I drunk you, I'm love
by: pastel gaps
He woke up covered in the pool of his own sweat.
He felt like he's always ten feet underwater before waking up. The constant beeping of very complicated machines in the back of his mind before opening his eyes to the sound ringing beside him instead. He's used to the plain ceiling, the walls not any different. The dull scent of alcohol weakening his cravings for anything better than hospital food.
It's another day. Which meant it's another hour, minute and second of lying down in bed, waiting for the door to open. People used to visit every day. His colleagues, then friends came second. He didn't have a family, so he found a family in them instead. They always gave him updates with their lives, seemingly as if he was still part of them and the room felt warmer that way.
His best friend just got engaged to Juvia. His cousin was planning to travel with his girlfriend back in Oak Town to meet his family. Then there was his boss, who was more of a friend than his superior. She got promoted, at least that's what he heard. That was all the last time he heard from all of them.
One by one, gradually–they stopped visiting since. He knew they were all too busy, they have lives to live and he understood that. He knew the moment they told about their worries–problems which could at least be solved by sacrificing visiting hours. They realized three months later.
Because who would want to deal with a sick person? Because he was their friend, that was always their answer. They imprinted it into his mind, made sure he knows it when he was still in pieces. But Gray had to plan his own wedding, Gajeel and Levy had to leave so soon, and Erza–she's a great boss with an outstanding work ethic worthy of creating her own company. He was their friend but they were also their own person. He knew that as well.
Today, when he least expected it the most–his door opened.
"Mr. Dragneel, may I have a moment to speak with you?"
He sees the files in her hands, followed by the uncertainty in her eyes.
He nods his head and the doctor stands before him.
Her words confuse him. They were all too long, too complicated for his own understanding. He can't follow the words just as it left her mouth. Something about being confined for six months, then more words. Blood cloth. More words he didn't understand until so suddenly, she's holding his hand for support–support she gave which he never knew he needed, at least at the moment.
"You only have six more months to live, a year at most if you continued your medication" The voice of his doctor slightly breaking.
"I wish there is something more we could do" She added.
When the silence felt all too quiet, that's when she felt.
He still couldn't grasp it. It felt unreal, as if being confined in the hospital for six months now is a running gag. He was waiting for the cameras to reveal themselves, for the doctor to return and tell him the joke which is his life. But a second past, then another. Another. The silence swallowing the room, himself sinking deeper into understanding.
"I'm dying" And it sinks deeper.
"And nobody knows"
College is a pain in the ass, damn.
anathema chapter 3 will be coming soon, sorry for the delay.