A/N: And here is the ninth one-shot... I was inspired by the title very much this time. I enjoyed writing it. I hope you all enjoy reading it. :)
Disclaimer: I do not own anything.
Slipping Away
The tears fell unchecked and unrestrained from her eyes. She wiped them away but it was of no use, they continued to fall, small rivulets of salty water running down her face. One person could have checked the flow of those tears. But he lay unconscious on a bed, fighting for his life, a life that seemed to be slipping far away, beyond his reach. She hated seeing him like this, so lifeless and almost dead. She missed Oliver and his goofy jokes, his crazy antics, his smile she missed everything about him.
Lilly sat next to his bed. She clasped his hand to her cheek; she could feel the faint beating of a pulse. It wasn't fair; it wasn't fair that he lay here fighting for his life while the other person who had caused the accident had walked away without a scratch. Did he not know he had endangered another person's life? Did he not care? Did he not know Lilly needed Oliver more than anything else in her life? Not he did not because he did not know that Oliver was the glue that held Lilly together, without him she was fragmented and broken.
The tears continued to fall stinging her eyes and burning. She could not imagine her life being lived without Oliver. She did not want to. She looked at him as she spoke, her voice a whisper, choked with pain "What will I do without you Oliver? You promised that you would be there at every stage of my life. I know it's selfish of me Oliver to want you to be there just that I don't have to be alone. But what do I do Oliver? I don't want to be alone. I don't care if no one else is there with me. I just want you to be there Oliver. Only you. There are so many things I want to tell you. You cannot go away from me before I say all of them Oliver. You just cannot" overwhelmed she laid her head on the bed, his hand still clasped to her cheek and broke into heart rending sobs.
The nurse came in and tried to take her away but she wouldn't let go, she couldn't let go. The nurse whispered soothingly and Lilly let go of Oliver's hand reluctantly.
Lilly was a regular at the hospital, she came in the morning and left only in the evening. Her parents tried to tell her to go only for a short while everyday; in response she only gave them a look. A look full of confusion, anger, pain, loneliness and despair. No words were said but her parents immediately understood. Oliver was Lilly's lifeline something they had found out a long time ago, Lilly and Oliver had spent virtually everyday together, how could they ask her not to be with him.
Everyday Lilly talked to Oliver as if he were sitting right next to her. She cried also. Well she mostly cried and talked and stroked his hair. To other people Oliver may have been unconscious but she knew that somewhere inside he could hear all that she was saying.
Doctors and patients marveled alike at her loyalty. It was touching to see a young person care so much about someone else, it made question their own beliefs about friendship. But Lilly did not care about what the other people thought. Her universe only revolved around one person Oliver; to anything else she was oblivious.
As the days passed by doctors began to lose hope that Oliver would wake up. If his coma continued he would have to be permanently put on life support or taken off it, whatever his parents wanted. Yet Lilly tenaciously clung to the hope that he would wake up. She did not listen to anyone else who tried to tell her other wise. However the desperation began to show. She had begun to lose weight and she looked gaunt and pale. The cheerful and happy Lilly had been replaced by a mere shadow of a person.
She continued talking to Oliver, she tried to keep the despair out of her voice, but sometimes it could help but seep in. The strain of keeping up a front was telling on her especially when despair seemed to be closing in on all sides, strangulating every last vestige of hope out of her.
Two months passed by, Oliver had still not woken up. There was an occasional flutter of an eyelid, a twitch of the hand. Lilly had gotten excited the first few times she had seen them but the bubble had burst when the doctor told her that those moments were involuntary ,they did not mean that Oliver would wake up. Lilly had refused to believe the doctor then but now the but now the cold hardness of reality hit her and it her very hard indeed.
She could take it no longer and climbed onto the bed and gingerly placed herself next to Oliver. She clutched him in an embrace and began sobbing. Amidst all the tears and the sobbing she heard a voice faintly say "Don't cry Lils". She scrambled off the bed almost as if she were burnt.
She hesitantly said "Oliver is that you or am I just imagining things?"
"Its is me Lilly. Nobody else. Who else would call you Lils?" Oliver said his voice faint and rough from disuse.
Lilly could not believe it; she ran out side and dragged the doctor in. The doctor came in convinced it was another false alarm. To his amazement Oliver was awake having opened his eyes. He lfet the room to call Oliver's parents. Oliver waking up was nothing short of a miracle.
Lilly went and stood next to Oliver. "I thought you were never going to wake up Oliver I was beginning to lose hope" she said, tears tracing familiar patterns on her cheeks once again as she interwined her fingers with his.
"I heard all that you had to say Lilly. How could I not get up again? You and me, we are in this life thing for the long haul. Besides didn't I promise I'd be there at every stage? How could I break my promise to the one girl who mattered more then anything else to me in the whole world." Oliver said weakly. He took their intertwined hands and placed gentle kisses on it.
Lilly bent down and kissed him on the lips, a soft kiss almost feather like.
"Why are you still crying Lilly?
"These are just tears of happiness Oliver, nothing else"
Oliver reached up and wiped them away. Lilly smiled, the tears would finally stop because the only person who could stop them was there wipe them away.
A/N: I do realize there are a few problems here. For instance I am pretty sure people aren't allowed to climb onto the hospital beds or the fact that Oliver's parents do not make an appearance in the story. Just assume they do though. So forgive for the mistakes. Anyways how did you like it? Please read and review and tell me people. I need to know what you all think about it. Reviews spur me on to write better ! :)
