Song on the side matches the mood for the second half of the chapter :)

As soon as I heard Scott tell me that Julian got shot I felt my all my blood drain from my face. I felt guilty, responsible in a way, which is crazy. But I couldn't help but feel like it was my fault, because I decided to think about myself.

After finding the name of the hospital, I got in one of the cabs that were already outside the building, and told him where to go. Tobias was the last thing on my mind. He had a match he needed to focus on and I need to focus on Julian. I ran to the welcome desk, feeling sick to my stomach.

"Julian Richards," I repeated for the receptionist. "I need to see Julian Richards."

The old lady made me a visitor's pass and told me that he was on this floor and what room number he was in. Shakily, my feet led me to the down the hallway and eventually I found myself outside of his door. He was placed in the ICU, hooked up to machines and what appears to be through his mouth. I let out a sob and covered my mouth from crying out loud.

"Reign," I heard Noel's voice call.

With my eyes in tears, I blink them away and turn around. I saw Noel wrapped in a warm shawl, her arms were shaking as she walked closer to me. I closed the space around us and brought her in for a big hug.

"Shh," I alleviated, patting down her pin straight hair. "He's going to be fine."

Noel sobbed on my shoulder and I couldn't help but cry on her own. I felt all the tension from the last months come out as I held my best friend closely.

"I'm so sorry," I cried. "I was such a bitch. I should've told you-"

Noel shook her head and pulled back. I could see mascara run down her face from her tears. "I shouldn't have pressured you. I trust you. I know you would tell me anything. If you didn't it must be for my own benefit."

She took a deep breath and wiped her tears away on a napkin. "You've always protected me, ever since the day I found out my parents died. I never thanked you for that, so thank you."

"Oh Noel," I breathed out. "You don't have to thank me."

She gave me sad smile before leading me over to a bench. "Of course I do Reign."

I returned my own, watery smile back. I looked back at Julian's room and saw his chest rise up, only he wasn't breathing, the machines were breathing for him.

"What happened? What... What's his prognosis?" I dared to ask.

Noel sighed and wiped her face again. "He was out with Scott, getting a drink from some bar. They didn't even make it to a bar before they were mugged. Scott offered up anything they wanted while Julian tested them. Apparently they were in no mood for games and shot him."

I winced and looked back at her. "And Scott? Where's Scott?"

She saw my panicked look and gave me a genuine smile. "He's fine. One of the guys hit him pretty badly on the back of his head. He's getting stitches right now. And as for the prognosis, they don't know. The bullet was dangerously close to his lungs, which is why he's on the breathing tubes."

"Why hasn't he woken up yet?"

Noel shrugged. "He's probably knocked out from all the morphine he's on."

My heart was beating quickly, like it was trying to run out of my chest. Even though I didn't do anything I felt so guilty. I was thinking about breaking up with him and now I couldn't think of any worst time do it.

"Your... Your rehearsal dinner, is it still tomorrow night?"

Noel gave me a sad nod. "We can't reschedule, we sent over a hundred invitations. We can't let all those people know under short notice. But Scott and I understand if you don't want to come. You can stay here will Julian."

Guilt passed through me again. I was still lying to my best friend and it didn't feel right at all. What was I supposed to do now? It was as if the world was punishing me.

"No," I declared, shaking my head. "You're right, I've been a lousy maid of honor. I'm not going to be anymore."

"I only said those things out of anger. Besides, your boyfriend is in the hospital! I think I can understand-"

"No," I repeated again, sounding much more confident now. "Noel, there's not much I can do in the hospital anyways. I'm sure Julian wouldn't want me to be cooped up in here too."

"Noel?"

The sound of Scott's voice made both of our heads turn. He had a pained expression on his face as he walked over to us. Noel got up and hugged Scott tightly. At once I saw Scott ease up, his face looking less in pain and more in comfort. Noel pulled back and gave him a soft kiss on his lips.

"How are you? What did the doctors say?" She asked, softly stroking his cheek.

"I suffered from a minor concussion, that's why I blacked out. I'm free to go though which is why I came to find you," he said, his voice deep and tired. "I'm going to come back tomorrow, before the rehearsal dinner. I just have a really bad headache. I need to sleep it off."

"Of course, yeah we should go," she said to him, removing her hand and looking back at me.

"I'm glad you're okay Scott," I awkwardly said, approaching him so I could give him a quick hug.

