**********Extra long!! Not edited, but I wanted to get it out since I haven't updated in a while before that last part.
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The Most Dangerous Kind of Love 19
~Channing~
I woke up to someone yelling.
Well, more like two someone's.
For some reason, when I tried, I couldn't open my eyes. I tried and I tried, but it was too hard. They felt heavy, as if there was something holding them down. I also tried to lift my hand, but it felt as if I'd been hit by a truck.
Suddenly, it all came rushing back to me.
Hunter.
Jason fighting Hunter.
Hunter stabbing me.
The cold blade lodged in my stomach.
It being ripped out.
The blood all over the floor.
Jason . . . killing Hunter.
How did they even know each other? Why did Hunter show up at Jason's apartment? How did he even know where it was?
"Yes I can!" an angry voice shouted, scaring the living daylights out of me. Right away I knew it was Jason. "It's not like I was the one who stabbed her!"
"And how do we know that?!" my dad's voice followed, just as angry. "No one else was there when it happened! It could've very well been you because it's only the two of you so no one else could say any different! The same thing with the bomb! How do we know you didn't try to blow her up?!"
My dad thought Jason was the one who hurt me? Why would he think that? Jason would never hurt me. He's saved me twice. How did my dad not see that?
"I would never hurt her!" Jason yelled. I had to smile because I knew he was telling the God's honest truth. "And what do you think, do you think that I'd hurt myself in the process?! Why would I do that? I'm not sporting this bruise by choice! The same with the explosion! I was more beat up than she was! But did that matter to me? No! Because I knew she was okay!"
"That says nothing!" dad yelled.
"Are you kidding me?! I would never hurt Channing!" Jason repeated.
"How do we know that?!"
"Because I love her!"
My heart stopped, and my eyes flew open. It took a second for them to adjust due to being closed so long, but once they did, I realized I was in a hospital room. The plain white walls were as boring as ever, and the sterile smell was already messing with my head.
I looked around the room at each of the faces in here. Ava was asleep on a chair. Zane was staring wide-eyed at Jason. Dad was glaring at Jason. And Jason himself looked shocked.
Why was he surprised? It came out of his mouth!
It turned to an awkward silence.
"You love her," dad repeated in a confused voice. When Jason nodded, dad plopped down in a chair. "My baby girl's all grown up," he murmured to himself.
"Sir," Jason said. His voice had returned to normal, but I could still hear the hints of surprise and anger in it. "I would never hurt Channing. She means the world to me. I would do everything in my power to protect her."
Dad watched Jason. For a long time, I might add. It seemed as if he was trying to decide something. "You really love her, don't you?" he asked finally.
"More than anything," Jason agreed.
"Y-you love me?" My voice decided to start working without my consent. It was croaky, quiet, and weak, but as soon as I said something, all eyes snapped to me. My throat was dry, and my lips cracked a little as I spoke.
"Oh my god, Channing!" Jason exclaimed, running over to the side of the hospital bed so he was next to me. He sat down in a chair that was already there and grabbed my hand gently, kissing the top of it. His eyes were swirling with emotions- worry; relief; pain; anger; but one stood out most of all.
Love.
He loves me.
Planting a kiss on my forehead, he looked me in the eyes. "How do you feel?" he asked. I'd never seen him look so worried, yet so relieved. Why was he relieved? How long was I out for?
"Like I was hit by a truck and then had my insides ripped out," I muttered bitterly, answering his question. Now that I thought about it, there was a hollow feeling in my stomach that felt as if I was going to sink into a hole. Weird, I know, but that's how it felt. It was sore, and when I shifted a little, I let out a little yelp from the pain it caused. Damn, it hurt like a bitch.
"I'm so sorry, baby," Jason murmured quietly so only I could hear him. "Oh, god, if he had killed you, I don't know what I would've done. You can't leave me."
Not letting go of my hand, he pressed the red button to call the nurse in. Finally being able to move my hands, I twisted my wrist and adjusted my hand so that our fingers were laced together. Kissing the top of my hand again softly, he laid his head down on the bed next to my hip. Reaching my other hand out, I gently ran my fingers through his hair. Sighing contently, I saw a little smile creep up on the corner of his mouth that was facing the blankets on the bed.
He loves me.
I looked over to my dad who was watching the exchange between Jason and I.
"Hey sweetheart," he said softly. Getting up from his chair, he stood on the opposite side of the bed than Jason. "How do you feel?"
I frowned. I just answered that question.
"Miss Anderson, you're awake," a nurse said, announcing her presence in the room.
Jason lifted his head, and my hand fell out of his hair. His eyes were red and watery. Squeezing his hand reassuringly, I whispered to him, "Jason, I'm okay. Stop worrying."
