Kelsey's Point of View:

After I had gotten off the phone with Pattie, filling her in on what's been going on, she told me she'd be here in just a few short minutes. Finding enough time to talk to Justin until she arrives, I sat down in the chair next to his bed. "You scared me," I whispered, "Thinking that you could've—" I shook my head, "Don't you ever do something like that again." I warned though it came out more as a whimpered request, "You don't know what it felt like watching them hover over you with those... thingstrying to resuscitate you back to life." Looking away from him, I found interest at the beeping line that scanned across the many screens of the machines near Justin's bedside, indicating his heartbeat.

"They were going to give up on you..." I whispered, "They thought that was it. That you had let go but they don't know you like I do," I muttered in anguish. "They don't know how strong you are." I sighed, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear as I crossed my arms under my breasts, sitting on the edge of Justin's bed as I stared over at him. "Do you understand what it's like to be left? How angry it makes you? How sad and empty?" I pursed my lips to the side in deep thought. Pressing my tongue to the roof of my mouth, I stared up at the ceiling in dismay. "How long it takes to ever care about anyone or anything ever again?" I whispered shakily.

"God it eats you up inside." I vigorously spat in augmentation to everything that's been going on. "It claws at your insides until you feel like you're about to burst. It's a feeling so intense that the thought of losing the one you love is a feeling that could end you right then and there."

"I don't want to feel like this anymore," I bowed my head in dismay, "I don't want to continue my life without you. I don't want to think about any other chances of you possibly going into an attack again. I know I promised you I could handle things that come with the lifestyle that you chose and I'm not going back on my word. I just don't know if I can handle the thought of losing you because then I don't know what I'd do with myself."

"You have become such a part of my life that without you being a part of it... it doesn't feel right. It feels like a part of me is missing." Reaching over, I ran the tip of my finger against the stubble on his chin, "I love you so much it hurts and I just want us to be okay again. I want the normal we had. I want all of this bad stuff to go away. I want my boyfriend back." Bringing my hand back, I forced back a strained sob.

"I know this is probably a lot to ask since you almost died about a few minutes ago but now would be the time to wake up..." Licking my lips, I smacked them together once silence suffocated me once more. "I gotta tell you, I'm getting tired of all this because I don't do well with all these lights and machines and stuff. I probably to be honest would have made a really bad nurse which," I scoffed in realization, "is pretty ironic considering my mom's one." I forced a small laugh, trying to fill the emptiness with a bit of light.

"I know you're probably getting tired of me right now... but I can't live like this any longer. I need you to wake up Justin because you see; I can't stand the fact of knowing that you can just leave me at any second..." Looking down at my hands, I let my hair fall as it curtained around my face, "When your heart stopped," I paused at the painful memory, "my heart stopped. It felt like everything around me came to a halt and the thought of losing you..." I shook my head, not wanting to continue, "And that stupid doctor." I growled in annoyance, "Trying to say that you were—you were dead," I shook my head, "he doesn't know you like I do. You're a survivor, you always have been since the day I met you."

"Do you remember that day when you came to my house after getting stabbed my Luke? I nearly passed out at the sight of your blood smeared around you but you kept your composure... you showed me that you weren't afraid and that somehow calmed me enough to take care of you and then..." I laughed, my cheeks warming up immensely, "You kissed me and everything just fell into place, you know? It just felt... right like that was meaning to happen for a long time and we finally made way into each other's lives."

"Kelsey?" A quiet voice came from the entrance of the room as I turned my head around to see Pattie standing there with her head peaking in, her blue eyes roaming around the room until they fell on mine and then proceeded to cast over Justin's sleeping figure. With widening eyes, she slapped her hand over her mouth as a sob escaped the back of her throat.

Standing up, I hesitantly made my way over to her, brushing away my own tears as I pulled her into an embrace. "I know," I sobbed into her shoulder, "I'm so sorry this happened. I—he's going to be okay Pattie. I promise."

Clutching onto me for dear life, Pattie burst into horrendous tears as she fell into me, not being able to hold her own as her legs gave way. Shaking her head, she bawled at the sight of her injured child. "My baby," She gently shoved her way past as she stumbled into the seat next to Justin, "My baby... mybaby... my baby," She cried as she leaned over, grabbing his hand in her own. "My son," She gasped, holding onto him. Hesitantly brushing her knuckles down his cold cheek, she refused to look away from her son as she squeezed his hand to her chest. "Why did this have to happen to you?"

