Make You Feel My Love

“Oh God!” the brunette hissed, listening to the sound of her shoulders cracking, as she moved them slowly.

“Be careful, Dr Perez!” a nurse named Martha said from the door entrance.

“Martha, please,” Jade pressed out, before she lowered her shoulders. “Call me Jade.”

“You’re doing progress!” Michelle chuckled from the door entrance, watching as Jade sat down on the bed again with an ice pack pressed against her ribs.

“I’m trying my best,” Jade smiled, before she went back to sit on the edge of her bed. “It still hurts a lot.” she sighed.

“Do you want more ibuprofen?” Martha offered, watching as her co-worker settled herself in an upright position in the bed.

“No, I’m fine, thank you. If I pop more pills now, I might die.” Jade said jokingly.

“How are you doing, sugar?” Michelle walked over and sat down on the edge of her bed, glancing at the brunette, whose bruises had finally started to fade.

“Well, I haven’t washed my hair properly in a week and I still look like a zombie,” Jade mumbled. “But besides that, I’m getting better.”

“That wasn’t exactly what I was referring to, Jade.” Michelle told her, searching for her hand.

Michelle looked at Jade’s bare arms, noticing her bruised skin. Some of them were turning yellow, meanwhile others remained quite ugly.

“It takes about six weeks to heal a fractured rib,” Jade told her, showing off her knowledge. “I just have five weeks to go, and then I’ll be back to my normal life.”

“Well, not exactly,” Michelle murmured. “I know Will took off.” she said.

Jade avoided her eyes and instead started staring at the window. “I don’t care.” she stated.

“Jade….” Michelle sighed. “I’ve known you for way too long to buy that cheap ass attitude,” she told her. “You’ve been through a lot. You don’t have to hide it. You’re allowed to be vulnerable and hurt.”

“But I’m not hurt, aside from the fact that I’m still chained to this bed!” the brunette insisted. “I just want to get on with my life.”

“He was a part of your life, Jade.”

“Well, not anymore. I’m gonna be just fine without him, Michy. I’m an independent woman and all that jazz.”

“I know you are, honey,” Michelle whispered, lacing their fingers together. “The guys have been asking about you,” she told her. “I think they really miss you.”

“They do?” Jade looked confused.

She had been utterly mortified after Michelle’s wedding, convinced that everyone hated her and that they would never speak to her again. The anger that haunted Valary’s eyes was still fresh in Jade’s memory, and she couldn’t blame her either. The pain she had brought on Michelle, on what was supposed to be her happiest day, was unforgivable.

“Sweetie,” Michelle pulled back a stray of hair from Jade’s face. “They wanted to see you, but they’ve been unsure how to do so after all that’s happened.” she told her friend.

“Even Val?” Jade failed to hide her curiosity, and Michelle giggled at how adorable she was.

“Even Val.” Michelle confirmed.

“Look, Michelle,” Jade started, and the other brunette was bracing herself for what was to come. She had stopped Brian when he tried to apologize, but with Jade, she was still so unsure. She had been her best friend and the last days had nearly convinced Michelle that things were about to heal again.

“I know you don’t wanna hear this, but please just hear me out. I’m chained to this bed and there’s literally no way I can run after you, so if I’m bugging the hell out of you, you can leave with the satisfaction that I won’t be able to chase after you.” Jade told her friend.

“I’m so extremely sorry about what happened between us. You’ve been the most important person in my life since we met in high school, and I never really told you how much joy you’ve brought into my life. I know there’s nothing that can ever excuse what I did to you, but please know that I’m so terribly sorry for everything. I never wanted to take him away from you. I haven’t liked him in years.”

Michelle sighed. The memory of her wedding-day was still fresh in her mind. She remembered staring down at her Vera Wang-dress, completely astonished and filled with joy as her hands had touched upon the pearls that decorated the white mermaid dress.

Hours after that, when she was supposed to walk down the aisle hand in hand with her husband, she had been crying in the bed she shared with Brian, not believing how stupid she had been.

“I appreciate your apology.” the hazel brunette said from the end of the bed, chewing on her lips.

Michelle had no idea how to handle all of this. The wound the two of them had made inside of her was still there, and she would be lying if she said it didn’t upset her to know that she had been ready to marry Brian.

“You don’t need to forgive me,” Jade told her friend. “I wouldn’t.”

“I know I don’t have to,” Michelle smiled at the woman. “I guess this whole situation is just really weird.” she confessed, pushing a stray of hair out of her face.

“Tell me about it...” Jade sighed. “This is not how I wanted to start talking to you again.” she confessed.

“Honey, I know,” Michelle assured her. “But I do think this accident made me realize how much I’ve missed you. I know it’s an awful thing to say.”

“What do you mean?”

“When your mother called, obviously uniformed about my wedding, I genuinely thought you were going to die, Jade. When I turned up your mother was pacing around like a fucking maniac, and we were both so terribly scared. The idea of losing you without having the chance to say goodbye was so fucking terrifying, you have no idea.”

“Michelle…” Jade sighed again. “You know I would never hold a grudge against you,” the brunette said. “Not like that.”

“I know, I just got so scared about the idea of losing you like that…” Michelle just realized that her voice had started cracking and that fresh tears brimmed behind her eyes. “I’m sorry.” she chuckled, brushing away a tear that slipped out from the corner of her eye.

“Babe, don’t apologize. Give me your hand.” Jade was starting to get sentimental as well.

Michelle scooted closer to her friend and brought her hand into hers. Jade laced their fingers together and clutched it tightly.

“I’m sorry for crying. It looks like I’m dying here, Jesus Christ.” the brunette chuckled at herself, feeling pathetic, as Michelle went to run her thumb over her forehead.

“Gosh, I’d never thought we would grow up to be so fucking sentimental.” Michelle shook her head.

“I haven’t slept properly in weeks!” Jade excused herself.

“Shh, it’s okay,” the other woman said, giggling softly. “So, where do we go from here?”

Another sigh left Jade’s lips. She had no idea where the two of them would stand when she was out of the hospital. That had been the only comfort she’d found in her situation. It had felt as though everything had turned back like it used to be when she first moved back. When Michelle and Jade were still best friends and no one had been hurt.

“I have no idea,” Jade mouthed back. “That’s really up to you.”

“I can’t not have you in my life, Jade,” Michelle stated firmly. “Despite how much you’ve hurt me.” she added.

“I don’t want you to forgive something you’re not comfortable with.” Jade told the other brunette.

“I wanna try to re-establish what we had,” the woman sitting on the edge of the bed announced. “But it’s gonna take time, and you have to be patient with me.”

Jade could barely believe her own ears. She could almost feel tears building up at the brim of her eyes, as she looked at Michelle.

“Okay,” she breathed out. “We got this.” she told Michelle, even though she was actually trying to convince herself.

“Sure do.” Michelle smiled brightly, squeezing her hand.

Just as Jade was about to open her lips again, a faint knock fell against her door. The two women soon glanced up at a man they had seen way too many times in their lives before. His tattooed knuckles had hit her door rather gently, meanwhile his whiskey brown eyes looked tired, almost mellow, as they rested upon the sight of the two of them.

It was Brian.