Chasity hated hospitals. She always had. They were smelly and creepy; she felt like she was going to get sneezed on every time she rounded a corner. Thank god she hardly ever got sick.

After stopping at the nurse's station to get Drew's room number, she walked down a few more hallways to find his door. She reached her hand up and knocked softly.

An agonizing scream came from inside the room and Chasity threw open the door, immediately running inside. She expected to find Drew holding his stomach or fallen off the bed, but there was only confusion plastered on his face. Chasity's heart was racing as she saw him reclined in his bed. As she opened her mouth to ask where the scream came from, it happened again; it came from the tv across the room.

"Damnit, Andrew," Chasity breathed.

Drew raised his eyebrows as he reached for the remote, muting the screaming woman. "Ooo, my full name. I must be in trouble now."

Chasity rubbed her face. "Oh, shut up. I thought you were hurt." She walked over to the bed and grabbed one of Drew's hands in both of hers. It had been so long since she'd held his hands without them being limp from coma or weak from medication. The feeling of his muscles tensing gave her comfort.

"Ok, I can see that. But why did you think that a blonde woman screaming was me?" Drew smirked. "Am I really that shrill?"

Chasity laughed for the first time in weeks. "Nah, you're not shrill. I mean, you have your girly moments, but that's just because you hang out with Everly too much."

"Hey! You hang out with Charles but don't see me calling you manly."

"That's not very hard to reason; he spends more time with Everly than you do."

Drew laughed and scooted over on the mattress. As he gently pulled Chasity down beside him, he laced his hands with one of hers. That action alone sent a shockwave of heat running up her arm, shooting into her heart, and blushing the corners of her cheeks; just like it did when they were first flirting. Chasity settled back into the hospital-grade pillows and sighed. It seemed like forever ago that she had been sitting like this with Drew on Everly's couch, when, in reality, it had only been a few weeks. Was her life really changing this much? She shook her head to clear her thoughts and felt Drew squeeze her hand. Turning, she caught his now-serious gaze.

"Are you ok, Chas? You didn't sound good on the phone earlier."

Chasity cleared her throat and reached up to brush some hair from his face. "How did you sleep last night?"

Drew raised an eyebrow. "Better than you, I hear."

"I really don't want to-"

"Chas." He let go of her hand. "Talk to me."

She bit her lip as he folded his arms. The look in Drew's eyes was stern, daring her to change the topic. She sighed.

"My dad had an…episode last night."

Drew blinked. "Yeah, you mentioned that."

"Alright." Chasity reached up and grabbed at her hair. "I'm not sure exactly how it started. I went to bed pretty early last night. What woke me up was Emerson. He yelled out and it jolted me awake. I ran downstairs as quickly as I could; I thought maybe he'd fallen or something like that. When I got to the kitchen, though, I saw him holding his face. Mom had gotten down there before me and was trying to get him to hold a pack of frozen peas against his face. It took a little coaxing, but between me and my mom, we finally got what had happened out of him; dad had hit him."

Empathy shone in Drew's eyes as he grimaced.

"Emerson didn't know why dad had hit him. All he knew was that he had heard dad yelling outside and when he came into the kitchen to find out what was wrong, dad freaked and punched him. Then dad locked himself downstairs without saying another word."

The weight of the situation hit her like bricks and she hugged her knees as she felt her throat tighten. Tears began to blur her eyes and as Drew placed a hand on her knee, she tried her best to blink them away. A few escaped down her face, though, and she turned to wipe them away before Drew saw.

"You can cry, its ok," Drew said softly. He kissed the side of her forehead as more tears fell on her face without her permission. She shook her head.

"No, it's not ok!" Chasity's voice was scratchy. She groaned in exasperation and gave up trying to stop her tears. They were a sign of
weakness that she didn't want, but being around Drew made her emotions run wild; she became transparent when he looked at her.

Sinking down into the pillows, she balled up her fists and placed them on her forehead. She didn't dare look over at Drew; the moment she met his eyes, she would lose it completely. Focusing on the white ceiling tiles, she gathered herself up enough to speak without her voice trembling.

"It's not ok because I'm tired of being like this." She saw Drew open his mouth from the corner of her eye, so she continued before he could say anything. "And don't say that it's natural for me to cry over this. I know seeing the aftermath of your dad hitting your little brother sucks, but I should be able to control myself better than this! Between being mad at my mother, you almost dying and my dad going insane, I can't stop breaking down; I hate it!"

She bit her lip as a shaky breath escaped her lungs. A heavy silence opened up between them but she didn't try to fill it. What else was there to say? She had spilled out what she'd been feeling for weeks now, even if she never knew it fully for herself. The silence wasn't awkward or strained, but familiar, almost. It was like there was an understanding being passed between her and Drew even though neither of them were speaking. Something only they could share. For a long time, the only break came from electronic equipment that beeped occasionally.

Feeling like she couldn't cry any longer, Chasity let her hands fall to her sides as she turned to face her boyfriend, only to find him already gazing at her. His eyes were shining with emotion when he sat up.

"Come here."

Two words; whispered desperately. That's all Drew said. That's all that he needed to.

Reaching for his outstretched arms, Chasity grabbed hold of him and clung onto his rough hospital gown with trembling hands. The hair that usually brushed the back of his neck fell on her face as she nuzzled into him, letting it take over her senses. She didn't say anything, she couldn't. When she tried to think of words, they just rushed out as feelings that she didn't try to stop. No one in the world made her feel safer than the guy who was winding his fingers through her hair. No one could communicate with her using only feelings the way that he could, and she was glad; she wouldn't want anyone else on the planet to hear her right now except for him.

For the first time since Drew woke up, she let herself feel the terror and hopelessness that she had felt the day she saw his body being over taken by monstrous machines that, ironically, were keeping him breathing. Sensing his arms around her grounded in her mind just how presently alive he was, so she slowly began to replace the hopelessness she felt with the reassurance that she wasn't going to lose him.
Time passed slowly, but when she finally released him, she felt more put together than she had been in a while.

"How do you deal with this every day?" Chasity asked, to which Drew raised an eyebrow. She added, "These emotions that come with watching your parent lose control, I mean."

Drew shook his head. "Shh, don't spoil the moment."

Something jumped inside of her as he leaned in and placed a steady hand on her face. It wasn't just because he kissed her so deeply that she felt it in her soul; it was something more. The feeling of his lips filling the spaces of hers completed something inside of her, something she didn't even know she was missing.

Maybe Drew almost dying was the thing that she needed to move on, to gain strength from.

She wound her hands up his back as she kissed him intensely; flying and drowning all at once. If she could stay in his arms like this forever, she would never doubt herself again.

The kiss softened slowly and lingered for a long time. It was Drew who finally broke away, though he almost seemed reluctant to do so.

"You're my strong half, Chasity; you always have been." He played with her hair as he spoke. "You'll make it through this. I know you will."

"Thanks, Andrew." She whispered as she leaned in to hug him one last time. He squeezed her without reply.

Who knew he needed her as much as she needed him?