He looked at me, and when he did, I wish he hadn't. His face was so full of emotions that I didn't know what to make of it. I'd never seen him this way. I'd never known he could get so emotional, and especially over me.
"How do you feel?" the nurse asked me.
"Uh, not the best," I said, shifting a little. It wasn't my smartest move, because a string of pain laced it's way through my stomach making me whimper softly. "My stomach hurts a lot," I whispered through the pain.
Jason was staring sadly at me. Smiling softly at him, I turned my attention back to the nurse who was checking something.
"I'm going to give you something for the pain, alright?" she asked.
Nodding, I waited a few more minutes until she left, promising she'd be back later to check on me again.
"Hey, Cha-Chi," Zane said, breaking the awkward silence that followed the nurse's absence.
"Hey Zane," I smiled slightly. "Staying out of trouble? No more basketball on the house, right?"
He cracked a smile, but it looked strained. For the first time, I realized how tired everyone looked. Zane looked like he was going to drop any minute. My dad looked exhausted. Ava was already asleep.
But Jason looked the worst of them. He had bags under his eyes which were drooping shut even more every minute. His hair was messed up, and I'm sure my fingers didn't help that situation earlier. He looked dead tired. It was almost as if he was the one who was stabbed, and not me.
"You look awful," I said, trying to crack a smile.
"You're still beautiful," he said immediately, making me blush.
He loves me.
"I probably look like death," I said with a little laugh. It strained my stomach, so I stopped.
"No way," Jason said, shaking his head no.
I have him a flat look. Knowing I didn't look my best, I wondered why he would say that. I could tell by the color of my arms that I had lost a lot of blood because I was extremely pale. My hair was probably a rats nest. Makeup was guaranteed to be smeared all over my face. And lastly, my insides felt as if they were going to fall out.
"Hey, dad? Can we go get something to eat?" Zane asked my father. Sparing a glance in my direction, I knew exactly what he was trying to do. He was trying to get my dad to leave Jason and me alone for a minute.
Dad frowned at him. "Not now, Zane."
"But I'm hungry!" my younger brother whined. "We've been sitting up here forever, and I haven't had a proper meal in-"
"Fine!" my dad said in an exasperated tone. Standing up, Zane followed his lead. "Let's go."
He went to pick up Ava, but I stopped him. "We can watch her. It's not like she's going anywhere."
Dad frowned once again. What was up with him? When did he turn so sour?
"We'll be back in ten minutes," he said strictly. Turning to Jason, he said, "No funny business."
Turning and walking out of the room, I mouthed a thank you to Zane when he followed. Smiling at me, he gave me a thumbs up.
"I always liked him," he said, pointing to Jason. That made my heart jump with happiness. A soft smile spread across my face at his words.
Once the pair was out of the room, I turned to Jason. He was already looking at me, pain clear in his eyes.
For the first time, I noticed a bruise on the side of his face. Lifting my hand, I ran my fingers across it as gently as I could.
"What did you do with, um . . . the body?" I whispered.
"I took care of it," he said. Well, that told me nothing.
"Jason," I pleaded. "Come on, don't shut me out now."
Sighing, he laced his fingers through mine once again. "Storm drain in the middle of nowhere," he said. "No one has any reason to look there."
"When did you . . . dispose of it?" I whispered.
"When you were in surgery. No one knows I left. As far as everyone knows, I've been here the whole time. I've been trying to convince myself of that, too."
Taking my other hand, I placed it on his neck and pulled him towards me. Kissing his cheek softly, I said, "Thank you for saving me."
A small smile appeared on his face. "Always."
We sat contently in a comfortable silence after that. My mind was reeling with what he could've done with the body, and if he cleaned up or not, and so on.
"I meant what I said earlier," he said suddenly.
"What?"
"I meant what I said when I was talking to your dad. I didn't care how much I was actually hurt after that explosion because I knew you were alright. That was all that mattered to me. The most important thing to me is your safety, and I meant what I said when I said that I would never hurt you."
I smiled small, remembering his little speech to my dad earlier. He had said more then, but I wasn't going to press him about it.
"I know you would never hurt me, Jason," I said softly. "I may not be completely able to understand why you can't hurt me when I know you're capable of killing someone like you did, but somehow I know I can trust you."
"Do you know why I can't hurt you? Why I didn't bat an eyelash when I killed him? Also why I won't think twice about killing Alex and his gang if I come across them again?"
"Why?"
"Because they hurt you," he stated simply. "And I can't watch anyone hurt the girl I love."
My heart stopped.
He said it again.
My eyes had to be the size of saucers. Yes, I heard him earlier when he said it, but this time it really hit me.
Jason loves me.