Chapter XLII

The school day had finally come to an end and so, it was time for Jay to return Lilly to her body. They were lucky that his father never texted Alice to tell her that he took a turn for the worst so they knew that Lilly was just fine. He wished that he could talk to her directly and thank her for everything she did but, having decided that he didn’t want Alice to have to spend any time in his comatose form, he knew he would just have to wait until he woke up to talk to Lilly. It wasn’t until now that he realized just what a treasured friend he had in Lilly Harper.

They rounded a corner and continued on their way to Jay’s hospital room. His father was supposedly already there and he had given the hospital staff a heads up that they were coming again. Jay still wasn’t sure what to think about his father. All his life, his dad had prioritized work and his own social life over his son and so, Jay had always believed that the man didn’t give a damn about him. His mother treated him in a similar way. He’d never had any relationship with his parents, so to hear how much time his father was spending at the hospital really confused him.

Does he actually care about me? Did my near death actually make him feel something about me? Maybe…that’s something I should try to figure out before I swap back.

Alice gently reached up and placed her hand on his shoulder, probably understanding the mental state he was currently in. Even putting aside the contradictions in his father’s actions, he was also scared of returning to his own body. There was still no guarantee that everything he’d been through that day wasn’t for nothing. He was beyond lucky to have survived his fall, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to die. His body was damaged and even if he didn’t die in the coming days, he might just remain in a coma the rest of his life. He was terrified that this day might have been his last.

But hey…if it is, I’m happy that I was able to tie up loose ends and spend one last day at Alice’s side. I’m grateful for that, at least.

But now, he didn’t want to die. He wanted to wake from his coma and return to school so he could be with Alice and Lilly and the rest of the Magic Club. So he intended to fight for his life. He would do everything he could to survive and make it back to school.

“Here we are,” Alice said softly as they arrived at the closed door of his hospital bedroom. “Your dad’s inside so…I’m gonna quickly head to the bathroom, ‘kay?”

She gave him an encouraging wink before turning and hurrying down the hall. He had asked her before they arrived if he could have a brief moment alone with his dad and she had readily accepted. Silently thanking his best friend, Jay took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

Jay reached for the handle and pushed the door open so he could step inside. The sight that greeted him immediately gave him pause. His father was sitting beside his bed, his hand gently pressed on his forehead, and a pained look in his eyes.

“Good afternoon,” the older man said softly. “Where’s Alice? Wasn’t she with you?”

“Um…she went to the bathroom first,” he managed to say. “She’ll be here in a minute.”

His father nodded. “Okay then. Well, please take a seat, Miss…er, I’m sorry but I don’t actually remember your name.”

Jay pulled up one of the chairs beside the wall and moved it to his body’s bedside before taking his seat. “Oh, um, that’s fine,” he whispered. “I’m sure you’ve had a lot on your mind. My name’s Lilly Harper.”

“Right… Miss Harper,” his dad muttered. “Actually, if you don’t mind me asking, how long have you known my son? I admittedly didn’t have a close relationship with him so…I didn’t know you existed until yesterday. I was under the impression that Alice was his only friend.”

He struggled to hide his confusion at how regretful his father sounded. “Uh…I haven’t known him that long,” he replied. “I actually just moved here this past fall. We were on cross country together and we kinda just hit it off.”

He couldn’t help but internally smirk at how inaccurate that was but, naturally, there was no reason to go into depth about how his and Lilly’s relationship actually came to be.

“That’s right, cross country,” his father said. “Jay’s always liked running.”

They fell into an awkward silence as Jay was forced to find some way to proceed with the conversation. He hadn’t had a real conversation with his dad in a very long time and it was only made that much harder by the fact that he wasn’t even himself at the moment. But he knew he couldn’t back out. For his own peace of mind, he needed to understand his father.

“Mr. Brooks,” he began, “I don’t mean to be so nosy but…why didn’t you and Jay have that close of a relationship. He never talks about his parents so I can’t help but be curious.”

His father let out a self deprecating chuckle and shook his head. “It’s no wonder he didn’t. He didn’t like us. I’m painfully aware of that.”

