasper muttered as she waddled in.
"You watch if I don't castrate your puny balls till they're black and blue and come out the other end of a grizzly bear!" She barked at him as he winced. "How dare you lie to me! My best friend was kidnapped and dying and I only just find out about it now!"
"Melissa," I grinned as she turned to me, her eyes zoning in on my cast up leg.
"And, you. You just can't seem to keep yourself out of trouble, can you?" She asked drily.
"Trouble and I go way back," I shrugged. "We thought it was time for a reunion."
"You're impossible, do you know that?" She whispered, throwing her arms around my shoulders as I could see her eyes welling up with tears. "I wish you'd told me what was going on, Scarlett."
"I know, I'm sorry," I sighed, closing my eyes. "I just didn't want to put your life at risk, Melissa, nor your baby's life."
"Its not your fault, Scarlett - it's his," she pointed a finger at Jasper who rolled his eyes.
"Baby, I'm going to go and call one of the doctors to see if we can get an update, okay?" He told me, placing his hand gently on my cheek as I leaned into his comforting touch. "Are you hungry?"
"Quite," I replied, a little embarrassed.
"I'll have to check with the doctors whether you can start eating so soon, I'll be back in ten minutes, okay?"
"Okay," I smiled at him as he kissed the top of my head.
"I love you, baby."
"I love you, too, Jasper."
His face lit up and I could see the relief and happiness in his eyes when I told him I loved him.
He slowly left the room, closing the door quietly behind him as I turned to Melissa who was staring, eyes wide and mouth open, at both me and at the now closed door.
"What?" I asked her, raising an eyebrow.
"Jasper Queen was the most arrogant, foul, womanizing prÃck I had ever come across when I had first met him, Scarlett," she spoke in disbelief. "What I just saw there was the most tender, gentle and loving person any man could ever be and... My God, you just told him you love him!"
"That's because I do, Melissa." I replied truthfully.
It was because of him I was still here.
I had heard every single thing he had said to me whilst I was in my state of unconsciousness and every single thing he said caused me to fall even deeper in love with him.
For he had captured my heart and soul for many eternities to come.
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A/N:
Hey Guys!
Hope you're all okay and doing well! It feels like ages since I last updated but with the stresses of summer exams fast approaching I knew I had to delay updating by a few more days.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter though and I'd like to give a massive thanks to each and every one of you guys for getting me to 12K reads!!! I'm so greatful for each of your comments, votes and reads it's the greatest reward a writer can achieve, so thank you!
Do remember to check out the song for this chapter, it's one of my favorites I've loved it for years!
Anyhoo, the next chapter should be up by the 1st May next week!
Love as always,
Ana