104 | the man who loves me-2

No. No. A silent scream echoes in my heart. Aiden? The denial striking me can't even lessen the sudden pain attacking me. My heart feels like it has just been stabbed, so cruelly and mercilessly. This can't be happening. He couldn't have run to save me. He couldn't have shielded me in his arms and jumped with me. He couldn't have taken the hit. He couldn't. He should have let me die instead. I don't want to breathe in a world where God has taken Aiden's life in replace of mine. How would I live with this kind of pain? Everything hurts to the core. Before I can say his name, calling him back to me, I hear a groan next to my ear. The body on top of me starts to move. Still towering over me, the person moves his head. And then I see his face. I stare into a pair of amber eyes, and nothing could make me feel more grateful than the fact that I still can see them again -- the eyes of the man I love. My vision begins to blur with tears, and I don't know how to make them stop. No. Please stop these tears. I still want to see his face. I need to make sure that he's still alive, here with me. He's not leaving me. I'm not leaving him. We made it, didn't we? We're still together. Forever. My cheeks are damp. I've been crying even before I realize it. But then, unlike me having tears that won't stop flowing from my eyes, there's only one thing crossing Aiden's expression. Fear. His eyes are wide, filled with terror. "Nevaeh." Aiden pants. His chest heaves up and down rapidly. "Are you okay?" I'm still watching his face, trying to engrave everything about him into memory. I'll never forget this moment. Someday in the future -- and it won't be just once -- I will look back at this and remember how grateful I am. There's a gash on Aiden's forehead. Blood is dripping from it. "You're bleeding," is all I can say. My voice almost breaks. "Goddammit. Fucking answer me, Nevaeh." Panic is still written on Aiden's face. All I can think about is that he doesn't sound like he's in pain. He's got to be okay. He's okay, right? Aiden's eyes abruptly fall all over my body, checking for injuries. He's shaking above me and blindly searching for any blood. Someone's sob catches my attention, and when I turn my head, I still see Luna crying with her eyes fixed on Aiden. His condition is way worse than mine. With the way he covered me earlier, I even doubt that I have a scratch while his head is literally bleeding. Luna is about to take a step forward, but Max stops her. His eyes are set on something, and when I follow his gaze, I see my dad. Dad is frozen on the spot -- so is everybody else. They're all watching me and Aiden -- especially Aiden, bloody and restless and panicking over my safety after almost facing death himself. If one should ask the conclusion of this incident that no one would ever deny, the answer is that Aiden Klein would sacrifice his life for me. He would die for me. I stare at Dad's stunned expression, then I do something nobody would expect me to do. I turn my head toward the sky and laugh softly. I close my eyes, and I can't help the big smile on my face. Another chuckle leaves my lips. All my worries are gone. That's right, Dad. He's the man I love. And he loves me too, so very much. Can't you see that now? "Nevaeh, what the hell?" Aiden's voice makes me open my eyes again. His jaw is clenched, and he's still panting hard due to his worry. "Please tell me that you're okay. Does it hurt anywhere? Answer me, dammit." I never heard him speak to me like that, but I don't care. He's going crazy. He'll definitely go insane if I delay my answer a second longer. "I'm okay," I finally whisper. "I'm okay, Aiden." He stares at me for long seconds, digesting my answer, as though he's trying to convince himself that I'm indeed okay. Then his jaw tightens again. He pulls me up into his chest, hugging me so tightly, as if he never wants to let me go. I melt into his body, allowing him to embrace me fiercely like this, like I'm the last air he needs to breathe. I close my eyes again and sigh. When the doctor finishes checking up and treating him, Aiden is still holding my hand. He refused to let me go even if it was only briefly. He didn't want me out of his sight even for a second. He didn't even want to be treated in the hospital, and my parents decided to have our family doctor come over. "You're lucky," Dr. Miles speaks to Aiden, who's now lying on the bed in one of the guestrooms while I'm sitting on a chair beside the bed. "A gash on your forehead and a strained elbow. It could have been so much worse." I squeeze Aiden's hand, and it's more as an attempt to comfort myself because I remember how he could have lost his life to save me. "I will give you the prescription so that you will get better. I don't think that it's necessary for you to be in the hospital, anyway." "Thank you," Aiden says to Dr. Miles before he smiles at me. Dr. Miles excuses himself, leaving me and Aiden alone in the room. He sighs when he sees my eyes water. "Don't cry," he whispers. "I just--" I sniff. "You saved my life. And I almost lost you because of that. Now I am extremely grateful, but it was still a very dangerous thing to do. What were you thinking?" Aiden tightens his hold on my hand. "Losing you. When I saw you in the middle of the street and heard that car engine approaching, my body acted on impulse. Horrible thoughts consumed me, but I was already running to you." He suddenly frowns. "Did they find who was driving the car?" I shake my head. "No. It would have been a hit and run if we hadn't made it." My body shivers at that thought.