A few hours had gone by. But to Ethan, it felt like a few days.
He was tired of sitting in silence. He was tired of staring at his hands. He just wanted to get the hell out of here and back to Rox's side.
"She loves you too you know." The voice that had been haunting his dreams had all of a sudden taken on a very feminine tone.
"She doesn't." There was no way that Rox could ever love him back. Not after what he had done to her. He had pushed her away. He had broken her heart and shattered her soul and he would never forgive himself.
"She does." The voice moved closer and he forced his eyes shut even tighter. Surely he was hearing things.
"Rox?" He must have been hallucinating because he could have sworn that the woman moving toward him was the object of his affection.
"Close." The voice revealed itself and he let out a sigh at the woman on the other side of the bars.
Emo. He should have known the woman would make it to Rox's side eventually.
"What are you doing down here?" He huffed out. He opened his eyes, locking them on the same spot on the ceiling that he had been staring at a few hours ago. "You should be with her."
"She's sleeping." The older woman's voice was soft and he swallowed back a sob.
"Thank God for that." He whispered.
He felt his heart clench in his chest. He needed to see her. So much so that it was killing him. He knew that Emo would understand his plight. That she understood his feelings for the woman. Surely she would help him.
"I need to see her." He sobbed out.
"I know." Her words made him shiver.
"You don't understand." He watched as she moved even closer. Her hands resting on the bars as she eyed him softly. "I..."
"I know Ethan." He wondered if she really did know. If it was even possible that anyone knew how much he loved her. "And she knows too."
He chuckled. A sad, pathetic, loopy chuckle. There was no way that Rox understood. She probably thought he hated her. He had left her all alone after all.
"Is she okay?" He just needed to be with her. Why was that too much to ask?
"She's missing you." Emo whispered, her eyes soft as he looked up at her finally.
"Tell her I'm sorry." He couldn't breathe. He felt like his lungs were closing up, like his body was going to shut down on him at any minute.
"She knows you're trying to get to her." He hoped she knew that he hadn't left her on purpose. "She knows you need her too."
"I..." He closed his eyes then. His head fell back against the pillow. He choked back a sob. "I need her to be okay."
"She is Ethan." Emo whispered. "Now you take care of yourself and we'll take care of her."
"Thank you." He whispered back. He felt his body giving back in to sleep and he sank back against the incredibly uncomfortable mattress with a sigh.
The only thing he saw when he closed his eyes was her. And he was hellbent and determined to get back to her as soon as he could.