CHAPTER NINE : TOO LATE

JACK'S POV

Yesterday had been the best day, from Elle being mad at him for trying to stop her from dating Andrew, to how he ended up at her house and had the best thing happen to them. I cant stop thinking about her lips, her body on mine and how she felt in my arms as am driving to work.

It had made my heart ache seeing her with Andrew on a date, i have never felt that kind of jealousy before it my life, its crazy, Andrew is a nice guy but Elle has always been mine in a way and i don’t know but it felt like i was losing her to another man.

She has always had my heart from the moment i met her when i became friends with her Brother Luca but its not been easy, she drives me crazy but we were best friends first all of us, its insane that i actually told her to not date Andrew when i have a girl am going out with too and have always dated other girls. But the thing is he had never loved any girl he has been with, it had been a defence mechanism all this time.

I have always wanted her growing up but it’s complicated with our friendship dynamic and Luca would have thought i am sick in the head, when she and Claire went to College i felt like i was freed from the feelings i harboured for her but when she came back everything started all over again.

I had tried moving on from her by getting on with other girls but i love this girl so much it hurts , she just thinks me as her best friend and having to pretend to be just a best Friend is not enough, now with Elena this was my last chance to try move past this girl and maybe i could learn to love Elena it would be easier.

we are grown up now this is very childish, i am a man now i have everything i could want except one thing my heart really wants its always ate at my heart.

I know she has been staying out of my way, i thought it would be kind of good for me too to get to know Elena and maybe seeing her less would be better but my heart and soul have been wanting her near me, am too grown up to be acting as a teenager.

I love Her, but i don’t know if she could feel the same way about me other than the best friend or brother she loves, i hide it from Luca i don't even know how he would feel about me having those kind of feelings for his Little sister, since we were boys he said his friends should stay away from his two sisters.

So i planned to move on and talking to Elena had been because i wanted someone to replace Elle in my heart, Elena is a good woman and if i could love her it would mean am capable of moving on from Elle.

I know Elle she has been disappointed the last few months when i introduced Elena and her seeing that am not being her best friend made me feel bad but i have to see if i could work out with Elena and Love her.

But seeing her with Andrew made me want to smash something i cant just move on and the last two months have been a waste because i do like Elena but i don't love for her and i need to talk to her after work and let her go before she gets hurt and can never forgive me.

Am going to have to swallow my pride sooner or later and just tell Elle how i feel no matter the consequences but if she doesn't have it in her to love me like that back then that is going to destroy me, i also have to think about our friendship that could end too and Luca could hate me and also her family, so much to think about but i cant let Andrew take her from me.i have to tell her how much i love her with my whole soul.

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ELLE’S POV

Waking up after the drama and amazing night between me and Jack even though he left without waking me up i still felt happy.

Am just a bit confused, he does not want me like that but he was not happy with me dating,? saying i should not date Andrew?, while he can get girlfriends when he wants to and i have never said anything to stop him.

It’s confusing, did he kiss me because he wanted me in that way or because men and women kiss if they are in a situation like that. Are we still best friends.

As i think i also get ready for work and when i get there I hope Andrew is busy today i really don't want to see him right away i will feel bad, so when i learn that there is work to be done in the city from the work messages on my phone i volunteer to go so that i can get a breather and think.

They give me a driver so its me and another girl who works in my department who will go and be a representative on what we are trying to do.

We get ready and start off, its a forty minute drive to get to the big city where we are supposed to have our meeting.

We arrive there after our drive and get busy doing what we went there for, we got busy during the whole day, its very crowdy in New york city i prefer our small town where its peaceful, We then get lunch after everything before starting our journey back. We are all exhausted truly.

Am sitting in the back of the car thinking and going through the notes of all the things we talked about in the meetings so that i report everything to Luca tomorrow at work when all of a sudden i see a car move towards us fast and it hits us hard from the side and it all happens so fast the next minute i was fine and sitting in my seat and then the next moment something hits us hard it knocks the breath out of me and everywhere in my body felt like pins and needles and the pain is something i have never felt in my life.

I feel myself about to black out and it's actually true your life actually does flash before your eyes when you feel like you are dying.

I literally see flashes of my whole life before my eyes in seconds it all hits me hard all at once, i never told Jack i loved him, will i go to heaven, my parents will hurt if i die, i never got married, i never had babies,i will never see my brother and best friend get married, i will die a virgin, will they cry for me and how long will it take them to move on after am gone and the last face i see in my head is Jack!

