MY PURPOSE - JOHN B ROUTLEDGE

CHAPTER FIVE - PRAYERS

John B refused to believe this was happening. He didn't just watch Eleanor, the girl who meant the world to him, take her final breath. He didn't. He couldn't have.

He knelt down beside her, the world around him fading into a blur of muffled sounds and disjointed colours. The pulsating ache in his chest was almost unbearable as he cradled her head in his trembling hands, her once-vibrant face now waxen and ghostly in the dim light.

The doctor was scrambling around the room trying to find his medical bag to start CPR or she wasn't going to make it.

"Do you know CPR?" He quickly asked.

John B shook his head.

"That's a sternum. Push on it till I tell you to stop. And try not to break her ribs"

"Come on, El" He whispered, his voice cracking under the weight of despair as he counted each compression, desperate to summon the spark he knew was still inside her.

Doctor Nygard stopped him, placing the mouthpiece over Eleanor's lips and pumped the full bag twice "Okay...go again"

John B continued CPR. Then he stopped and Dr. Nygard stepped in to give her two breaths. Just like that, the two men were rotating back and forth but Eleanor showed no signs of life.

With every push down onto her sternum, he felt her ribs give away beneath his hands - a sickening sound that the punctured the silence around them.

"You gotta stay with me, El. Stay with me" The boy pleaded, his mind racing through memories - her smile that could light up the night sky, the way she stood up for the people she loved, the warmth of her hand in his. Each thought was a stab, a reminder of everything he stood to lose.

He didn't even tell get to tell her he loved her too before she slipped away.

Time stretched, warping reality, as he continued his best efforts of saving her. But the seconds turned into minutes, and soon the doctor stopped what he was doing and put the bag down.

"She's lost too much blood, kid. I'm sorry. I'll leave you with her" He patted him on the shoulder, leaving to his office with his liquor.

John B wasn't taking no for an answer so he grabbed the bag and took on both roles. Pumping air into her lungs, he went back to CPR. Pressing his hands against her chest, feeling the weight of her fragile body beneath him, a weight that felt impossibly heavy. He pumped with intention, giving it all he had, wishing and praying her heart to beat again.

One... two... three...

He pushed down harder. Her body swayed from side to side like she was a rag doll. No sign of life. All John B wanted was to see those brown eyes again.

He stared at Eleanor's lifeless form, his hands still trembling, his heart aching. She was gone and the sound of the monitor flat-lining proved it. It was a deafening, cruel reminder of his failure. He failed to save her.

Tears streamed down his face, his hands going up to rest on her cheeks. Her pale, cold cheeks.

"Hey, please don't die. Come on. Come on! Wake up! Eleanor, wake up!" He screamed, trying CPR for the last time. Nothing.

His trembling hands left her chest and dropped to his side. He started to a scream, a scream that ricocheted off the walls of the dodgy doctor's office. The bag on table was thrown across the room and so was the chair next to him. His foot smashed into a box on the floor. He couldn't see right with the tears burning his eyes. His hands were dried with his girlfriend's blood as he dragged them roughly through his hair in distress before falling into the chair near Eleanor's bedside, his face falling into his palms.

"I love you! I love you too, El" He whispered, sobs breaking through his body. They were the last words she ever said to him "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for everything. God, you're my purpose too El, I-I can't lose you. I need you goddamn it!"

John B was in denial. He let his head rest on her stomach with his hand entwined with her own and the other stroking her hair whilst his blurred vision remained on the monitor, telling him she still wasn't breathing. That made him close his eyes as more tears fell down his face.

But then something very unexpected happened. The monitor started to beep causing John B to lift his head up. He couldn't believe it. She was alive and to prove it further, her fingers twitched in his hand causing him to check her pulse. He had to take a breath when he felt a faint thump.

"Doc? Hey, Doc! Come here!"

Doctor Nygard hurried out from his office he was hunkered down in and placed two fingers below her jaw.

"You crazy son of a bitch" John B whispered, his hand still stroking her hair. He looked up at the doctor and he nodded with a smile on his face. He couldn't believe it either.

"She's just needs some rest. She'll come around"

-----

Eleanor felt groggy went she woke up. Then the stabbing pain next to her right hip hit her. She groaned, taking a second before pushing herself to sit up. She knew she should really be resting but when has she ever followed by the rules?

She reached her hand up to grab the bag of IV fluids she was hooked up to and swung her legs over the edge of the table. Slowly touching the ground, she walked over to what looked like an office where she could hear the voice of John B and someone else. Once she opened the door John B was quick at her aid.

"Whoa, little lady. You need to go lie down" Doctor Nygard exclaimed.

"How long did I sleep?"

"Not long enough" John B replied as he let her lean into him.

"Can we still make it?" She said in a hurry.

