Chapter 30

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Olivia

The pungent odor of disinfectant filled my nose as I inhaled. My entire body felt heavy, from my eyelids to my toes. I felt weighed down and sore as if an elephant had sat on me. A beeping noise grew more clear as my awareness came back to me with each second that passed. My eyes fluttered open only halfway despite my efforts to widen them fully. 

My head rolled to the side in what felt like slow motion. They'd given me some type of painkillers because although my body was weighed down, my mind felt as if it were floating. 

I blinked a few times in an attempt to clear my vision, noticing Jason standing in the large hospital window. Both his hands were tucked into the pockets of his navy pants, his shoulders rose and fell rhythmically as he breathed.

"Jason?" I called out to him, my hoarse voice hardly audible. But he heard me and spun around on his heels, hurrying over to me with concern written all over his face. His blue eyes held a world of hurt in them as he looked into my own, taking a seat on the bed beside me.

"Hey, sweetheart." He smiled, stroking my hair gently with his fingers. "I'm glad you're up."

My brows pulled together in agony as memories of the accident began to flash through my head as if I had a projector inside of it. Scenes from the accident flashed across it like a motion picture movie.

"C-Cassie..." I trailed off. "Is she-"

"She's alive," Jason assured me, cutting me off.

The sense of relief that washed over me was so calming, almost euphoric. 

"She's alive, but..." Jason continued, grabbing ahold of my hand and cupping it between his two much larger ones. "She's critical, Liv. She had to have surgery to fix her broken femur, and she had to have a procedure done to remove the built-up fluid on her brain. Her pelvis was also broken in that accident."

"Oh my god." I gasped as the short-lived relief washed away just as quickly as it had come. "W-what about her baby?"

"The baby's okay, miraculously," Jason stated, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Because of the state of her body, they don't know how long she'll be able to carry him for long...it probably won't be full-term, and she'll need a c-section."

"What? I-I mean, if he comes too soon, will he be able to make it?"

"We don't know, sweetheart, it depends on how soon he comes...they did say she'd have to carry him to at least 22 weeks to give him a fair shot. Anything less than that is almost certainly unsurvivable."

My heart sank to my stomach as the grave reality of the situation sank in. Cassie and the baby may be fine for now, but we could lose one or both of them at any moment.

"So she just...she just needs to keep fighting to carry him for three more weeks, right?"

Jason nodded his head, squeezing my hand. "Russ told me that's what the doctors were saying right now, and they're looking at delivering him at 22 weeks if she's not a lot better by then. Things could get better or worse...it just depends." 

"God, Jason, I can't take this." I cried out, sinking back into my pillow as I was unable to hold myself up anymore. "I can't."

Jason shifted to where he was fully on the bed beside me now, taking my body into his arms as the tears rushed from my eyes, leaving salty streaks stained on my cheeks.

"Shhh, you have to calm down, baby. You're not well either." He reminded me, pressing a gentle kiss to my temple.

I gripped onto the arm he wrapped around me, holding onto it as if it were keeping me afloat from drowning.

"I'm right here, okay? Calm down before your head starts hurting. You've got a pretty bad concussion yourself."

Bitting down on my bottom lip in an attempt to regain control of my emotions, I could feel my chest start the throb as I grew lightheaded from crying. Jason pulled me fully into his embrace, holding my head against his chest as he soothingly stroked my arm. 

My arm that I had just realized was in a sling.

He noticed my attention avert down to it, letting out a soft sigh. "You dislocated your shoulder, and they had to pop it back into place." He stated, knowing exactly what I was thinking. "They made you loopy when they did it because you were so hysterical...my poor baby."

"Well, I'm sure I wouldn't want any memory of that anyway." I sighed, resting my hand on his firm peck. "I wish I didn't have any memory of any of it."

Jason let out a deep breath as he laid his head on top of mine. Despite the circumstances, I couldn't deny the comfort being in his arms again brought me. Something about this man radiated almost a healing-like aura from his soul to mine. No one has ever been able to comfort me as he could.

"If I could trade places with you, I'd do it in a heartbeat, baby girl. I'm so sorry, Olivia."