Jay internally cringed, knowing the man was referencing his goodbye letter to them. In it, the only thing he had written was “I’m sorry I was never good enough for you guys. I’ll do you a favor and get out of your lives.” It was a letter written in anger and it was clear that it actually did impact his dad.

“You see,” the man continued, “I was a terrible father.”

Jay had to hold back his surprise. His father’s statement was so blunt that it almost felt like it wasn’t just his letter that brought the man to this realization.

“Ever since he was born, I never knew how to be a good parent. His mother was similar,” he explained. “Both of us were always very work-oriented and admittedly, neither of us ever planned to be parents.”

Jay nodded. He had always suspected that he hadn’t been an intended birth so his father’s words didn’t surprise him in the slightest. What did surprise him was how easy it was to get him to say this to a girl he hardly knew.

Maybe…he’s just desperate to get this off his chest.

“I tried interacting with him when he was small, but work always got in the way and he never seemed to enjoy my company,” his dad went on. “He started spending most of his time at my best friend’s house—Alice’s mother. He seemed happier there and so, eventually, I just gave up. I figured that the best thing I could do for him was support him by working. So I backed off and left him on his own. I thought that’s what he wanted but…it’s obvious that I was just running from responsibility. He had every right to hate me.”

Jay had always believed that his dad didn’t give a damn about him and that’s why he was always left alone. Part of him struggled to accept what the man was saying and yet, that look of pain in his eyes as he stared at his son’s sleeping form was enough to give him doubt.

“Then, when he wakes up, change that,” Jay finally said. “Be the dad he needed. Spend time with him and build that relationship.”

His father smiled sadly. “I…don’t think he wants that anymore.”

“He does,” Jay said firmly. “If you extend a hand to him, I’m almost certain that he’ll give you another chance. The same goes for Mo—er, his mom. If you make it clear to him that you actually love him, he’ll try.”

The man slowly turned to look at him and, for a moment, it almost seemed like he had seen through him, like he realized that he wasn’t who he claimed to be. But, of course, that couldn’t be that case and instead, he just nodded.

“If that’s what you say, Miss Harper, then I’ll try,” he muttered.

Just as he said that, the door slowly opened and Alice poked her head in.

“There you are, Alice,” the man greeted. “Well, I guess I’ll give you girls your privacy again.”

His father excused himself and left the room, giving them the space they needed to return Jay to his proper body.

“So?” Alice prompted. “Learn anything good?”

Jay smiled softly. “He’s not the jackass I thought he was. I’m not really sure what to think about him now but…I am happy to know he didn’t hate me. That, at least, is comforting.”

The girl moved across the room and took a seat in the chair where his father had been moments earlier. Both silently gazed at his unconscious body for a few moments before Alice spoke again.

“Well, I guess it’s time to get Lilly back,” she said. “She’ll be happy to know how successful her plan was.”

Jay snorted. “Yeah, and make sure to tell her never to do something so reckless again. It wouldn’t have done me any good if she’d died in my body.”

“Honestly, I would have stopped her if I thought I could,” Alice admitted. “But she didn’t even tell me until we were here and once we were, I knew there was no preventing this. I’ve never seen her look so determined.”

“She’s a psychopath,” he grumbled.

“And that’s why she fits in with the club so well,” Alice added. “They’re all maniacs that’ll go through hell to help people. Except Damien, I guess, but he’s the outlier there.”

“Yeah, that’s for sure,” Jay laughed. His thoughts briefly shifted to the club members and, when they did, he suddenly recalled Eric’s odd question earlier that day.

“Hey, Alice?” he began. “Did you hear about anything strange happening on the day I jumped?”

Alice frowned. “Um, I mean aside from you surviving a four story fall onto concrete? Otherwise no. Why?”

Jay furrowed his brow. He’d been so caught up in pulling himself together that he hadn’t given his ridiculous survival much thought. Could that have possibly been what Eric was referencing? It definitely was shocking that he survived at all.