John B was shocked "No. No. We-El, it's over. Okay? That's it. Done. You're not getting hurt again"

She shook her head "No, it's not. We still have an hour, we can do this" You could tell by her voice she was in pain but she didn't let her face show it.

"You need to rest. You just got shot"

"And I've been shot before. I'm fine" There was no room for an argument. You could tell she was angry. "We're going"

John B nodded. He got some antibiotics to prevent any infections and Ibuprofen to help with the pain from the doctor before he was jogging down the stairs to catch up with her.

"Seriously, Eleanor, you shouldn't be standing" John B said.

"I've already told you, I'm fine"

John B sighed. She was as stubborn as her parents "Okay. Just relax"

The two teens came to a stop. There was a police officer speaking to two men across the road. They knew.

"Oh shit" She muttered.

"Are you kidding me?" John B mumbled.

"You guys got a little heat on you, don't you?" Doctor Nygard asked. Eleanor nodded "I've been there, and I've done that. But I got an idea"

He led them to the other side of the building, where a car was parked. He handed the keys over to John B "Friend of the devil is friend of mine"

"Thanks, Doc"

Using the car as support, Eleanor moved to the passenger side door and went to open the door before Doctor Nygard got it himself. She gave him a smile as she sat down in the seat "Let's go, Sancho"

"So how bad's it gonna be when the anaesthesia wears off?" John B asked as he shut her door.

"Pretty much mind-bending" He answered "Just keep her steady on that medication. By the looks of things, she's a very tough girl she'll be alright"

"All right, Doc, how do I get this baby back to you?"

"You're just going to the wharf, right?"

"Yeah. Berth 39, right?" He asked, getting in the driver's seat.

"Perfect. Put the keys under the gas cap, and we're good"

John B fiddled with the keys, lifting his head up to look at him "Are you sure we can take this?"

"Well, you overpaid for the medical, so have a nice trip" He smiled at the two of them.

Eleanor smiled back "Thank you"

"Thanks, Doc"

John B pulled out onto the road as they tried not to act suspicious. When they arrived near the wharf, sirens could be heard. The entire harbour had been overrun by cops who were inspecting the boat Cleo told them to meet them all at. That was there getaway.

"Shit! Cops. Should I peel?"

Eleanor shook her head "No. Just play dumb"

"Down. Slow down" The officer in front of them ordered "Road's closed"

"What happened?" John B frowned, looking over to where all the police were.

"Robbery. There was a shootout" The officer briefly explained "Now move along"

"Well, is everybody okay?" Cleo was in that shootout.

"Move on"

John B slowly moved the car forward and that's when Eleanor saw it "John B" She pointed to the truck that was being loaded with the gold.

"We lost the gold" She sighed "Once again to Rafe and Ward fucking Cameron"

He looked down at his lap being just as disappointed "Shit. I'm sorry, El"

But Eleanor wasn't listening to what John B was saying anymore, she was too focused on the cop that was talking to them a few seconds ago was now giving them a funny look whilst reaching for his gun.

"John B, we need to go!"

Seconds later and they were into another car chase. He pressed down on the accelerator pedal, quickly losing the officers behind them who were on foot but once they got to the bridge, they could hear sirens behind them coming from all different directions.

John B was swerving all over the road until he sharply turned the corner done a narrow street that was full of pedestrians. Eleanor was checking to make sure no cops were behind them whilst the poor people had to jump out the way to save their lives. However, one person wasn't so lucky as their entire body smashed against the windshield of the car. That made John B and Eleanor's jaws drop, their eyes wide as he slammed on the breaks.

"Fuck sake! You just hit a person" Eleanor shoved him "Well, go help them!"

"Shit, man!" The girl groaned in pain.

John H hurriedly got out "Oh my god. I'm so-" That's when he realised who it was "Cleo?"

"Some freaking rescue!"

"Cleo" He started to help her up shooing some guy away who wanted to call the cops "No, don't call the cops. Come on, come on" He helped her to the car.

"You ran me over"

"I am so sorry"

"Where'd you get your license man?"

"The great state of North Carolina"

"You didn't see me in the streets?" Cleo got in the back seat.

"No, I didn't"

Cleo smiled, seeing Eleanor in the passenger seat "Mother- Hey! How'd you make it through, girl?"

"Shit Cleo, are you okay?" Of course Cleo was the one John B had to hit.

"Just a scrape, you know?" She shrugged "I went up and over. Been through worse"

"Hey, we gotta keep driving. We can't stay here" Eleanor had to take a breath. She could feel the pain getting worse now. The anaesthesia was slowly but surely wearing off.

"What happened back there?" John B looked back at Cleo "We went to the playboy and that place was hot! Cops were everywhere!"

