27 - Newspapers and Stories

Spencer pov

I didn't move. At all. I stayed there through everything. Through school, through weekends, through everything. I had this stupid fear that if I left, she would leave too. And it was a risk I wasn't going to take.

It had been a week. She had been in that state for a week. I had spent hours talking to her. Rambling nervously. I think I was going crazy, staring at the same four walls and ceiling. But as long as I was beside her, I'd give away my sanity with both hands. I was beyond caring.

Jason came in with a newspaper. He had brought me one before, a few days after the accident. Apparently, it had made the front page and a double page inside. But this time it was different.

"Jason, please throw it away. I don't want to read it." I said, as he tried to make me take it.

"Spence, this one is different." He pleaded, trying to shove it into my sight.

"Same print, same story. And same answer. No." I said, turning the other way. I heard him sigh. From the corner of my eye, I could see he had placed it at the foot of Aria's bed, and was now stood there with his arms folded, tapping his foot.

"They arrested Noel. He was joyriding when he crashed. He pleaded guilty." He said quickly, and then I turned to look at him.

"He got arrested?" I asked, incredulous.

"Took him in when they found it was a stolen car. Noel confessed. Thanks to an anonymous tip." He informed me, uncrossing his arms.

"Who was the tip?"

"Hanna. She found out, and then wanted to get revenge." He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans, and then there was a knock at the door.

"That's my mum. I have to go. I'll see you later." He said before coming to hug me and kiss my forehead. I thanked him, and then he left.

Slowly, ever so slowly. I reached to the end of the bed and picked up the newspaper from where Jason had left it. I unfolded it, and was shocked at the front page. There was a picture of the two card after Aria had been taken away. And there was a small picture of Noel in the bottom corner, looking straight on at the camera. No cheesy smile, like you would expect. No bright eyes, like usual. Instead, he looked like he hadn't slept for days, and his hair was a tangled mess and his eyes were dull.

So this is what you look like after you nearly kill someone, I thought to myself. I shook my head, opening it up. I turned to the double page, and one sentence stuck out from the rest.

Aria Montgomery is in a coma for an undetermined amount of time.

So they already knew? I suppose I was clinging on to a ray of non existant hope that only the witnesses and people close to Aria would have known the details. But the media had spread them around for everyone to see.

"I...lo..ve......yo-" Someone croaked. I turned to look at Aria. Her eyes were fluttering, and one of the many machines was beeping like crazy, but she had definitely said something. And she was definitely awake for now.

"Aria? I love you so much, baby. Please stay awake." But as the doctors came in, her eyes fluttered shut again. I turned to the doctor, the young one who had seen us when she first came in.

"She was awake." I stated, shocked. He nodded, scribbling something on to his files.

"It seems she is out of the coma. But she is trying to stay awake. The medication means she will most likely be asleep for a few hours. I'll take the dosage down a notch or two, just so she can wake up." He explained, fiddling with some of the machinery.

"Can I get you anything?" A nurse asked. The doctor left swiftly, and I was faced by the nurse. Her name was Maisie, and she had come in every day this week. She always offered me coffee, or food. And she sat and talked to me when she had nowhere to be. She was really friendly, and around my age. She was pretty too, but I banished all thoughts connected to that. Because my girlfriend was in a hospital bed.

"No thanks, Maisie. I already ate." I said, and she raised her eyebrow at me.

"You haven't eaten since yesterday. I know because I've been in here. So I'm going to get you a sandwich, and you will eat it." She said, determined. She left the room, the door closing behind her. I stroked Aria's forehead carefully. The wound was healing. Soon she would wake up.

Maisie returned with a sandwich, and then handed it to me. I shook my head.

"I don't want it, Maisie. I'm not hungry." I mumbled, and she sighed.

"Spencer, I won't let you starve. You're too thin as it is. You'll end up in the hospital bed if you carry on." She reasoned, but I wasn't having any of it.

"As long as I'm beside Aria, I don't care." And then, because I was weak, I started to cry. Maisie came to hug me, forgetting entirely about the sandwich.

"Sit down. Dry your eyes. Can I tell you a story?" She asked, unsure of whether to continue. I sat down, and she pulled up a chair to sit facing me. I nodded slowly, and she cleared her throat.

"My brother was in an accident. He was stabbed by his best friend. They had an argument over a girl. You see my brother was infatuated with this young girl, yet his best friend liked her too. So one day, my brother gets the courage to ask her out. His best friend gets jealous as anything, and flies into a rage. Attacks my brother with a knife. Well, my brother was in hospital for weeks. They didn't think he would make it. I had to sit there as he got weaker and weaker." Maisie stopped for a moment, and wiped at her eyes. She then continued.

"Well, the girl came in and sat with him. Every day. Beside me. She told him she loved him every single day. And it's because of her that he had the strength to get up from that bed, and make something of himself. And now he is an artist, painting murals and selling his work for lots of money. And the best friend? He hasn't spoken to him since." She finished, and then must have noticed my confused expression.

"I know that you love Aria very much. You'll give her the strength to carry on. That's what love does." Maisie looked at me, and then wiped a tear away with her thumb. I just reached across and wrapped her in a hug. Because she needed it. And I needed it. And I knew I had to be strong for Aria.

She means everything to me