“What did Eric do after I left the diner that day?” Jay asked.

Alice shrugged. “No idea. He left right after you did. I figured he followed after you to talk or something. I actually meant to ask you about that.”

Jay shook his head. “No. I never actually saw him. How about this then: how was I discovered? Like, who called the ambulance?”

“Um, your dad said nobody knew,” she replied. “It was an anonymous call.”

Jay narrowed his eyes. Could it be…as strange as this sounds, could Eric have possibly followed me and seen me jump. And if so…did he save me somehow? I’d say that’s impossible but it’s kinda hard to think anything is impossible when I’m literally in someone else’s body right now.

“So, why are you asking all this?” Alice inquired with a tilt of her head.

He simply shrugged. “Eric asked me if I’d noticed anything weird that day but he didn’t really explain what he meant. I was just trying to figure it out.”

“Really? That is weird, but then again, so is he.”

Jay sighed. “Well, whatever. Let’s get this done. I’m sure Lilly’s ready to wake up.”

“Yeah, I’m sure she is,” the girl muttered. “Then I guess this is goodbye for a little while, huh?”

Jay forced a smile. “Hopefully not for too long though. I’ll be back before you know it, safe and sound.”

“You better be.”

He leaned forward and pulled the girl into a hug, savoring the warmth of her body, knowing that it could very well be the last time he ever hugged her.

“I love you, Al’,” he whispered.

“I love you, too, Jay,” she replied, her voice shaking a bit. “I’ll see you soon.”

When he pulled back, he saw tears streaming down her cheeks as she reached into her pocket to produce the stone. Without saying anything more, she tossed it over to him and he quickly caught it. He could feel tears pouring down his own cheeks now.

“Alright,” he whispered, turning to face his body, the stone clutched in his hand. “Thank you for everything, Alice. Goodbye for now.”

And with that, he reached forward and lightly pressed the stone against his cheek. Like always, he was thrown into the formless world for a brief few seconds, before being consumed by unconsciousness.

***

The first thing she noticed when her vision cleared were the tears in her eyes, remnants of Jay’s final emotions just before he left her body. She slowly reached a finger up and wiped her eyes then turned to look down at the sleeping boy in front of her. It didn’t look like anything had changed but she knew it must’ve already been a day. It felt like she’d just come out of a long sleep but her body felt awake. She sensed a presence in the chair beside her but she knew without a doubt who it was.

“So, did it work?” Lilly asked softly as she slid the gem into her pocket.

When she turned to look, she found Alice crying as well, but the smile on her face told her all she needed to know.

“Yup,” Alice choked. “I think so. Thanks to you, I was able to talk to him again and…he wants to try and move past this. It worked, Lilly. Thank you.”

Lilly blinked away the last few tears and returned Alice’s smile. She reached over and pulled the girl into a hug, wanting to give her a shoulder to cry on. Alice leaned her head into her and began to sob. For a while, the two of them just sat there as Lilly attempted to clear her mind. She desperately wanted to know all the details but she also didn’t want to press Alice to talk until the girl was mentally prepared.

“Whenever you’re ready,” she whispered. “Tell me what happened.”

And, once Alice had cried for a few more minutes, she pulled herself together and began to explain the events of the past day. She talked about her conversations with Jay without going too in depth—most likely to keep their privacy. She also explained their conversation with Matt Briggs that morning as well as the fact that Jay spoke to both Rina and Vinny before the day ended. Alice didn’t know what they talked about but she said Jay seemed more lively afterwards. However, what Lilly didn’t expect to hear was that Jay managed to convince Vinny to delete the pictures of Rina. In addition, when Alice went up to the clubroom to speak to him, she found him already talking to Damien.

“It actually seems like they’re starting to move past it,” Alice said. “The club might be putting itself back together.”

Lilly let out a sigh of relief and leaned back in the chair, sparing an amused glance at the sleeping Jay. “So the bastard fixed it all while I was sleeping, huh?” she muttered. “Well good. I’m glad he was able to do what he needed to. Now, maybe he’ll think twice before trying something that utterly stupid again.”