Pattie stared at her sleeping son with all the adoration and sadness in the world. Just the thought of losing another child made her heart ache painfully. "Oh Justin," She sobbed, "Why did you have to... I told you something like this could happen, I warned you..."

"I know I haven't been there for you as much as I should have been. I know you probably hate me and what's become of us all but please; you have to believe me when I say I never stopped thinking about you. Even when I was angry after finding out you lied to me about leaving that gang of yours... I couldn't help the motherly impact that took over, wanting to protect you."

"You are my son and I will always, always love you no matter what. I will be there for you until the very end but in order for me to make up for all the time that has been lost; I need you to wake up sweetie. I need you to give me that chance to make it right again."

"I lost so many years with you... years that every mother yearns to be a part of. I missed your sixteenth, your eighteenth birthday... the milestones in a person's life. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for letting things get in between us. I'm sorry for giving up the second things got rough. You are everything to me sweetheart, please baby, wake up. I need you in my life, your brother needs you and despite the stubbornness that comes with your father, he needs you too."

Leaning into his bed, Pattie leaned over, brushing Justin's hair back as her eyes took in the paleness of his skin, a rosy color tinted in his cheeks, giving her confirmation that he was still with her in some way. Following the direction of the wires that were attached to him, Pattie felt her heart clench at the sight of her son practically sitting on his death bed.

"I promise to be the mother I always vowed to be but in order for me to do that, I'm going to need you to open those eyes of yours for me, okay?" She begged softly, her throat closing at the intensity she was feeling. Swallowing hard, she let their hands press down on the mattress, still holding on strong. "Please wake up Justin. We're willing you to do the inevitable; you need to show these doctors just who you are, you need to show them the son I raised; the strong, fearless boy—now grown—who could do anything he put his mind to."

Smoothing the skin of his forehead over with his thumb, Pattie leaned up on her feet as she pressed her lips to his forehead, giving it a gentle peck. "I love you so much." She whispered before sitting back down and continuing her conversation, filling him in on anything and everything he missed in the past couple of years.

Walking out into the hallway to give Pattie her privacy, I leaned against the wall across from the room, my arms crossed against my chest as I laid my head back, letting my lids fall closed as I thought about the countless hours I had spent here with the same hopes that Justin would wake up at any moment.

It's irrational to think about how much somebody means to you. All the memories, all the things that have been said and done.... You think about it all and you then start to realize just why you fell in love with that person in the first place and it's scary to think that it just takes one thing, one incident to turn your whole life upside down.

And it takes just about a split second for you to realize just how much you need that said person.

It's not until they're fighting to survive for their lives that you really open up to the fact that they can leave you forever. It could happen at any moment of any day and the person you love can be taken away from you without so much as a warning.

Cherish those you love and keep them close because God only knows when their time to go is. Make every moment count and don't rush into things. Let things take its course and enjoy what it is that you have because once it's gone there's no going back and you're left to fend on your own. You're left in the dust of all things that were and could have been.

And that is a place nobody wishes to be in for it will eat you alive until you can't stand it anymore.

"Where is he?" Somebody shouted from down the hall, their breathing coming out rigid due to running. "Where is my brother?"

Squinting to see who it was, it was then that I saw Jaxon standing with his hand perched on a small table to his right, his other on his knee as he leaned down to catch his breath. "Jaxon," I began walking over to him, "What are you doing here?"

"What do you mean what am I doing here?" He snapped, "My brother's in the hospital, what did you expect me to do? Stay home?" He huffed with a curl of his upper lip.

Shuffling on my feet, I kept a good portion of space between us as I avoided his angry eyes. "I'm sorry—I didn't... I mean, I called your mom. I suppose she told you?"

"Damn right she told me. You might keep things away from me and my family but that's not how we work." He shoved past me, continuing his search for Justin.

Closing my eyes tight, I took a deep breath, "I know you're mad at me—" I began before being abruptly cut off by Jaxon's enraged tone.

