“Chace Carson?”

            With a snort, I jolted up into a sitting position on the bench I’d been napping on, startled by the voice. I blinked my bleary eyes, hoping to clear the haziness. After a few short moments they focused and I saw an elderly nurse with gray hair and kind eyes staring down at me with a worried expression on her face. “That’s uh…” I cleared my throat. “That’s me.”

            “Your father is here. At the front entrance. Would you like to go down and see him or do you want me to bring him up—”

            Shoving myself off the bench, I nearly knocked her down in my haste to get down to the lobby. “I’ll go!”

            “Don’t run!”

            Ignoring her warning, I flat out sprinted to the staircase, too impatient to wait for the elevator. My heart hammered in my chest as I raced down the three flights of stairs to the main level. A few visitors heading up gave me crazy looks as I raced by them. I didn’t blame them. To them, I probably seemed like a raving maniac. Not only hadn’t I showered in three days, but I hadn’t slept much either. But it wasn’t like I could sleep. And after day, like I could ever sleep again…

            Coming to the lobby, I slowed into a trot, keeping my eyes peeled for my dad. My pulse began to return to its current normal state l— lately it’d been racing almost none stop. I was afraid it’d never be the usual normal again.

            “Chace?”

            Whipping around, I came face-to-face with my father. And for once in my life, I couldn’t be happier to see him. His curly hair and green eyes that were a spitting image of mine. Usually I cringed at seeing the resemblance, but not now. “Dad!” I cried, flinging myself onto him. “Dad!”

            “It’s okay,” he cooed, rubbing my back. “It’s okay.”

            Tears streamed down my face as I clung to him for dear life. “Dad, dad, it’s all my fault! It’s my fault!”

            “Chace, hold on. Wait. There’s a lot of people around. Let’s go somewhere a little more private.”

            Struggling to hold myself together, I nodded in agreement. Might as well go somewhere secluded so I wouldn’t freak out everyone around me. “Okay.”

            “Ah, nurse can we…?”

            “Right away,” a feminine voice responded. “I’m glad to see he finally has somewhere here to talk to. He wouldn’t respond to any of us…”

            My father gave me a stern look, but I just clenched my jaw. Who’d want to talk to these people? All they could do was offer indifferent sympathy and condolences. They didn’t know what I was going through. They didn’t note what Rosie went through… A shot of pain went through my heart at the thought of her. “Dad,” I tried again, my voice breaking.

            “Hold on Chace,” he said, squeezing my shoulders reassuringly.

            The nurse frowned at me, her amber eyes pitying. “Right this way.”

            Five minutes later, we were sitting in a vacant hospital ward; me on the bed and my father on a chair not even a foot away. His gaze held concern and he reached out and put a hand on my knee. “How are you doing?”

            “Not good,” I responded quietly, clamping my teeth together to keep my jaw from trembling. “Rosie…”

            “She’s the one you brought to my dinner party, right?”

            I nodded. “That’s her.”

            “What happened?”

            “It’s all my fault,” I whispered, clenching my hands so tightly my nails dug painfully into the flesh of my palm. “Her headache… I shouldn’t have let her go. She was shaken. It was raining. I knew it was raining. I’m so stupid. I can’t believe myself…”

            “Chace.”

            Surprised at my father’s hard voice, I glanced up at him. “What?”

            “I don’t want to hear you have a pity party for yourself—”

            My anger flared up at once. Jumping to my feet, I glared down at him furiously. “You think this is a pity party? What the hell? What are you on? I’m not fricking—”

            He moved his hand to my shoulder and squeezed, slowly pushing me back down into a sitting position. Letting out a sigh, he removed his hand. “Sorry, that came out wrong. Instead of making excuses, just tell me what happened.”

            “Okay,” I agreed, swallowing my anger. Apparently I needed sleep. Normally I’d have more control over my emotions… and not act like an immature child. Grimacing, I lowered my head. “Well, to start with Noah told Rosie I tried to commit suicide. Remind me I have to punch him for that.”

            My dad half-smiled, crinkles appearing in the corner of his eyes. “What does that matter?”

            “I was actually, um, lying to her about the whole situation. I told her one of my friends attempted suicide, not me. And I told her Mom was alive.”

            The smile disappeared at once. A look of pain briefly flashed across his face, but the moment I blinked, it was gone. “Oh.”

            “Yeah, so she found out I was lying and tried to call me out on it. But I kept lying. And she got angry and left.”

            “Was this when the accident happened?”

            I shook my head, making a face. “No, she made it back safely that time. About two hours later she came back over. Walked in on me in the tub, actually.”

            A soft chuckle left his lips. “Didn’t I tell you to lock the door when I’m not home?”

            “Well, you’re never home, so I figured it didn’t matter anymore.”

            “Chace.”

            Holding up my hand, I sighed. “No, I don’t want to argue with you. Let me finish my story. So she came over, and I confessed everything. Which of course, didn’t go over smoothly.” I laughed dryly. “I mean, who would take their boyfriend lying about their mother’s death and their attempted suicide calmly? I sure wouldn’t. I don’t know. I was half-expecting her to run away, I guess.”