And the regret of everything i never got to do in my life. And then it felt like the end for me, i just felt like this was death and then everything went black.

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THIRD PERSON'S POV

The whole family is gathered in the hospitals corridor, the Mother has been crying since the moment she got here and the Father looks broken but he is trying to be strong for his family.

The Brother is holding his girlfriend and Sister who also have been shedding tears non stop, then there is Jack's Family who are also here to support their close friends,they understand the gravity of the situation and its very heartbreaking.

Then there is Jack who looks like he has lost his mind, his hair is in disarray from him touching it too much , his grey eyes have lost all its color and he looks like he has just lost his soul. He keeps staring at nothing , he hasn't said a word the whole time they have been here he is even trying to be strong but everybody looking at him can see something is wrong and he is broken too.

All of the sudden the doors to the surgery room open and the Doctors come out and one of them comes to the Family.

" The Miller Family"?he asks looking at all of them. " We managed to do everything we could and we hoped to give you good news that she is stable but as of right now she has slipped into a Coma and we might not know when or if she will ever be able to wake up, Am so sorry, we are putting her in a room right now to observe her during this time if there are going to be any changes.

The faces around looked heartbreaking. " is there anything that can be done? Anything?" Jack asked the doctor in the most absolute heartbreaking voice ever.

" there is only so much that could have been done and we did it all and now we wait and hope that she is a fighter". The doctor replies.

Jack went back to sitting and had his face in his hands. the mother and father held each others hands and you could see they were praying silently for their daughter.

" The nurses have set up her room and when we get her settled you can come see her and please try to be positive and you can even try to speak to her and it might be another way of bringing her back to consciousness.

“It might take weeks, months, years or she might never .. umm, anyway we will put her in room 117." The doctor explains then goes away.

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JACK' S POV

He couldn’t handle this much pain, This cannot be happening. When i got the call from Luca to rush to the hospital because Elle had met with an accident the shock i felt was unreal, i prayed to God to please let her survive i would do anything.

If they need me to donate anything in my body, blood transfusion, my kidneys or lungs or whatever i am ready to do it all but please God let her live so i can tell her how much i have loved her, Am i too late,?

When we got to the hospital we got to learn that the driver hit his head and had a concussion but he would be fine and the girl who was with her was also lucky enough she did not get any bad injuries and could even be dismissed to go home, Only Elle had suffered a bad hit and she had lost a lot of blood and she had also hit her head and it had caused an injury to the brain which had led to her falling into a coma.

Could the Lord be punishing me for taking my time with her for granted, for being afraid and now he is taking her away from me ,? I need her to live i don't know what am going to do but i need her to be alive, i know she is strong and she will wake up there is just no other way.

After waiting for them to put her in a room we were allowed to go in but not all of us at once so her parents went in first they had to, mrs Miller has been crying for too long she needed to see her daughter.

Then group after group of people went in and i just sat there, i did not even notice how much time went by with me just being anxious and sitting there until Luca patted my shoulder

Luca sat beside me, staring blankly at the hospital room where Elle was. Luca placed a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"Dude, what is going on?" Luca asked softly. "You’ve been a mess since We arrived. I know you are hurting, but it's more than that, isn't it?"

Jack sighed, running his hands through his already messy hair. "I don't know what to say, Luca."

Luca's eyes narrowed slightly. "Don't play dumb with me, Jack. I've known you for years. I've seen the way you look at Elle when you think no one's watching. I' have seen the way you've always looked out for her."

Jack's eyes dropped, and he shook his head. "You don't understand, Luca”..

"Try me," Luca said gently to him.

Jack took a deep breath before speaking in a barely audible whisper, "I love her, Luca. I have loved her for a long time. I was too afraid to tell her, and now….now it might be too late."

Luca's expression softened, and he nodded understandingly. "I suspected as much, You two have always had a special bond. I'm not surprised you'd develop feelings for my sister over the years."

Jack looked up at Luca, searching for anger or resentment, but found none. "You're not mad at me?".

Luca shrugged. "I'm more concerned about you right now. You need to tell her how you feel, Jack. Even if it's just to get it off your chest. You never know what might happen."

Jack nodded. "You're right. I need to tell her."

Luca placed a reassuring hand on Jack's shoulder. "I'll be here for you, no matter what happens."

And then i got up and went into the room. And on that bed slept my Elle the only thing keeping her alive were the beeping machines attached to her and it pained me to the bone to see her in that state i would rather it be me than her.

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