"Mad? I'm fucking furious Kelsey but that's beside the point!" He sneered in disgust, "I didn't come here to hear your sob story, alright? I came here to see if my brother's alright."

"Oh, you mean the brother that you completely trash talked while he was away in prison? The one that did everything for you yet you turned away the second he was taken from us?" I spat, venom seething from each word, "Or the brother you said you loved and looked up to? Because at this point I'm going to get whiplash with all this bullshit you're throwing."

Narrowing his eyes to mine, he took a step towards me, "I may have been angry and I may think I hate my brother at times but I would never, ever turn my back to him when he needed me most and right now Kelsey, he needs his family not you."

Swallowing the spit that formed in the pit of my throat, I blinked back the tears that threatened to surface. "What family? You weren't there for him like I was." I hissed in a hushed whisper.

"That's a bunch of bull and you know it." He seethed, his body towering over mine as we stood toe to toe. "You're just like the rest of them, you think you know everything but you don't. Justin may think he loves you now but you just wait. You're going to be taken and thrown like that manipulative little bitch that you are—"

"Jaxon Bieber, how dare you speak to Kelsey in such a vile way?" Pattie barked harshly as she made her way over to us while wiping away the remands of her tears.

Looking away from Jaxon's glare, I bit my lip to keep from crying. Sniffling, I took a step away from him, "it's okay Pattie."

"No, it's not sweetheart, come here," Putting her arm around me, she pulled me into her side, comfortingly rubbing my arm up and down in a motherly manner before snapping her head up to look at Jaxon. "You have no right to speak to Kelsey—or any female in general—like that. She did nothing but be there for your brother and even though what occurred wasn't right, she stood by your brothers side through everything. You may not agree with it but you damn right should respect it."

A saddened expression smeared across Jaxon's face as he hung his head in shame though the fury was still present in his demeanor. "Ma—"

"I don't want to hear it." She put a hand up, silencing him. "Now you apologize to her."

Jaxon scoffed in utter disbelief as his eyes traveled from me down to his mother in amusement, "You want me to apologize?"

"Yes."

"Okay but can I ask for what exactly?" He cocked his head to the side, a devious grin on his lips, "For calling her out on what she truly is?" Jaxon perched his hands on his hips, "For breaking our family apart?" He spat, "For lying to all of us?!"

"Jaxon..." I began my bottom lip quivering as I shook my head in hopes to explain myself to him.

"Save the tears for the pillow bitch because nothing you say or do will make up for what you did." He yelled, "We trusted you, we accepted you into our family and what did you do in return? You deceived us, making us believe Justin was okay and he found a way out of that sick shit he thinks is a life for him. If you would have told us the truth maybe we could have convinced him to get out and just maybe if you wouldn't have lied he wouldn't be in a hospital bed with a bullet through his chest!"

"Jaxon! That's enough!" Pattie roared her eyes wide in alarm at her son's choice of words. "How do you think your brother would feel if he heard what you were saying right now? I want you to calm down and relax before you say something you'll regret. Now you go and visit your brother, when you come out I suggest you come back with a much more mature attitude and a real apology. Now, go." She pointed behind Jaxon and over to Justin's room.

Without another word but a huff of ignorance, Jaxon rotated on the heels of his shoes as he stalked over towards Justin's room before he disappearing behind the door, leaving both Pattie and I alone.

Jaxon huffed, mumbling incoherently under his breath. "Fucking bitch," He murmured, annoyed as he shuffled into Justin's room and almost immediately the second his eyes fell on his wired brother, all thoughts of hatred disappeared, bile clawing up his throat. "Holy shit," He rasped, his mouth falling open in shock.

"Damn it," He shook his head, bringing himself back to reality, "This is real... you're really—fuck," Jaxon ran his hands repeatedly up and down his face as he took in the sight of all the things around him. The white walls, white tiled floors the hospital gown draped over Justin and the countless machines, it was all too much to take in.

Taking a seat next to his brother, Jaxon hesitated before placing his hand over Justin's. "Hey big bro," He chuckled lightly, "You're probably wondering what the hell I'm doing here..." Sighing, Jaxon bit his tongue, "I don't know either but I do know one thing... I need you man. I need my brother. I lost way too much time with you and I can't afford to lose anymore."

