Faking

9

Liam's POV

It was cold. I was enveloped in blankets but it was cold. A paralyzing cold; one that's slow, and unexpected, not one that makes you shiver, but one that makes you shake. The semi-familiar noises were fading in, the light that would shine brightly if not for my eyelids, which were heavy and closed.

Someone was walking around in the room, their footsteps loud and heavy which made me determine it was a male. My body was stiff, so I didn't move. Still. I stayed still, in this bed that was stiff as well, and I thought. I thought till the footsteps I once heard walked out, and the beeping on the monitor slowed until I passed again.

It was a cycle. I came to about four times, until the last I didn't go back to the void. Until I opened my eyes, and the man came back. His name tag read Mark, and I wondered who would name their child such a bland name. There were worse names though, and I didn't have to ponder long as Mark spoke with a deep voice that reminded me ever so much of a man I came to dislike.

He sat down on a chair beside my bed while talking to me slowly, as to not lose me. "Welcome back to the living Liam, it's nice to see you awake. You had us worried there for a while." My head shook as I didn't understand, causing a painful ache in my head which led to a low whimper to emerge from the bottom of my throat.

I saw Marks's eyes flick to my stats before continuing. "Don't move too much, your body needs some time to recover. You flatlined four times, you're lucky to be alive." Lucky? "After you got out of surgery, we put you in a medicated coma so your body could rest, that's why you feel so sore right now." That does explain some of the pain.

"The stress that your body endured was extreme, and we just wanted to get you stable for a while before waking you. We wanted you to wake up yesterday, and that's why we were a little concerned when you didn't, and we'll be monitoring you closely. If you don't mind me asking, could I have your family's contact information?"

My mouth pulled into a grimace, as I knew I might get kicked out. So I lied just a little; nothing I haven't done before. "I d-don't have f-f-family, l-live a-alone..." I rasped out and Mark's eyebrows lifted in curiosity, but curiosity killed the cat, and I wasn't a fan of killing. After a minute of him looking down on his board and looked back up to me with a soft smile.

For a second I thought he was going to tell me I had to leave, instead, he told me, "Okay then. We'll keep you here for a while until you recover. In the meantime, just stay in bed, get lots of rest. A nurse will be in here to check on you in a while okay?" I hummed roughly, but before he could get up and leave I stopped him with a question I had been asking myself.

"H-how l-long have I b-been asleep?" He looked at me with blue eyes that reminded me of my brothers, and he answered with, "You've been asleep for five days bud." Another strangled hum left my throat and he smiled and left the room, board in hand. I stared at the closed door for a while and wondered when or if I would see Mark again.

Then I fell asleep.

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Two days later.

It's been two days of laying in this boring hospital bed. A few nurses come and go, make small talk but I know they don't care. Bedside manner in just feigning, they'll all forget once you leave. I could move around more, now that I had stretched a little, I decided to try and do a lap around the hospital. The nurses say not to leave the bed, that my body needs rest, but the sooner I recover, the sooner I can find Lou. He was my top priority.

My body ached as I made a move to sit up, pushing through the pain I landed on my feet and my left hand went to the side railing of the bed for some support. I stumbled to the door and opened it as I walked out. I made sure to stay unnoticed because if a doctor who knew me saw me they'd make me get back in bed.