When I finally came to, I was surprised to see that Liam was not sitting next to me. Instead, Vida was there, her legs crossed as she read some magazine. On further inspection, I realized she was not reading it, but rather tearing off strips of the pages, wadding them up, and attempting to throw them into the waste basket on the other side of the room. I could see several paper balls scattered all over the room.

I lifted my head and attempted to scoot up higher in the bed. My whole body was aching as if someone had hit me with a hammer on every square inch of my body.

"Awake, huh, boo?"

I looked over and Vida had put her magazine aside and had her full attention on me.

"Where's Liam?" I asked the question, but the voice did not sound like mine. It was barely above a whisper and so hoarse. It made my throat hurt to just get those words out.

"I sent him away to go get some sleep. He hasn't slept for about three days, aside from closing his eyes every now and then."

Of course. Liam was exhausted. And of course, he would not leave my side unless someone else was there.

"I'll tell you what, boo," Vida said. "You sure put on a show after he left."

I gave her a confused look. "What?"

She shook her head. She was trying to act tough, but I noticed the way her hands were shaking. She was holding them together in her lap, trying to hide it.

"Well, after he left and I took over his post, the nurse came in with these weird "hypothermia" blankets, they called them. Basically they were like, kept in a freezer. Weird shit. But they were trying to stop your brain from melting. They also brought in a basin with cold water and wash clothes," Vida stopped for a minute, like she was thinking. She took a deep breath before continuing. "Before they could start cooling you down with the water, you had a seizure. Like, full-blown body convulsing, foaming mouth…"

I stared at her in shock for a minute. A seizure? I had never had one before, unless I counted what happened when Cate overdosed me with penicillin.

Vida pinched her nose, closing her eyes. "Then you just stopped. I thought you were dead. There were like four nurses in here all shouting and checking things and calling for people and I was just sitting here. Your face went pale and I just… I thought you were dead,

"After what felt like forever, you decided breathing was a good idea and I realized you weren't dead. Gave me a fucking heart attack though. The nurse said it was because your fever was so high. So they just continued doing what they were doing and said they would watch you closely."

I laid back and stared at the ceiling for a while. Then, a took a deep breath and asked, "Does Liam know?"

Vida shook her head. "He is sleeping really hard in the waiting room. Drooling and everything."

I nodded. "Good. He doesn't need to know."

"Well, boo," Vida said. "He is going to find out eventually."

"Well, eventually doesn't have to be today or tomorrow."

Vida shrugged. "I guess."

She stood up then and came to the side of the bed.

"If you weren't so messed up, I'd punch you for scaring me like that," She said.

I looked over, expecting to see a smirk on her face, but instead I noticed it was drawn. Tired. Worried. She looked like she hadn't slept much either.

"When I get better, you can punch me all you like," I told her.

Vida chuckled. "It's a deal, boo."