I glanced up, peering into Jason's eyes and taking in the unmistakable sadness filling them. Yet, even in the dimly lit hospital room, they managed to glisten.

"I know, Jase..." I trailed off, burying my face into the crook of his neck. The familiar scent of spicy, musky cologne filled my nostrils and soothed my senses. "I'm happy you're here."

"Of course I'm here. I'm always going to be here, and you should know that."

"But I pushed you away, even after you kept apologizing."

"Yeah, for good reason." He stated, shaking his head. "None of that was your fault, Olivia. What happened between us the last two days I take full responsibility for."

"I won't argue with that," I whispered, earning a chuckle from Jason in response.

"I messed up..." He paused, lifting my head gently with his pointer finger so that I was looking directly into his eyes. "I messed up, and I'm sorry. Regardless of how I felt about the situation, I knew it was bothering you, so I should have reacted differently."

As I peered up into his oceanic eyes, I scanned them carefully, looking for any signs of insincerity but found nothing. I knew deep down that he didn't mean to come across the way that he had, but for some reason, it didn't tame the hurt that I felt watching him do it and then watching him shrug off the way I felt about it. It was now up to me to forgive or let him go, and I definitely wasn't going with the latter. 

"I forgive you." Jason's demeanor brightened as those words left my mouth. He leaned down, kissing my forehead softly. "I forgive you, but we do need to have a serious conversation about boundaries once all of this gets better...so that doesn't happen again."

"I agree 100%, sweetheart. I don't want us to ever be in the predicament where we aren't talking for days at a time."

"Me neither." I agreed, using my free hand to hold onto his and interlocking our fingers. "You get on my nerves sometimes...but I love you."

"I love you too, sweetheart, and I missed you like crazy."

"I missed you too, babe," I whispered, letting out a soft sigh.

Jason held me tighter, noticing my mood drift south once more as my emotions began to tank. I felt as if there was a suffocating weight on my chest waiting on news about Cass.

 Every time I tried to focus on the conversation with Jason, my mind would just drift. 

"You know what I missed the most?" He asked, snapping me out of my thoughts, tucking the loose strands of hair behind my ear.

"What, baby?"

"You sleeping basically underneath me every night even though the bed's big enough for us both to stretch out" He smirked, earning a light smack to the chest.

"You're just so warm and comfy...like a teddy bear." I laughed, pinching his cheek.

Jason swatted my hand away as we both laughed together. He was probably the only one who could get so much as a smile out of me. 

Before either of us could say anything else, there were a few light knocks at the door. A few moments later, it cracked open. My brows pulled together in confusion when Mariana made her way into the room, arms tucked behind her back as she nervously walked over to my bed.

"Mariana?" Jason questioned, sitting up straight in the bed. He seemed just as puzzled as I was.

"Hey, guys." She smiled softly. "I'm sorry about the accident and everything...uh-how are you?" She asked awkwardly, scratching the back of her head.

I looked over at Jason with questioning eyes before turning my attention back to her. "I'm okay, I guess..." I trailed off, watching as she sucked in a large breath.

"Good, that's good." She was twiddling her fingers nervously. "I uh, I just wanted to check on you....and also apologize."

"Apologize?" I questioned, cocking my head to the side.

"Yeah, to both of you." She motioned to Jason and me. "I just, I overheard you and Russ at the station this morning Jason...and I didn't intend to be disrespectful to your relationship at all."

"Well, you didn't know. That was my fault, so you don't have to apologize." Jason shook his head.

"No, I do, because I get where she's coming from, so I want to explain...I can be playful with my friends, and I felt like Jason and I were becoming friends...kind of." She continued.

My brows rose in response, waiting for her to continue. 

"I never meant for it to come across as more than that...because, for starters, Jason's not my type, nor is any man for that matter." She chuckled as Jason furrowed his brows. "I'm like...super gay. Like, I only date women." She clarified as Jason and I both exchanged a surprised look.

"Wait, what?" I asked, laughing in disbelief.

"Yup." Mariana smiled, holding her hands up. "I only like vagina."

"I mean, I knew nothing was going on between us, but you see that, Liv?!" Jason asked jokingly, to which I jabbed his ribs with my elbow.