The sense of relief she felt was enormous now that she knew her plan had worked and that Alice had gotten through to him. The fact that Vinny and Damien might’ve made amends was a bonus she never expected to have.

I owe you one, Jay, she thought. You did what Eric and I couldn’t. You got through to Vinny.

“Well, I guess I should probably get home,” Lilly said. “I dropped that sleepover with you on my parents pretty last minute and I’m sure Jay ignored any texts they might have sent. I’m gonna have hell to pay later.”

Alice nodded. “Okay. I’ve got a date with Vinny after this, but…I think I’m gonna stay by Jay’s side a little longer.”

“Good. I’m sure he’d like that.”

Lilly got to her feet and glanced around for her backpack only to realize that Jay probably left it with Eric. She grimaced and went to head for the door when Alice suddenly spoke again.

“By the way, Jay said to tell you to stop being so reckless. He also said to tell you thanks.”

Lilly glanced back at her and smirked. “I’ll stop being reckless when that idiot stops jumping off balconies. But…I’m glad he’s appreciative. I’m thankful for him, too.”

Alice smiled. “I’m glad he has you.”

“Of course. I can’t not be there for my friend, yeah?”

“I guess so,” she whispered. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Lilly.”

“Yeah, you, too.”

Bidding Alice goodbye, Lilly pulled open the door and headed out into the hall. She had left her phone with her backpack so she’d need to run back to school to get it from the clubroom. Knowing it would still probably be another half hour before she got home, she quickened her pace and hurried out of the hospital. Thankfully, she didn’t run into Mr. Brooks since she wouldn’t know what to say to him. Alice said Jay spoke to his father in her body but neither of them knew what he actually said. Running into him would have been potentially embarrassing.

When she made it outside, she found that the sun was already setting and she was greeted with a cold afternoon. She shivered as she headed across the hospital parking lot and out onto the road that would lead back to school. She walked down Main Street, keeping her head low due to all of the people and, once she made it into the neighborhoods, she began to run, wanting to get back to school as fast as possible. She made it to the front gates within five minutes and slowed to a walk right as she was entering the school. She was so focused on getting back to the clubroom that she completely missed the person standing just beyond the gates.

“And so, she returns.”

She jumped at the sudden voice, having believed the courtyard to be empty. However, she couldn’t help but smile when she saw Eric standing there, grinning back at her.

“I figured you’d come back to get your things,” he continued, “and thought I’d wait here to greet you.”

“Thanks, Eric,” she replied, feeling her cheeks warm. She then reached into her pocket and pulled the stone out before tossing it over to him. “And thanks for trusting me with that. It means a lot to me.”

He caught it with ease and slipped it into his own pocket before moving up to stand beside her. “Of course,” he said. “I’ve told you before that I trust you, Lilly. You said you had a plan and so, I believed in it. And clearly I wasn’t mistaken to do so. Did Mendez fill you in?”

She nodded. “She told me everything. She also said Vinny and Damien might’ve made up?”

Eric chuckled. “It would seem so. They’re up in the clubroom as we speak.”

“Really?”

Eric’s confirmation made another wave of relief wash over her. She had put the issue with Vinny on the back-burner until she resolved everything with Jay so it was amazing to know that he managed to fix it himself.

Eric began to walk and she remained by his side as they crossed the courtyard and went into the main school building. “You impressed me, Lilly,” Eric told her. “The fact that you did something like that for Jay says a lot about the purity of your character. You once asked me what my sense told me about you and my answer was that you were one of the purest people I’ve ever met. You proved that right today.”

She laughed in embarrassment, always thrown off by his confidence in her.

“I don’t know about all that,” she stuttered. “I mean, Jay tried to kill himself, Eric. He tried to commit suicide and by some frickin’ miracle, he survived. I don’t think it’s all that impressive that I wanted to help him. He’s my friend, after all. I know as a fact that you and Vinny would have done the same.”

Eric shook his head. “Perhaps I would have done the same for one of the other club members. But Lilly, you’ve known Jay for a little over six months and you risked your life for him. His body had every possibility of dying while you were inside him but you wanted to help him anyway. To me, that’s purity.”

