Chapter 7
On his fourth call, Jackson’s friend finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“Ava, I found Jackson.”
“We’re on our way now. What’s the situation at the hospital?”
I remained silent.
After a few seconds, Jackson’s voice finally came through, tense with worry.
“Ava, it’s me. How’s my dad?”
I glanced at Jackson’s mom not far away, who was signing additional critical condition forms, and said simply:
“Just get here.”
4
“Presbyterian Hospital, Building One, first floor emergency room.”
Twenty minutes later, two figures came running in.
Jackson was in front.
His friend followed behind him.
19 3
4
TRES
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When Jackson saw our disheveled state, he suddenly froze.
He took a few hurried steps forward, then slowed down, his eyes fixed on the light above the operating room door.
“Dad…”
Jackson’s mom was already at her breaking point emotionally, and the second she saw him, she completely lost it-sobbing and hitting him all at once.
My mom held her tightly, constantly reassuring her that the surgery would be successful.
Jackson’s friend quietly came to stand beside me and whispered:
“I had six people looking for him. We finally found him using Morgan’s location tag from her post.”
“At first, he wouldn’t believe it.”
“Then we found photos of the accident online, and he recognized his Dad’s car. Nearly scared his soul right out of him.”
A sharp pain stabbed through my heart.
I turned to Jackson and quietly watched him
All his life, his good qualities had been so obvious-handsome, smart, decisive, and attentive to detail.
But everything he’d done today-from his vague cancellation before dinner, to not noticing someone had turned off his phone, to his blind trust in Morgan-it all made him look like an idiot who’d lost his mind,
I couldn’t help thinking back to earlier times.
Since childhood, my parents had admired Jackson’s intelligence.
But after learning about my crush on him, my mom had surprisingly changed her tune.
“You two should just stay friends.”
“Dating can wait until college. Maybe after meeting more people, you’ll realize you don’t like him as much as you think.”
I had complained to my dad about mom’s inconsistency.
But he said: “You’re too young to understand that when adults evaluate a relationship, we look beyond the feelings between two people to their character and their families.”
“Your mom means you’re too young to tie yourself to one tree so early.”
“What if it grows crooked?”
I snapped back to reality and saw Jackson standing frozen a few feet away, just letting his mom pound on his chest without even trying to defend himself.
His expression was a mix of confusion and regret, tears in his eyes, saying words that seemed meant to comfort his mother as much as himself:
“It’s going to be okay. Dad’s going to be fine.”
Jackson’s mom sobbed: “Ava even messaged that girl, why didn’t you believe her?”
Only then did Jackson finally turn to look at me.
His movement was painfully slow and difficult.
His eyes met mine briefly before quickly darting away, his voice barely audible:
“I thought… I thought…”
After several attempts, he still couldn’t finish.
Jackson’s mom, having found someone to lean on, clung to his side with a grief-stricken expression, praying continuously.
Seeing this, Jackson’s friend sighed heavily.
Suddenly, I sensed something unusual in my peripheral vision and turned my head.
A girl stood several meters away, watching us without moving.
Jackson seemed to sense her presence and looked over as well.
The girl gradually approached, asking with concern:
“Jackson, is your Dad okay?”