"We were waiting for you guys to show up, and the coppers came. They came from every direction. I jumped overboard"

"Terrance and Stubbs?" Eleanor asked.

"I heard gunshots. Then I ran. I wanted to shoot it out with them, but it was too many"

"Shit! Guys, we got company" Eleanor said, seeing the police car behind them.

Cleo sat back in her seat "It's alright, I got a place"

-----

It was getting dark now. Cleo had led them to a harbour that was on the other side of the island full of rundown, old boats that were mostly used for fishing. Eleanor had some of the painkillers from Dr Nygard now the pain had fully wore off but they weren't much help.

John B had his arm around her waist and her arm was around his shoulders as they walked down to the marina "I got you, I got you" He whispered.

Eleanor matched his pace as best as she could whilst pushing through her pain.

"Hey, cleo, is this cool?" John B asked.

"I got an uncle who works at this marina. We're safe here. Recognise the boat?"

Eleanor sighed in relief. She couldn't believe it "Sarah's boat"

John B smiled "I thought you guys would've pawned it by now"

"Seems like a good time to give it back to you"

Cleo took any more tarp off that was still on the boat whilst John B helped Eleanor with getting in the boat.

"Wish I could join you guys. It's a nice dinghy"

Eleanor was quite surprised she wasn't going with them "You're not coming with?"

"Are you kidding? You two are so hot, I'm better off on my own" She teased.

Eleanor smiled, leaning over as best she could to give the girl a side hug "Be safe out there. Thank you for everything"

"Thank you. Seriously" John B added.

"No problem. Maybe one day. I get the same thing you two got. Somebody helps me too" Cleo smiled "Now, John B, you take care of my girl. You ain't gonna find another one like her"

John B smiled "Always"

"Hang tight. I'm gonna get the keys. Too soon for goodbyes, y'all. I'll be right back!"

"Thanks, Cleo"

"JB, do we have enough gas?" Eleanor asked.

"Um, we should be good if the wind is behind us" He told her.

Eleanor sighed for what felt like the tenth time that day "Well let's hope it is"

All of a sudden, a beam of light was shone on their faces with the sound of a gun being cocked.

"Hey! You there!" The man shouted "Put your hands up! All the way up!"

"You've got to be shitting me" Eleanor mumbled as the two raised their hands. They could never just have a moment of peace.

"Hey, don't shoot, okay?" John B pleaded.

"Please, we haven't done anything"

The police officer didn't get to say anything else when Cleo knocked him to the ground causing him to groan in pain. She went to leap over to him to give John B the keys but the officer grabbed her ankles, bringing her down to the deck too.

Cleo kicked the man in the jaw knocking him down again giving her enough time to fish the keys out from her pocket and throw them to John B "Go! Get out of here!"

"Hey! Stop! Get back here!" They could hear the officer back on the dock shouting but Cleo had already jumped into the water when gunshots started. Eleanor just hoped she was a good enough swimmer to make it out. Only a few bullets came in their direction but luckily were deflected by the boat's exterior.

And once again, they were back on the sea. Heading to god knows where.

With the pain Eleanor was feeling, she ended up falling asleep and waking up to the full moon shining over them. They were a few miles away from shore now so John B had killed the engine to save gas and just let the current carry them the rest of the way.

"This is the Gulf Stream. It's gonna take us north right home" John B got up and walked over to sit next to her.

"Home" Eleanor smiled faintly "Never thought I'd be happy to say that word"

John B smiled "How you doing?"

"Never better" She replied. John B didn't like that. He wanted her to be honest with how she was feeling but she must've known as she cut him off again "Hey, do you remember when you asked me to marry you?"

John B frowned "Yeah and then you said no. Shut me down straight away"

"Well fuck it" She shrugged "Let's get married. We only live once, John B. Why not make the most of it"

"Okay, well, what about a preacher? Rings?"

"What about rings?" Eleanor repeated "As long as I've got you I really don't care about some stupid ring"

"I got an idea" John B reached for the bandana that was around his neck. He ripped a part of it off so it would be long enough to go round her neck.

"Eleanor Ortiz-Toretto, I give you this sweaty... piece of my father's bandana as a token of my love"

Eleanor chuckled, holding her hair up so John B could tie it around her neck. She looked down at the worn, navy blue fabric and smiled.

"It's perfect" She whispered "By the power vested in me, by the sky, the stars and the sea, I now pronounce us husband and wife"

"Through sickness and health, through rich and poor, till death do us part" He finished.

"You may kiss your bride" Eleanor smiled. John B with a large grin on his face, leaned over to kiss her. His hands on her cheeks as they made a promise to each other. A real promise.

"By the way" Eleanor murmured as the two slowly pulled away, their foreheads resting against each other "It's Eleanor Toretto-Routledge now. I'm married"

John B looked down as he chuckled "We're married"