I woke in a stir. Everything around me was white and spinning. I could hear voices shouting all around me.
"She's awake!" someone called.
A frenzy of footsteps came closer towards me.
"Raya? Raya!" someone called.
I moved my head. Everything started to focus. I could see that I was in a white room hooked up to a bunch of machines. Around me, I could hear the frenzy of worried people. I tried to sit up, but a cool gentle hand pushed me back.
I could see now that I was in a hospital. Though how I had gotten here was beyond me. My last memory...was a cool hand next to mine, though I wasn't sure.
"Raya, can you hear me?" said a familiar voice. I knew instantly that it was my mother.
"Y--y-a" I mumbled.
I heard a sigh of relief all around the room. Looking around, I saw familiar faces all peering down at me with worried eyes. Across the room near the window stood Dr. Terran and Desiree. On my right sat Alice and Sage. Mom was at the foot of my bed. On my left, Aidan and Jasper sat watching me with curious expressions. Standing in the doorway was a small man, with dark hair and deep green eyes. I jumped as soon as I saw him. I reconized him at once, but I couldn't remember where. All that I could remember was that he was dangerous.
Jasper placed a hand on my shoulder to calm me. It only made me jump again because of his cool skin. He looked at me apoligetically.
"What's wrong?" mom asked.
I tried to say something but nothing came out. So I decided to point out what was the problem. I lifted my hand up and pointed it straight in the small man's direction. He didn't seem shocked when I pointed at him, instead, a smile grew on his face, sending shivers down my spine.
"Constable Destrom?" mom looked at me strangely.
The sound of his name gave me goosebumps. I nodded as an answer. Aidan and Jasper exchanged glances. They both looked over at Terran for conformation. He seemed to be studying Destrom. The expression on his face said that he thought the same thing as Aidan and Jasper.
The small man gave one last look at everyone and then turned slightly. His eyes fixated on me. He gave a small wink and turned to leave.
One he was gone, I felt myself loosen up. I didn't know why I feared him and that scared me even more.
"Are you alright?" Alice chimmed.
I looked at her and tried to smile, "I think so." The words came slowly, "What happened?"
Alice looked over at my mom. Terran took a couple of steps closer towards me and rested his hand on the bed rail.
"You slipped into acoma..." his voice trailed off.
My eyes popped, "What? how?"
He looked at me apoligetically, "We're not sure actually. It's nothing we have ever seen before." he paused. "We think it's from all the stress. With everything that's happened and all."
"The only thing that we really don't get though, is the fact that you were in perfect condidtion while sleeping. Your heart rate was fine and your brain was working normally. When someone goes into acoma, usually their heart rate slows or their brain activity goes down." mom said.
I stared at them like they were all crazy.
"How long have I been out?" I asked after a while.
"Almost a week." Replied Terran.
My mouth opened. "What day is it?"
"Wednesday."
I considered all of this. I looked up after a while at all the anxious faces that stared back at me.
"Is there anything to eat around here?" I asked.
It was about 5:30 when we arived home. We had dropped Sage and Alice off after we had gone for supper. The house was quiet and cool. The air was relaxing as we walked through the door.
I sat on the couch and flipped the T.v. I turned to the movie channels and found one of my faveorites. I clicked on it. I slouched and watched the T.V like a zombie, not really taking in anything that happened.
Mom came into the room with a glass of water. She sat down beside me and handed it to me. I gratefully accepted it and took a sip. The cool liquid flowed down my throat.
After a while, I decided that I would try to sleep normally. Mom said that she was going to wake me up halfway through the night just to make sure that I didn't slip back into acoma, but I doubted that she would remember.
Once in my room, I sat on my bed and took a breather. Since being out for almost a week, all of my energy had been drained. Terran said that I should be back to normal in just a couple of days. The room was hot so I decided to open the window. Outside, the cool air whirled around. In the tree I saw something move.
I watched carefully for a minute. It stirred again.
"Is someone there?" I asked quietly.
I saw the figure come towards me out of the darkness. My heart started beating faster. Why did I say that? What if it was someone I didn't know?
When the figure emerged from the darkness, His face made my heart melt. It had only been Jasper.
"What are you doing there?"
"Your mom wouldn't let me in to make sure you were alright so I decided that I would just come up here and watch you sleep tonight to make sure nothing happened."
I looked at him and smiled. "Are you going to come in then?"