"Oh, that doesn't mean you're getting out of the talk we're going to have," I stated warningly, watching as he rubbed his rib cage in pain.

"Not a talk." Mariana laughed, glancing between Jason and me.

"Oh yeah, his ass isn't out of hot water just yet."

"Good luck with that, Boyd." She grinned, walking over to me and offering a hug which I gladly accepted.

"Thank you for coming, Mariana, seriously," I smiled.

"Of course, see you guys soon...I'll keep your friend in my prayers."

"Thanks, Garcia. I'll see you next shift." Jason chuckled, still amused as she exited the room with a wave.

"Well, I was not expecting that."

"Yeah, me neither." He shrugged. "It's not like it mattered anyway...even if she was straight, I only have eyes for one woman."

"Oh yeah? Lucky woman." 

"No, lucky man." He whispered. The raspiness to his tone sent a shiver down my spine. 

I couldn't help but lower my gaze from his eyes to those perfectly plump, soft, pink lips of his. Without a second thought, I closed the gap between us, pressing my lips to his and melting upon impact. Jason's hands rested on either side of my head, cupping my cheeks carefully yet lovingly in his own. The world around us, chaos, and all seemed to just fall back into the distance. My heart raced as I felt him smile into the sweet kiss just before pulling back and staring lovingly into my eyes.

"I lied." He whispered, brushing his thumb across the surface of my burning hot cheek. The nerves in my face were so alive that with each sweep, I felt as if he were setting me on fire in the best way possible. "That's what I missed the most."

"Me too," I admitted breathlessly. "It felt like it was just you and me...I almost forgot about what was going on for a second." I sighed.

Jason tucked me back into his side, careful of my shoulder as he wrapped his strong arms around my small frame.

"Russ should be calling with news soon, sweetheart, good news hopefully."

"Well, when was the last time you heard anything?" I asked, gripping onto his t-shirt with a loose hold.

"About fifteen minutes before you woke up, so it's been about an hour now."

I rested my head on Jason's chest, trying to allow the sound of his heartbeat soothe me. He twisted my brunette hair strands between his fingers as we sat in silence.

The silence was short-lived, however, when another round of knocks was heard at the door. Jason straightened himself up once more as the door opened, and in walked Russ...a very exhausted, dreary-looking Russ.

His eyes were swollen as if he'd been crying for hours. I'd never seen a frown so deep on that man's face. He was always playful, happy. He now seemed void of every emotion except sadness. It radiated off of him and through the room like static. 

Anxiety raced through my entire being, watching as he slowly stepped toward us. Jason stood up from the bed and walked over to him, meeting him halfway. He instantly pulled Russ into a tight hug without a single word as he saw tears forming in his best friend's eyes. 

Russ broke down crying in Jason's arms as I'd never seen a grown man cry before. Jason held onto him tightly, supporting his weight as he crumbled, nearly falling to the floor. 

I wanted to scream, but I couldn't find my voice to do so. I could hardly breathe. What was wrong? What had gone so wrong that he couldn't even stand up straight? 

"S-she's-"

"She's what, buddy? Talk to me. I'm right here." Jason assured him, squeezing his shoulder.

I wasn't sure if I even wanted to hear what would come out of Russ's mouth next. My heart wouldn't be able to take it.

"She's in a medically induced coma now...her body was under so much stress from the surgery and the pregnancy that she was just starting to shut down."

"W-what?" I whispered, shaking my head. "A coma?"

Russ nodded his head, wiping tears from his eyes. "I mean, she was doing okay after surgery...but I mean not even half an hour after I got off the phone with Jase, shit hit the fan...her vitals crashed, and they had to intubate her and everything."

"Fuck." Jason sighed, shaking his head. "Well, what are they saying now?"

"Well, she's not doing a great job at keeping herself alive at this point. It's the machines doing all the work. They're going to see if putting her into an induced coma will take some of the stress off of her body so it can focus on healing, but the baby..." He trailed off, tears falling from his eyes once more. "If she doesn't get better soon, like really soon as in the next couple of days, they're going to have to deliver him...and he won't make it. If they don't deliver him, there's a chance neither of them will make it."