When I pulled back I could see him staring at Julian's room. I could see guilt written all over his face

"Hey," I softly said, placing my hand on his forearm. "There are always going to be some idiots who think it's okay to do things like this. It's out of our control. Don't blame yourself."

"But I was the one who suggested we go out for a drink-"

"You couldn't have known," I retorted, shaking my head.

Scott sighed and placed his hand in Noel's. They both looked liked they aged five more years. Now they really did look like an old married couple.

"You guys go home. I'm going to stay here for the night," I told them, giving them a supportive smile.

They didn't have to be told twice. I promised I would tell them any news once he woke up. I gave both of them a quick hug before I was left alone. I walked into Julian's room and stood in the entry door for a good minute. What were the odds the day I decided to break up with him he would be in the hospital?

~*~

A choking nose woke me up. I fluttered my eyes open and saw Julian struggling to pull out his breathing tubes. My eyes widen as I looked at him, confused as to what to do. I ran outside and began yelling for help from anyone, someone. A couple of nurse's rushed in as I stood by the door. They began helping him take the tube out of his mouth. Julian gasped for air, making me come closer.

"Julian. Julian, do you know where you are?" One of the nurses called out.

Julian looked around the room before his eyes settled on me. He furrowed his eyebrows together before coughing again.

"You've been shot," the nurse continued. "You're very lucky to be alive."

"I need water," he croaked out.

Before anybody moved, I reached for the pitcher and poured him a cup of ice water. I set the cup close to his mouth and helped him take a couple of sips.

"A doctor will be in here shortly," the nurse said before exiting.

Once Julian was finished drinking his water he leaned back in his bed and shut his eyes. I could tell he was exhausted by the deep bags under his eyes.

"Do you remember what happened?" I inquired.  "Do you remember anything from last night?"

Julian nodded and gulped deeply, looking away in discomfort. "Some guys tried to mug Scott and I. They hit Scott in the back of the head. Is... Is he okay?"

I sat in the hard wooden chair next to his bed and I placed my hands in his. "Yeah, he's fine. He's home with Noel. He needed to get some stitches on the back of his head. Other than that he's good."

"Good."

Julian rested his eyes again. I no longer heard the hum of the breathing machines. Once I heard snores I knew he fell back to sleep. I slowly slipped my hands out of his grasp and walked outside to the nurse's station.

"He fell asleep again. Can you hold off on waking him up when he doctor comes?" I asked, fumbling with my phone in my hands. I needed to call Scott and let him know that Julian was already.

"I'm sorry, we can't. We need to check and see if there are any complications from the surgery," the nurse explained.

I sighed and nodded. "Okay. If he asks where I went tell him I'm calling Scott."

I left the nurses station feeling more exhausted than I have in months. I walked out of the ICU hall and into the main hospital floor. I looked on my phone for Scott's familiar number and hit call.

"Hey Scott, it's Reign," I said to the answering machine. "Julian's awake. It's around twelve in the afternoon and I assume you're still asleep. Call me when you get this."

I slipped my phone into my back pocket and looked around for a coffee machine. I spotted one next to the welcome desk and graciously made my way there. On any normal day I hated coffee but I couldn't deny that I needed the caffeine. Sleeping on that hard chair was more tiring than it looked.

"That coffee is only for employees and volunteers," a young girl in a volunteer uniform said. She had strawberry blonde hair that was pulled into a tight French braid. 

"Is it now?" I asked, dumping another packet of sugar in my coffee. Two would be enough. I began stirring it with a straw.

"Yeah, you can't drink that," she complained, sticking her nose up.

I snorted. Who does this fifteen year old think she's talking to? I raised the coffee cup to my lips and took a long, savoring sip. The bitter coffee flowed through my throat. They needed to invest in some coffee cream. The girl gasped at me, her mouth slightly ajar. I chuckled and stepped aside from her.

"What are you going to do about it?" I teased, taking another sip just to irk her nerves. She scowled at me and stomped away. Serves her right for denying me some coffee.

I was about to walk back to the ICU when I saw Tobias walking out from one of the many offices. He shook hands with an old doctor. The doctor gave him a small nod before returning back from his office. Tobias looked down, looking lost. What was he doing here? And more importantly what did that doctor say? Was he hurt? I abandoned my coffee just as Tobias was about to walk out of the hospital.

"Tobias!" I yelled, speed walking so that I could catch up to him. Tobias turned his head quickly, his face white as if he just saw a ghost.

"Reign?" He asked, looking more panicked than confused.

"What are you doing here?" We both asked at the same time.

