CHAPTER THIRTY THREE: WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?

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"morning, darlin," jj whispered to the girl who's head was nestled in the crook of his neck. "elsie?" still no answer. it had to be close to noon; the two went to sleep right before the sun rose. figuring that she was just in a deep sleep, he moved her head carefully so it was on a pillow instead. while his hand made contact with her forehead, he took notice of how hot she was.

"goddamn, elsie! you're burning up!" jj was caught off guard as his girlfriend remained asleep. "you're pretty pale too."

making his way to the bathroom, he found a bottle of advil so elsie had something to take.

"alright pretty girl, got something for you," he spoke, basically to himself, the pills and a water bottle in hand. making his way to the bed, he shook the girl, but she still was not responding to him. he pressed the back of his hand to her chest, near her heart. much to his surprise, her heart rate was dangerously slow.

"fuck, fuck," jj muttered, going to shake the girl once again as he began to panic. he went to grab her phone, but then he remembered; no power. goddamnit. he took elsie into his arms which was quite easy, considering how tiny she was. fortunately, elsie's aunt's car was there since she had taken a flight and had her niece drive her to the airport. jj carefully buckled the brunette girl into the passenger's seat.

now was jj technically able to drive? no. he never had a guardian that could and would willingly go with him. but, at a time like this, that thought didn't even cross his mind. jj would often drive anyway, and nobody seemed alarmed or even noticed.

another thing that hadn't crossed his mind was the fact that his best friend had died. it still didn't seem fully real. it felt like john b just had went somewhere; almost as if he wasn't dead.

one thing that did come to mind for jj though was kie and pope. they couldn't handle another heartbreak, or burden. he'd talk to them later, that way the two could spend some much-needed time with each of their families.

after about five minutes of jj going way over the speed limit, the blonde pulled into the hospital's emergency room parking lot. once again, he held elsie in his arms as he ran into the busy building.

"s-she's barely breathing, goddamnit," he huffed, his heart beating out of his chest. with those few words, many doctors swarmed around, taking elsie right out of the blonde's arms. in that moment, he knew that he needed someone with him; he couldn't take the pain alone. but who was he to call?

one of the workers lead the boy to a phone. he knew deep down that kie would answer and be there for him, no matter what the circumstances were.

"hello, who is this?" the girl's voice finally spoke quietly after about 5 rings.

"kie, it's jj," he replied as calmly as he could. he didn't want her to freak out.

"jj, how are you-"

"it's elsie," jj interrupted her, causing the other end to go silent. "we're at the hospital. i'm sorry i called, i just needed someone to talk to and-"

"j, you don't need to apologize. what happened, do you need someone there?" she finally responded.

"if it's not a problem, kie. i know how things are right now to begin with-"

"shhh," her tone shifted, "let's not talk about it just yet, alright? i'll be over soon."

before he got the chance to reply, she had already ended the call. the doctors had informed him that they needed to get elsie stable, and that he needed to wait in the waiting room. so there he sat, his leg bouncing a mile a minute, which was something that usually didn't happen to him.

"jj," a voice said from in front of him.

instantly, the blonde hugged kiara, thankful that she had shown up. "what the hell is going on?" she asked, pulling away.

"i-i don't know. i woke up and she was unresponsive and barely breathing. this shit just can't be real."

"jj, she'll be alright, okay?" kiara assured the boy before taking a seat in one of the chairs.

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after what seemed to be ages, the doctor finally came out to the waiting area. at this point, kie had to go pick up a shift at the wreck, so it was just the maybank boy again.

"she's not awake yet, but you can see her," the doctor explained, leading the eager boy to the hospital room his girlfriend was staying in. "you're elizabeth's boyfriend, yes?"

"yes, but if i were you, when you talk to her, call her elsie instead. she despises her actual name. bad memories, it upsets her," jj spoke as the doctor nodded, remembering that for later. the last thing he'd want to do is cause her distress. that wasn't what he was there for.

the doctor opened the door, revealing the unconscious girl hooked up to numerous machines and tubes, with i.v's prodded all over her arms. jj cringed at the sight, it was very unsettling for him.

"so, uh doc. what exactly is wrong?" jj eyed him, before focusing his attention on the brunette girl.

"i'm sorry son. but since you're not family, i need to wait for the patient to give me consent to tell you medical information."

in any other scenario, jj would argue his way to get the information out of him, but it seemed illogical to cause a scene. it'd only get him thrown out, or even worse, unable to see her all together.

"you're more than welcome to sit with her. she is expected to wake up soon. if anything happens, just press this button," the doctor pointed to a large button labeled emergency on a remote resting on the sliding table next to the bed. he nodded before the middle-aged man walked out of the room.

jj pulled up a chair, unsure of how to occupy himself.

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it had to be nearly a half-hour of the blonde sitting there, observing the different posters on the walls, or the medical supplies scattered around. looking at the clock over the door, it read 4:08. jj had been there for many hours.

he rested his head on the edge of the bed, completely bored out of his mind.

"jj?" a small whisper escaped elsie's lips, causing jj to sit up instantly.

his mouth turned upward into a smile, "angel, you're up."

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THANK YOU ALL FOR ALL THE ACTIVITY! just a reminder, i am constantly working on other stories as well so keep your eyes peeled if you wanttt :))

ally

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