Alright, it took a little longer than promised, but here's Chapter 3! (: Please review, it motivates me to write faster!

The door swung open and smacked the wall hard as I clambered in, echoing around the room. I cringed instantly, knowing that it would only draw more attention to the fact that I had plowed my way in without permission, but let my thoughts freeze when I saw him, colorless and sprawled like a ragdoll on the hospital bed.

I was rooted to the spot, one part of me wanting to run over and wrap his body in my arms, and the other part wanting to run away and keep the beautiful image I had of him preserved forever. But then I was reminded that there was hope: that he might come out of this, and selfishly, I wanted to be the first one he saw. I took a courageous step toward him, craning my neck to see him where I was standing so that, hopefully, I wouldn't have to go closer.

I couldn't bear it. I stretched my arm out and reached for his hand, intertwining our fingers when I felt it. He was cold, and that mere observation sent chills through my spine. I finally swallowed my fear and walked to his bedside, grabbing his hand more firmly to make it warm again. I leaned down and kissed it gently, then glanced up at his face to really take it all in.

The door opened again behind me and I wheeled around, my desperation to be here with him taking me over completely. Neil walked in, followed by a nurse, who had obviously been fussing about me a few seconds before.

"Hey," said Neil, glancing over at him and sighing. While Neil didn't look as bad as I knew I did at this point, I could tell that he'd been on his mind since I called him.

I nodded, not sure whether a greeting would sound too friendly coming out of my mouth at that moment.

"How's he doing?" asked Neil, looking up at me solemnly.

How is he doing? Was that really the best question to ask? Looking back at him, it was pretty obvious to tell that despite the nurse's claims of hope, he wasn't doing particularly well. I calmed myself down, knowing that Neil was simply referring to his condition and that I was blowing it all out of proportion because of my anger.

"The nurse says that things are looking up a bit more, which is good," I said, becoming quite aware of how sullen my voice was when I answered him.

He didn't seem put off by my tone, which was also a good thing. He'd apparently stuck up for me to the nurse, who was silently messing with something in the corner of the room that I couldn't see.

"Hey Kris, you know he loved you, right?" Neil said, his eyes searching mine.

I pressed my lips together and looked down at Adam, feeling the familiar sense of dread as I looked at his cold, pale face.

I nodded slowly, hoping with all of my heart that Neil's words weren't lies to put me at ease. I slowly sat down beside Adam on the bed and kissed his forehead as I silently whispered, "I love you."

_*_*_*_*_

After holding onto Adam for a few more minutes, the nurse quickly ushered me out of the room as Neil flashed me a look of apology.

I sat back in the same metal chair that I'd now become accustomed to and let my head hit the wall behind me with a resounding "thump", immediately regretting it as a headache was piled on top of everything else stressing me out at the moment.

I flinched as my phone vibrated, and suddenly an idea presented itself.

I slid my cell phone from my pocket, knowing that doing what I was about to would only make me feel worse, but I had to. Adam would get me through this. He helped me through everything else and this time would be no exception.

I opened up my inbox and scrolled to the last message from him. When I got to it, I felt my eyes automatically fill with hot tears. It read:

"good morning baby. i'll be there in about 5 mins to pick u up. if u don't eat anything before i get there we can grab a coffee or something somewhere. ily with all my heart! –Adam (:"

Getting coffee with Adam a few days ago suddenly felt like an eternity ago, but I could still remember what his latte smelled like when I thought about it; Sweet, but strong. Just like him.

I shoved the phone quickly back into my pocket, not sure whether I could handle staring at it any longer. Just as I finally tucked it safely away, Neil came out and collapsed into the chair beside me, looking weary. He leaned into his hand and stared off solidly into the distance, not even bothering to acknowledge me until I fidgeted anxiously in my chair, wondering if the nurse had told him anything else.

"Kris… this is going to sound really weird, but could you tell me about Adam?" he asked, glancing up at me.

I wasn't sure what he meant by that. They were brothers after all, weren't they? Wouldn't he already know Adam pretty well?

He must've been able to pinpoint the look in my eyes, because he quickly elaborated, "I know him pretty well, but I still feel like there's a lot I never got the chance to learn. I was hoping that maybe you could fill the gaps? Who knows, maybe it'll help us both get through this a little easier."

I smiled, but didn't think for an instant that thinking about everything I loved about Adam would help me right now… or him for that matter. Seeing the eager expression on his face though, I couldn't say no.

"What exactly do you want to know about him?" I asked, hoping that I didn't sound as upset as I was.

Neil stared off into space for a minute, thinking, and then finally said, "Tell me how you two met."

And that's when I knew that any calm or peaceful façade I'd been using had been shattered to pieces. I loved Adam now, but when we first met, he was my prey, and I would've done anything to torture him. I wasn't too sure, but I was pretty certain that that wasn't what Neil really wanted to hear about.

"You really want to know how we met? It wasn't love at first sight or anything romantic like that," I said, really hoping that Neil would ask me about something else. No such luck.

"I don't care. I just want to know the story. I don't need some kind of fairy tale or anything."

I sighed, racking my brain for the first time our eyes met, and then I remembered, smiling to myself as I imagined his smiling face as it had been on that very first day, with all of his charisma and charm shining through…

And my ignorance to recognize it.