            “But she didn’t?”

            “No,” I responded, smiling lightly. “This is Rosie after all. She’s different… in an amazing way. But…” Feeling the lump in my throat growing more pronounced, I swallowed. “I… I guess I said something. I don’t really know. She just suddenly decided she wanted to leave. I knew something was wrong. Then she got a headache— she sometimes has these awful headaches. Like migraines… I shouldn’t have let her walk out the door. It was raining. She was in no condition to drive. But she only lives down the street. I didn’t think… I didn’t think…” My voice broke at this point and I quickly shut my mouth, my eyes burning.

            “Don’t blame yourself—”

            “Don’t blame myself?” I echoed, my whole body tensing. “You don’t understand! This is all my fault! Rosie’s now… Rosie’s… it’s my fault! Just like it’s my fault how Mom died! How can I live with myself? With two deaths on my hands?”

            Suddenly my dad slapped me. Hard.

            My eyes shot open. “What the f—”

            “Don’t you ever say that,” he interjected in a rough voice. “Your mother’s death was not your fault.”

            I stared at him, slack-jawed. “What…?”

            “Your mother’s death was not your fault,” he repeated firmly. “Why would you ever think that, Chace?”

            “Because you act like it is!”

            “How?”

            “Like an asshole!”

            He scoffed. “And that gives you basis to blame yourself for Susan’s death? Chace, you’re more of an idiot than I thought you were.”

            “What?” I started in outrage. “Idiot?”

            “I don’t blame you for anything. Not your mother’s death. Not our divorce. Nothing. It’s not like you made us fall out of love. It’s not like you gave her leukemia, Chace.”

            His response through me off guard. “But you acted…”

            “Like a person who not only had to go through the stress of having a divorce, moving across the country, starting a new job, having his ex-wife die, and then having his son try to commit suicide? I’m sorry my actions aren’t justified, Chace,” he snapped back at me. “Don’t you know how I felt?”

            My mouth went dry. “I…”

            “Do you know how hard it is to think your son attempted suicide because of you?”

            “I didn’t do it because of you,” I told him. “Well, not completely because of you.”

            “Don’t you think it would have been easier just to talk to me about it?” he demanded. “You wouldn’t have broke your spine. It’d be a lot less painful, for once thing.”

            It’d never occurred to me that my father might have thought my attempted suicide was because of him. What kind of son was I? No, what kind of person was I? No one should have to think they caused someone else to want to end their life. “I was really stupid,” I said softly. “I’m sorry.”

            “You should be. That was a lot of emotional damage for not only you and me, but for your friends and everyone around you. Like Noah.”

            I swallowed again. “But don’t you hate me…?”

            He stared at me like I was crazy. “Hate…? If I hated you, would I have left my very important meeting to drive two and a half hours down here just because you called and asked me to? I don’t think so. I know I’m not the best father, Chace, but I’m still a father and I still care about my little boy.”

            “But…”

            “I thought by giving you space away from me, you’d like me more. I didn’t know it was making you feel just the opposite,” he confessed, running a hand through his hair. “Shit, Chace. You should have said something.”

            My eyes starting watering again, but I blinked them back. “I…”

            “Who knew it’d take another accident to make us realize that? I guess Rosie did some good.”

            “This isn’t worth her life!” I nearly shouted.

            My dad jumped, surprised by my sudden outburst. “Chace, that’s not what I meant—”

            “I… I’m sorry,” I apologized stiffly, cringing in embarrassment. “I haven’t slept much.”

            “Guess that explains why you’re acting like girl,” he retorted, crossing his arms. “Since when do you cry so much?”

            “I don’t know. Since my girlfriend died?”

            “Chace, she’s not dead.”

            I shook my head. “She will be. You haven’t heard what the doctor’s said. You haven’t seen her parents’ faces…”

            “Jesus Christ, Chace. Have a little faith.”

            “How can I? I don’t exactly have the best luck!”

            “Well you owe Rosie that!” he said roughly. “How would you feel if she gave up on you, Chace? Huh?”

            Clenching my fist, I glared at the ground. “It’s different…”

            “It’s not. Have a little trust in her. She’ll pull through.”

            “Trust,” I repeated, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. Trust who? My father wasn’t making any sense. There was no one to trust. The doctor’s did all they could do. Now it was just torturous waiting.

            “Why did you call me down here?” he asked, changing the subject. “There was a reason, right?”

            I dropped my gaze, abruptly feeling sheepish. My reason felt a little insignificant at the moment. “I wanted to ask you for a favor…”

            “What’s that?”

            “Whatever Rosie’s insurance doesn’t cover… Can we pay for that? And by we, I mean, I’m going to need some help from you probably.”

            After a moment of staring at me with no expression, a smile finally spread across his face. “You know, I’d be angry at you for thinking this is your fault again, but I’m proud that you actually thought of something like that.”