"A-are you serious?" I asked, my voice shaking as I tried to hold back with all my might from becoming hysterical.

He nodded his head, sitting at the foot of my hospital bed and resting his hand on my ankle. Jason sat beside me, pulling me into his arms, and that's when I lost it. The tears came in what felt like the amount of a waterfall. The sobs that tore through my body were so deep, so powerful that my entire body shook, paining my head and chest as I struggled to control them.

I could hear Jason whisper something to me, but I couldn't make out what he was saying at all. It was as if my ability to comprehend had vanished. The blood in my body felt as if it had gone ice cold. I was numb from the inside out.

"I'm going to have to choose Cassie if it comes down to it." He continued, composing himself enough to speak. "I'm not ready to make that kind of decision, to choose between my son and my girl, you know?... The doctors initially said she might be able to hold out a few more weeks, our son would be a preemie, but he'd have a chance at life. But that's changed now...Cassie won't make it for another three weeks. She might not even make it three days...Even if they do deliver the baby, there's no guarantee she'll get better." 

The tears kept falling as he spoke, but I nodded my head in agreement. She'll be heartbroken once she comes out of this, but at least she'd be alive. At least she'd be here with us.

Jason held me a little tighter in his arms, pressing a gentle kiss to my temple. "I don't think we'll lose her." He stated, shaking his head. "Cassie's one of the fiercest people I know. She's going to fight to be here with the ones she loves."

I rested my head on his shoulder, desperately wanting to find some sort of relief for the unbearable pain that was racing through my entire body at the thought of losing my best friend.

"She better not go anywhere," Russ muttered, wiping his tears. "That woman changed me. She changed everything about me for the better...I mean, who would have thought I'd be in a relationship with a baby on the way." He nearly chuckled through his tears.

Jason shot him a small smile, shrugging his shoulders. "I thought you'd be living the bachelor life forever."

"That was the plan." Russ agreed, a half-smile appearing on his face. "But Cassie walked into the Christmas party that night and threw about a million wild cards at me, and I'll gladly take them all. She's my soul-mate...and even though it was fast, I couldn't wait to have that baby with her and be a family. Deep down, I did want that."

"Well, don't say it in the past tense," Jason warned, grabbing onto his shoulder. "It's still going to happen, and she's going to heal, man. You just have to keep the faith. All of us do because she needs us fighting in her corner."

"I know." He sighed, rubbing his eyes. "I just have to keep the faith like you said...your positivity means a lot."

"That's what I'm here for," Jason assured him, standing up with Russ and pulling him into another embrace. "Go and be with her, talk to her, let her know you're there. It'll help."

Russ nodded his head as they pulled back from the hug. "I will...I'll let you guys know if anything changes...and Liv, I'm thinking about you too." He reminded me. "Take care of yourself and don't stress too much so you can heal. We can't have you on the decline too."

"I'm fine, Russ," I promised him, forcing a smile. It must have been the fakest smile I'd ever put on in my life. "Just please take good care of my best friend, watch her for me. Make sure she doesn't feel alone and tell her I love her so much." I begged.

"I will, Liv, I promise." And without another word, Russ walked out of my room and into the hall.

The large wooden door closing sounded more like a slam to me as my senses seemed to be heightened from anxiety. Jason sat beside me on the bed once more. One look into my eyes, and he could tell that I was completely broken. He didn't say a word to me. Instead, he pulled me into his comforting embrace, wrapping his arms carefully around my body and holding me as crippling sobs writhed through my fragile body. 

It wasn't until one of my nurses came into the room to administer more pain medication half an hour later I was finally able to get myself under control. But that was only because the medication made me extremely drowsy, and I no longer had an ounce of strength left to cry.

All I could do at this point was give in to the medication and drift off into a slumber as Jason held me close. 



A/N: Had some unexpected free time to edit, so here's chapter 30! 

Poor Cassie, she's hanging in there for now...and the Mariana drama, lol I guess Jason wasn't up to no good after all. 

As always, thank y'all for reading, voting, and leaving comments on Trust Me! I originally started writing this story in 2017 and abandoned it while I was an undergrad student because life got hectic. I never imagined anyone would end up reading Trust Me after

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