I raised an eyebrow at him, indicating that he needed to go first. He scratched his head and looked down at the floor again. What was it with him and staring at the floor lately? It's not like it had the answers written on it!

"I just came to check up with my doctor," he explained, looking up now. "After every match I kind of have to just to be on the safe side."

"And?"

He gave me a small sideways smile. It was both a sad and a happy kind of smile. "You're cute when you worry about me. But I'm fine. Everything is fine."

I exhaled the air I was holding in, feeling much better than I had moments ago. I walked closer to him so that I could give him a hug. "Good. I didn't mean to leave your match last night-"

"I figured it was too much for you to watch," he interrupted, his body vibrating from laughter. "But it's nice that you tried."

I could feel the guilt come back as I let go of him. Tobias saw my hurt expression and frowned. He gently tucked some hair behind my ear and forced me to look up at him.

"Baby what's wrong? Why are you here?" He interrogated. Concern was displayed all over his face.

"Julian," I gasped, shaking my head. "He got shot and Scott got hit the back of his head. Tobias I feel so bad."

Once I felt the first tear drop from my face I couldn't stop. It was like a pool flooding from my eyes. Tobias scrunched up his face in worry before pulling me into his chest. My tears soaked his sweater. My body was shaking uncontrollably now that I was full on crying.

"I can't help but feel like this is my fault," I whimpered.

"Shh," Tobias soothed, calming me down by whispering in my ear. "This isn't your fault. You didn't pull the trigger. You didn't wish bad things upon on him. You have no reason to believe that this is your fault."

"Then why'd it have to happen tonight?" I cried, my tears staining his shirt. "Why'd it have to happen just when I decided that I was going to break up with him?"

I could hear Tobias sigh deeply. "I don't know. Sometimes things have a weird way of working out. That's life. You can't control it."

I pushed Tobias back. He looked at me distressed and lost for words. I wiped my face from any remaining tears. I felt angry at the world for picking now to punish me.

"I am overwhelmingly exhausted from pretending that I am happy, when in reality I'm breaking in the inside," I confessed, getting everything off my chest. "I'm tired of sneaking around and I'm tired of having to lie about it."

"So go in there," Tobias declared, raising his voice at me. "Go in there and break things off with him if you're so upset."

"Only I can't!" I yelled. I felt my head start to pound. "I can't break up with him now that he's been shot!"

Tobias gave me a dry chuckle. He turned around, about to walk out of the hospital. He stopped for a moment before walking back in front of me.

"I've tried to be supportive, trust me I have. You whine about not being able to be happy and all that other shit when the solution is right in front of you!" He bellowed. "You keep making up these excuses for not breaking up with him. I'm tired of hearing about it Reign. You are the single most confusing person I've met and trust me I've met some pretty fucked up people."

He pinched the bridge of his nose. He closed his eyes and focused on his breathing as it slowed down. When he opened his eyes he no longer looked angry but looked tired.

"I can't fucking share you anymore. I'm one selfish person dammit," he fumed. He looked at me the same way he did when I first met him; full of desire and lust. "I want you all to myself. I want your laughs and tears. I want to be the first person you tell when something happens, good and bad. I want to piss you off right before you go school and then argue some more late at night when I come back from training. Then I want to make you moan my name at 2AM as we make love. I need someone-- I need you--all to myself or not at all."

Tobias licked his lips before holding my cheek roughly. Tears began falling down my face as I stared at his own beautiful, damaged self.

"I want you to leave and I want you to stay. Being with, loving you, is driving me insane," he continued, looking at me so intensely I felt like he could see right through me. "But I can't do it anymore. You're either all in or all out."

Tobias bent down and gave me a bittersweet kiss before leaving me paralyzed. My eyes were still shut as I feared once I've opened them I couldn't be able to survive. I knew that one day what I was doing was going to bite me in the ass I just didn't expect it to be now and I didn't expect Tobias to leave me with an ultimatum. 

Everything Tobias said was right. He deserved to have somebody who loved him and only him. He deserved to have someone all to himself. It wasn't fair of me to keep him in this tight position. But it seemed cruel to break up with Julian now.

I now knew doing what is right and following your heart are two very different things and I was now suffering the consequences.

You wanted long chapters you got them. Poor Reign, she's is such a tough position. Who would've expected Tobias to make Reign choose? #PlotTwist lol

What do you think Reign is going to do?
What SHOULD she do?

Please comment/vote for this long & quick update! :)