Sorry guys. This one's a very short chapter. Haven't had too much time to work on this lately, but I should have chapter 3 up pretty soon with any luck. (: Hope you enjoy!
The next morning came shining unpleasantly through my eyelids, willing me awake. The bustle of nurses, doctors, and others seemed to have picked up a bit that morning, not one of them shooting a glance at me, laying like a blob in one of their metal chairs.
I stretched and yawned, feeling as things that I didn't even know I had in my body cracked from the strain.
I leapt in surprise as I felt my cell phone buzz in my pocket. I dug around for it, blinking a few times to let my eyes adjust to the light. Really, who was awake this early?
Neil was. I reluctantly hit "open" and murmered the text aloud, which read, "How is he? N e improvement?"
My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach. Somehow, even being in the hospital, I'd completely forgotton why I'd been here for just a minute. It all came rushing back to me suddenly and even the sky outside seemed to get a little bit darker. I bit my lip as I thought about what to say back, finally hitting "reply" and texting, "everything's the same. still pale and in a coma. nurse said he's lucky 2 b alive"
I flipped down the top to my phone and got up from the chair, looking down the hallway at his door. He was this close to me, and I couldn't even see him. Immediate family…, I thought to myself grudgefully, I love him too. I shouldn't be held outside his door like a criminal…
"He's better today," said a voice from behind me. I wheeled around to see the same nurse who'd given me attitude the day before. Today, however, she seemed happier, and to my utter relief, wearing sneakers. I might have seemed pissy about everything, but really. What was there to be happy about right now? That I'm alive? Yeah, okay, fantastic. It wouldn't matter much if he died right now- any positive qualities about me would drop off with him.
I was jolted out of my trance by a buzzing in my pocket. I knew it was a text back from Neil, but he'd have to wait. I glanced back up at the nurse, who was watching me expectantly.
"He's b-better?" I stammered as my heart soared. For the first time in 24 hours, I felt happy, or at least a level higher than 'suicidal'.
The nurse nodded, smiling sweetly.
"His breathing's normal now and he's got some color in his face again. He still hasn't woken up, but things seem a lot more promising than they did yesterday," she said, rubbing my shoulder comfortingly.
I tried to dredge up a smile to thank her, but I knew that all that showed up on my face was probably a worried frown.
I watched as the nurse walked away, once again leaving me in an invisible solitude.
That's right… Neil, I thought to myself, grabbing my phone and opening to read my last text.
"I'll b down l8tr," it read. I decided not to text him back, but to try to slip into his room, just to see him again, no matter how much his condition terrified me.
I peered around the corner to see if anyone was watching. When I finally came to the conclusion that the coast was clear, I made a run for it, hoping that if anyone WAS watching, I hadn't just looked like a complete idiot. Whatever, they had to see weirder things here. This was a hospital, after all.