"You were the one I always looked up to. You were the one I trusted with everything, you helped me become the guy I am today and I just... I can't lose another sibling man. I can't lose you. I already lost Jazzy, the thought of not having you in my life too... I wouldn't be able to handle it."

"Do you remember when you used to teach me how to play baseball? You refused to let me give up because you knew I could do it. You pushed me until I finally grabbed that bat of yours and hit a homerun. We celebrated after that for the longest time and you never once threw it my face that it took me so long to do it. Instead, you told me that you always knew I could do it all along and you had faith in me."

"Well big brother, I have faith in you too. I have faith that you'll wake up and everything will be okay. I promise the second you wake up, everything will go back to normal. We love you man, dad, mom and I. No matter what you think we think of you, none of it is true. I swear," Fighting the tears that flooded my eyes, I blinked them back, my throat closing up; "I love you so much."

Swallowing, Jaxon licked his dry lips, "You're probably going to kick my ass too once you wake up too because of all the shit I said," He sighed, "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to lash out on your girl... I just, it makes me angry that she never told us you were still a part of what we thought was your old lifestyle. I can't help but wonder if she would have told us that maybe we could have switched it around for you and you wouldn't be sitting here fighting for your life..."

"I know it's crazy to think about because we can't go back in time and I shouldn't bed thinking of the what-if's but damn it Justin, you're risking your life and for what? A few stacks of paper in the wallet? You can earn a living some other way... you don't have to go through this every single day of every second of your life. You can put a stop to it... you can break apart from it all..."

Turning to me, Pattie pulled me into her arms, "I'm so sorry honey, I don't know what's gotten into him." She rubbed my back protectively.

"It's okay Pattie; he had every right to say what he did..." I hiccupped, wiping my nose with the back of my hand, "I did lie to you guys and I'm sorry. I never meant to deceive you guys as Jaxon put it. He's right, you accepted me with open arms and I did the unthinkable but," I sighed, "it just wasn't my place to tell you. Justin and I were going through so much and I had finally managed to let him open up to me, I couldn't go behind his back... I—"

"Shh, honey, it's okay, I understand." Pulling away, Pattie wiped my tears away as she held my face in between her hands. "I forgive you. I should've been more understanding at first but I was just so taken back and upset with what's been going on, I took it out on you and I shouldn't have because you did nothing but keep my son happy."

"I'm sorry Pattie," I whispered, "Jaxon's right, if I would've told you maybe you could have put a stop to it and Justin wouldn't be—" I shook my head, not being able to continue.

"Hey, hey, hey, what did I just tell you? It's okay, everything's going to be okay... I know my son and my son is anything but a quitter. He's a fighter and he's fighting to come back to us. All we have to do is put our faith in God that he'll bring him back to us, alright?"

Nodding, I fell back into Pattie's comfortable embrace, desperate for this nightmare to be over with. "He loves you Pattie, with all his heart." I mumbled into her shoulder.

"I know sweetheart, I know he does and I love him too." Pulling away, she brushed my hair away. "He's going to come back to us, okay? We just have to hang in there and be patient."

Licking my lips, I sadly smiled, "You're right." I whispered.

"Of course I am," She smirked, "If there's anyone who knows my son besides you, it's me." She cheesed, lighting the mood up immensely.

"Thank you Pattie."

"For what dear?"

"For, well... everything. I really appreciate it," Wiping my cheeks dry, I rubbed them clean against my jeans. "It's been hard sitting there alone wondering when he's going to wake up. It feels good to have you here."

Giving me a smile, she hugged me tight. "Anything for you sweetie, you gave me my son back, that's all I ever wanted. I'll never forget what you did for me and my family."

Choking on the tears that threatened to fall once more, I squeezed my eyes shut, inwardly thanking God before pulling away. Turning around once I heard a pair of feet walk out, I felt my stomach churn at the sight of Jaxon's red eyes.

Sniffling, Jaxon ran his fingers through his hair, rubbing the back of his neck as he made his way over to us. "Nothing," He murmured, "He didn't even flinch."

"It's going to take some time before he wakes up Jaxon," Pattie soothed comfortingly; "It takes time. We just have to be patient. You know your brother, he hates being in one spot for too long."