“W-well…”

I really can’t deal with him! Why does the way he talk throw me off so much! Is he so confident in that damn sense of his that he’ll put me on this pedestal?

But even as she asked herself that question, she knew that wasn’t what he was doing. Eric Reiner believed in her not because of some ridiculous sense, but because he wanted to. He considered her his friend and because of that, he put his faith in her. Time and time again did he prove that. He trusted her when she wanted to help Brad on the test. They worked together when the club was falling apart and he confided in her when he didn’t know what to do. He was there for her when Jay tried to kill himself and when she wanted to help him, Eric did everything in his power to aid her. Even now, as she returned to school after a day of being gone, he was there to greet her and walk with her.

And this feeling I always have when I’m with him. Despite his insane personality, I love being with him. I look forward to seeing him every day. His presence is enough to make me feel comfortable and loved. I’ve never felt this way about anyone. Eric Reiner is special to me and even when I try to deny it, I know what this feeling is.

She came to a sudden stop just as they arrived at the staircase. Eric frowned and glanced back at her.

“Are you okay, Lilly?”

Even that look of concern tells me how much he cares, she thought. When I decided to go through with my plan to help Jay, I told myself not to overthink and just to do it. So…maybe that’s what I should do. Stop thinking and just do it!

“Eric,” she began, looking him directly in the eyes. “I like you.”

He smiled. “I like you, too, Lilly. You’re an admirable person.”

She sighed in exasperation. “No, you idiot.”

Then, deciding to stop thinking, Lilly closed the small distance between them, stood up on her toes, and lightly kissed him on the cheek. It was brief, but that second of contact with him sent a wave of warmth through her body. When she stepped back, his eyes were wide in a rare moment of shock.

“What I mean is that I like you,” she said. “And I want to go out with you.”

She could feel her heartbeat quickening as her brain caught up with her actions but she refused to look away as the embarrassment of what she was doing began to set in. Luckily though, she had nothing to worry about. Moments later, a wide grin spread across his face.

“I never would have thought you felt the same,” he said softly. “I like you, too, Lilly. I’d love to go out sometime.”

Joy flooded through her system and she suddenly felt the desire to embrace him. This time, however, she held herself back and instead extended her hand to him.

“Then how about after we get my stuff, we go out and get some ice cream or something?” she suggested.

The boy reached out and took her hand in his. “That sounds great. Let’s do that.”

Hand in hand, the two proceeded up the stairs and all the while, she couldn’t stop herself from grinning like an idiot. She figured she’d just text her parents that she was fine and take the afternoon to go out with Eric. At that moment, there was nothing she wanted to do more. When they made it up to the clubroom, part of her considered releasing his hand before they went inside and it seemed he felt the same because he let go.

Yeah, we should go on our date before telling the news to the others, she thought. We’ll figure out when to tell them later.

When Eric opened the door, the sight of Vinny, Liz, and Damien all sitting at the desk warned her heart even more.

“There they are!” Vinny called out. “I was wondering when you guys would show up!”

“Glad to see you back, Lilly,” Liz added.

Damien grinned. “And I was wondering where you ran off to, Eric.”

Eric stopped in the doorway and looked around the room, seeming to want to just take in the sight of the MOAIT back together again. Then, he turned to look at Vinny with a sly grin.

“Vinny, my friend,” he began. “Do you remember in freshman year when you said you’d bet fifty bucks that I’d be single all through high school?”

Vinny narrowed his eyes. “Yes…”

Eric grinned and then, much to the surprise of everybody in the room, Lilly included, he once again grabbed her hand, intertwining their fingers together.

“You owe me fifty bucks, friendo.”

Lilly’s face heated up all at once as the utterly stunned stares turned then her. Then, the room exploded into voices as all three of them began speaking at once. Lilly once again gave an exasperated sigh, and couldn’t stop her earlier smile from returning to her face.

Yup. Shouldn’t have expected any less from Eric Reiner.