He seemed startled by my question. "Do you want me to come in?"
"Yes."
He slowly climbed through the window till he stood right in front of me. Right now he seemed so much taller than I remembered. He lifted his hand and brushed it against my face. I closed my eyes. Where his hand touched, it seemed like it burned, but it didn't hurt.
My smile widened. I opened his eyes to see that he was now smiling to.
"You should try to get some rest."
I considered this for a minute. "But now I don't want to."
"Then I'll go." he moved towards the window.
"No!" I shrieked.
I covered my mouth quickly hoping that I had not been loud enough for mom to hear. After a minute I let my hands drop, knowing that she hadn't.
His smile widened. He moved closer to me. Once he was right beside me, he put his arms around my and lifted me off the ground. He carried me to my bed and sat me against the wall. I took his arm and pulled him down with me so he sat right next to me. His arms tighetened around me in a warm embrace. I rested my head against his shoulder and closed my eyes, taking in his sweet scent.
He started to hum a song that I had never heard before. It sounded beautiful coming from him.
"What song is that?" I asked sleepily.
"Your lullaby. I wrote it just for you." he replied. He kissed my forehead and then continued humming.
It didn't take long to slip into sleep.
I woke to a faint blue light coming through the curtains. I could still smell the sweeytness of ginger and fresia. I opened my eyes to see That Jasper still held me in a tight embrace. He was still singing my lullaby.
I lifted my head too look at him. He smiled down at me, and I returned his smile. My eyes wandered down to his clothes, which I noticed that he had changed.
"You changed?"
He chuckled, "Ya. Earlier this morning. Your mom came to check on you so I figured I should go home and change while she did."
"You left?" my voice was disapointed.
He laughed, "Couldn't let the neighbors see me in the same clothes as yesterday right? What would they think?"
I nodded. He stood up, letting go of me. "Your mom is already gone. I will wait for you downstairs while you get ready." and with that he turned and walked out the door and down the stairs.
It didn't take long to change. I slipped on a blue v-neck shirt and a pair of jeans. I brushed my hair, grabbed my things and went down the stairs to meet Jasper.
He sat at the island watching me as I came down. He smiled when he saw me. I felt my cheeks flush as I looked at the clock. It read 7:32.
"Breakfast time." he said.
I looked at him and covered my neck with my hands. His face turned into a scowl.
"Let me rephrase that. Breakfast time for you."
I let my hands drop and smiled. I grabbed a bowl and some cereal.
"That wasn't funny you know." he said once I took the first bite.
"I know." I smiled at him.
His face was cold, but then he smiled back. It didn't take long before I was done. I washed the dishes quick. Once we were outside, I saw that his car was parked in mom's usual spot. He walked over and opened the passenger side door and signaled for me to climb in. I did so gratefully, knowing that I would have some time with him before school started.
We pulled out of the driveway fast. I looked out the window to see my neighbor and her son watching me through the window.
At the school, there were already alot of cars there. We parked near the front door and headed in. The halls were already busy with teenagers who were talking about the welcome back dance Friday. I groaned.
Alice and Sage found us when we were at my locker. They both said hello to Jasper and then turned to me.
"Cyrus is having a cow. Apparently someone told him that you and Jack are going to the dance together." Alice said.
"What?!"
Sage nodded her head.
"But I'm not!"
"We know. he won't listen to us." Sage mumbled.
I looked up. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Cyrus storming over to us. I took in a deep breath as he neared.
"Your going to the dance with Jack!?" he practically yelled.
"No, I am not." I said cooly.
He raised his hand to argue but then stopped, looking confused, "Your not?"
I shook my head, "No."
"Oh okay then." he smiled, "Are you going with anyone?"
I slowly glanced at Jasper. Cyrus followed my gaze and then scowled.
"Oh. I see." and he walked away.
I didn't dwell over the fact that he was mad at me. Or that Sage and Alice were screaming with joy. No, I couldn't take my eyes off of Jasper as he watched Cyrus leave with a look of pure hatred. I gathered that Cyrus had thought something really nasty about him.
Alice and Sage looked at me.
"So your coming dress shopping with us tonight then right?" Alice squealed.
"Uhm..." was all I could say.
"Oh come on! I know you have nothing to wear to this thing." Sage beamed.
I shot a look at Jasper. He smiled back a me. He was no help.
"Fine." I said.
Alice and Sage grabbed a hold on me and squealed in happyness.
