This Wreck That You Call Your Life

"Say anything," Chase insisted, "preferably tell me that you don't hate me."

"How could I hate you?" Alex asked, his eyes wide, "I would never hate you, you should hate me, I'm the one who treated you so horribly. Chase, you were the only thing I could dream about while I was in that comma; you were like my conscious, you guided me through it."

She blinked, causing the few tears in her eyes to fall onto their intertwined fingers, "Really?"

"Yeah, just don't leave me this time, and I promise to never ever leave you. I love you, and I mean it; I feel no shame saying it in front of my family."

"I love you too," she said rubbing his hand, "but I think we need to rebuild our trust between one another. We've both done some things, and we need to find an adult way to over look it so it doesn't nab us later on."

"I agree," he looked down at his casts then at his parents, "how much longer do I have to be in here?"

Chase pulled up a chair and sat down, making herself invisible as he talked to his parents. She had gotten what she wanted, so now she had to share his attention, he wasn't all hers.

"They haven't said, they probably have to run some tests," Mr Gaskarth said.

Ace looked down when Alex's face turned toward him, he stood still in the silence not knowing what to say. He felt his father nudge him, so he looked up, Alex was still looking at him.

"I'm sorry I didn't hit the brakes soon enough."

"I was distracting you," Alex said, "I don't blame you for anything."

"But it's all my fault."

"See, even he says it isn't, stop blaming yourself," Mrs Gaskarth said shaking her head at her eldest son, "this was just an accident."

Alex sighed, "But it got Chase back in my arms," he looked at her and smiled, "did you move back to Baltimore?"

She shook her head, "My mom convinced me that she changed, so I came back because of her hook line of you being in the hospital. When I got there, Jacen answered the door, they're together," she scrunched up her nose, "sick, I know. But I am still living with my dad."

"Stay here, please."

"I'm a burden here, I shouldn't push myself on your family. Let me go back to my dad and work, when I get enough money I'll move out here."

"Chase, stay, they won't mind," he persisted.

"We don't," Mr Gaskarth said, "you've always been welcome in our house hold."

"I need to spend time with my father, otherwise it will look like I used him," she said sitting back in her chair, "I'll stay for another week, but I do have to get back."

Alex sighed, "I'll take what I can get."