Giving a dry chuckle, he nodded his head in agreement, "Yeah," He rasped, sighing before his eyes met mine. "I also believe I owe you an apology."

"Jason," I began to shake my head, "it's oka—"

"No," Jaxon interrupted, "it's not. I had no right to bug out on you like that. I guess I just—it all hit me, you know? I didn't really realize what it was Justin was putting himself through until today. I sorta lost it thinking about what it'd be like to lose somebody else I loved." He murmured, referring to Jazzy and immediately my stomach twisted painfully at the thought of his dead sister.

"I'm sorry." I murmured.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, I just hope you can forgive me after being such an asshole to you." He cracked a small grin, scratching his head in hopes that I wouldn't be as cruel as to turn away from him in his persistence to make amends.

"Of course I forgive you." I smiled, "And I hope you can forgive me for my share of words I had thrown at you as well. I didn't mean to lose my temper."

"All's forgiven little sis," He grinned, pulling me into him as he placed his chin on top of my head.

Giggling, I pulled away, smiling up at him. "Thanks Jaxon."

"No problem." Pulling away, he stuffed his hands in the back pockets of his jeans. "So, what do we do now?"

I sighed, slowly walking over to the entrance of Justin's room. "We wait."

"Why don't you go in there with him? My mom and I had our share of talking to him; I think it's only fair we give you your time as well."

"Oh, no," I shook my head, "it's alright, I had plenty of time with him. You guys just got here, please, don't even think you're getting in the way." I put my hands up, gesturing for them to go in, "By all means, stay with him as long as you want."

"It's alright, I'll come to check on him later, I'm kinda thirsty anyways, I'll go get myself a drink and then I'll come back. How does that sound?"

"That sounds good."

"Alright, you coming ma?"

"Yeah, I have to try to reach your father again." Giving me a small wave and an encouraging smile, she walked after Jaxon in search for the café.

After they turned the corner, I walked into the room, ignoring the noise coming from behind as the doctors shuffled to make their way to other patient's rooms. Blushing at the thought that they heard the argument we all had outside; I sat down next to Justin, grabbing his hand in mine, the warmness giving me a tingle of hope inside.

"I'm glad they came," I began, "I know how much you've missed them with everything that's happened and now you have more of a push to wake up." I laughed slightly, "You're probably going to kill me when you eventually do because I've drilled this inside your head so many times but... I just," I sighed an aggravated breath, "I can't stand not being with you any longer. I lost too much time with you as it is, I... I can't go through that again. It's driving me crazy." I admitted sheepishly. Bringing his hand up, I placed a kiss upon it, "I love you so much, Justin. Always," Kissing his hand again, I let out an abysmal breath, "That's a promise." Pressing my forehead to our clasped hands, I let myself cleanse out, relaxing into the atmosphere.

A small groan emitted from close by causing me to snap my head up at the direction the sound came from. "Justin?" I whispered, my eyes meeting his closed ones.

Parting his lips, his eyes fluttered open, a distant look in his eyes.

Gaping at the sight in front of me, I ignored the tears that reemerged, "It's about time you woke up." I whispered, feeling the butterflies emit in my stomach. Biting my lip, I looked behind me before looking back over at Justin, "I should probably go call a nurse but I don't want to look away. I don't want you to go back to sleep again Justin, okay? Can you hear? You can hear me, right?"

His hand squeezed mine in return.

Sucking in a sharp breath, I pulled my lips into my mouth before releasing them. "We're in the hospital. You probably feel really bad right now," I brought our hands up, leaning my cheek against it, "that's understandable. You got hurt really bad but you're going to be fine."

"Shhh," Justin soothed.

Widening my eyes, I bit the corner of my lip. "I'm sorry; did you want to say something?" Waiting, I felt my heart accelerate with each passing second, "Baby?"

Groaning in pain, Justin swallowed the dryness in his throat. Finding my eyes, his hand squeezed mine once more. "I came back for you," He hoarsely whispered.

Closing my eyes after hearing his voice, I couldn't help the rapid beating of my heart deafening me as I looked at him soon after with pure adoration. "Thank you." I whispered.