AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“By the way… Ryan and Steph were voted as prom king and queen.”
“Aw, come on, Jess!” He frowned. “Don’t tell her that! Do you want her to wake up or stay asleep?”
“I’m just spilling the tea!”
“Well, stop! Spill it somewhere else! It wasn’t like I wanted to be prom king. It’s bad enough I had to dance with that crazy bitch.”
“I’m trying to give her all the details here! I hoped that would have pissed her off enough to wake up.” Jessica exhaled in frustration.
Ryan gazed at Aria’s impassive face.
You’re never gonna open your eyes again, are you?He pushed back tears.
“Talk to her,” Jessica encouraged.
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Anything and everything—just talk.”
Collecting his thoughts, he said, “Coach Carter wore this ridiculous looking tangerine tux.”
Jessica’s laughter filled the room. “Oh, my God! That was classic! The man’s got a beer belly, but he totally pulled it off!”
Ryan couldn’t hide his grin. He’d ended up going to the prom without a date because he hadn’t planned to take anyone else but Aria. It was hard for him and Jessica to celebrate while their friend was in a hospital bed. Last week, Natalie had overheard them talking about canceling their prom plans. After lecturing the teens, she insisted they go because ditching their prom would have achieved nothing. It wouldn’t have changed Aria’s condition, and they would have missed out on a memorable moment in their lives. Her motherly love and encouragement had convinced them to go on her daughter’s behalf and tell Aria all about it. They remained true to their promise and had returned to narrate that night.
“The hotel garden was so beautiful, Aria,” Jess summarized. “We took a stroll with some friends, and there was this huge marble fountain… I made a wish and flipped a quarter inside. I won’t tell you what I wished for, but Iwillsay it was about you…”
“She wished you would wake up.”
“Ryan!”
“What?” He crossed his arms in his chest. “You already gave her a big hint—might as well say what you wished for.”
She shook her head at him and kept talking.
“Ms. Perez was chaperoning that night, and she had brought a date. Let’s just say he was basically Mr. Universe—total hotty!”
Ryan rolled his eyes.
“He kind of reminded me of Evan.” She giggled.
“The music was awesome.” Ryan changed the subject.
“The DJ was phenomenal. He kinda looked like Pauly-D fromJersey Shore!”
“Calm down with your Pauly obsession.”
“Iwillmeet this man. It’s happening.”
“I wouldn’t dare to interfere with your manifestation.”
“Good.” Jessica laughed and fixed her gaze on Aria. “I’ve put together a playlist of songs from prom.” She docked her iPod.
“I can’t believe you actually requested ‘Gangnam Style.’” Ryan howled.
“Hey! Everyone danced to it!” Jessica’s laughter died down as she looked at her friend with a weak smile. Squeezing her hand, she said, “I wore that royal blue dress we had eyed at the mall last month, remember? I felt like a princess, but you would have looked like a beauty pageant winner if you had come.”
“I’m sure Steph would have died from jealousy,” Ryan commented.