            My hopes jumped. “So you’ll help?”

            “Of course. Rosie’s a doll. I’ll help her in any way. I mean, she liked my dress so much… In fact, I have something for her in my car. I figured she’d be awake by now.”

            “She…”

            “She’ll wake up, Chace,” he assured me. “And then you can say whatever you need to say to her in order for you to stop holding yourself accountable for all this.”

            His confidence reassured me. “You think?”

            “I know.”

            “Thanks, Dad… You know, I—”

            “Ah, ah, ah. Don’t get all mawkish on me now. We just resolved our differences, didn’t we? We’re not that close yet.”

            Despite his words, he was grinning. I grinned back at him. “Oh, yeah. Right… Asshole.”

            “Now you watch that mouth of yours, or I’ll wash it out with soap.”

            I rolled my eyes. “Come on, let’s just go see Rosie.”

            “Why don’t you go wait in her room while I run to McDonald’s and pick up a large fry, a southern style chicken sandwich, and a chocolate shake for you?”

             “Dad, I liked that when I was like, ten.”

            “And you still like it.”

            I struggled to keep my charade, but my face finally gave me away. “Yeah, I do. Thanks. I hate this hospital food.”

            He nodded. “I can tell. You must have lost three pounds since the last time I saw you.”

            “Uh…” Speechless, I watched as he waved once and left me alone in the room. Maybe he paid more attention to me than I originally though. Laughing once, I exited the room after him. “Weird father…”

            Rosie’s ward was empty when I emptied it, her parents already retired for the night. It’d taken a lot of convincing, but I’d managed to persuade them into sleeping in their own houses in comfortable beds for the night. The cots the hospital provided really took a toll on one’s back. Holding my breath, I dragged the wooden chair from the corner of the room, next to Rosie’s bed and collapsed into it.

            “Hey, Rosie,” I greeted her motionless and lifeless form.

            Part of me expected a response from her and that part was disappointed when none came.

            Grief tugged at my heart, but I shook my head, clearing it away. My father was right. I had to believe she’d be okay. If I did, maybe she’d make it. Swallowing, my hand sought out hers and I held it tightly. “Please wake up, Rosie…”

            The steady beat of the heart rate machine was the only answer I received. Breathing out lightly, I brought my free hand up to her forehead and pushed her matted red hair off of it. The tightly wrapped bandage that encased the top of her forehead was uncloaked by this moment. My face contorted into a grimace as I noted the reddish stain on it. Head trauma had been mentioned, but I hadn’t caught to what agree. A horrible feeling washed over me. What if she lost her memory? What would happen then? Would she forget about me? Her family? The accident? The thought was awful…

            “No,” I stated aloud. “That won’t happen.” There was no way that would happen. I needed to stop being so damn depressive! My hand trailed to the soft skin just below the bandage. Slowly, I leaned forward and pressed my lips to it. “Sorry, Rosie. I’ll be a bit more positive from here on out.”

            As expected, silence was her reply.

            “Hey, I…” Taking a deep breath, I cupped her bruised cheek in my hand. “I actually have one more confession to make…”

            Just then, her heart monitor started beeping frantically. For a moment I stared at it, unsure of what was happening. Then I remembered that was never a good sign. My heart dropped into my gut as a sense of dread washed over me. Wasting no time, I pressed the nurse button repeatedly. “Help!” I shouted. “I need help in here! Help! Someone help!”

            Not even five seconds later, a doctor burst into the room. “Get out of the way,” he ordered. “Wait outside.”

            “No!” I cried. “I’m staying in here!”

            Two more doctors and a nurse came racing into the room. After taking one glance at me, the blonde nurse grabbed my shoulders and steered me into the hall. “I’m sorry, you have to wait in here.”

            “That’s my girlfriend!”

            “Stay out here,” she ordered before disappearing back into the room.

            I stared after her, my heart pounding furiously. “Rosie… Rosie! Rosie!” 

_________________________ 

Here's a Chace POV a few of you guys wanted :D 

Oh, I'm sorry. Did I end another chapter with a cliffhanger? Whoops, my bad ;) Hope you guys don't mind. Hehehe... I'm such an awful person xD But at least I updated, right? :D Anyway, you guys should vote! Since only a minuscule portion of you actually do... generally 800 out of the 18,000 of you who actually read this :P Not sure when the next update will be. My dad's home and now I have to act like a dog and do everything for him. He's really milking it. Make me this, do this for me, drive me here, go pick this up. My life's fun right now :P Oh, and I'm still trying to catch up with Supernatural. Good news is I'm now on the first episode of season 3 :D God, I love Sam and Dean's bromance... 

And, like usual, I'm going to request you all go vote "A Surreptitious Relationship" in the Watty Awards if you think my writing deserves to win! You guys are all amazing :) And remember, if you use the mobile device you can vote too! All you have to do is open your regular browser and use the site, not the app. It really means a lot, so please do! :D Thank you! The link to the voting website is in the external link :)