Contingency~TW/TO~ Lahey

Chapter 28: Those Three Little Words

Our ride back to the apartment building was silent. I had wanted to go back to the hospital to be with Isaac, but after Allison insisted, multiple times, I go home and wash up, I gave up on arguing with her and figured she was right. I smell horrific and wouldn't mind changing into a fresh pair of clothes before heading back to my regular chair.

The elevator dings, being the only noise to break the deafening silence that had stayed intact. The doors slide open to let us off onto our floor and I practically gulf down the fresh air with how suffocating it had felt inside the small tin box. The quiet, thankfully, has nothing to do with me, though. Allison's concern with her father pulling out the gun on Stiles had rattled her to her core. It was written all over her face when she heard the click of the gun being cocked. And if I had not hitched a ride with the two, she would have discussed her thoughts with him. She wants to wait for them to be alone to bring it up, which is my reasoning for racing down the hallway with large strides to gain a distance between them. I reach my door and twist the key into its designated lock. My door cracks open as I send Allison a smile of encouragement before closing the door behind me. I'd rather not be present for any family drama when I have a thousand years' worth of my own.

Entering the kitchen, I take notice of my now spotless apartment compared to how I had left it nights ago. Dropping the keys into a small dish on a console table in the hallway, I walk to the back room where I hear my shower calling out my name. Entering my bedroom, I open the cracked door the rest of the way and place my phone on my dresser with a sigh. Turning for the bathroom, I reach for the knob to go inside when I suddenly sense a presence behind me and pause.

Paying attention to my surroundings, I listen to the calm breathing and steady heartbeat, but when I breathe in that smell... Pine. I know that smell. Twisting around, I find the boy I love sitting patiently on my bed and my heart physically drops. He's awake. Isaac is awake.

"Isaac?" I mumble as he stares ahead. I waste no time in rushing over to him, kneeling on the floor before him to examine him for any injuries that may not have fully healed. With most of his body covered from his clothing, it's hard to detect any wounds on him. But from what I can see, the only thing out of place seems to be his disheveled hair. "What are you doing here? Why are you not in the hospital?"

"I thought I'd come see you," he softly expresses and I want to cry from the sound of his voice alone. It's raspier than usual, but that is to be expected when he had just awoken from a coma he had been in for days.

"You didn't just walk out of the hospital without being discharged, did you?" I ask him concerned. I stare up into his blue eyes. Those blue sparkling eyes I have missed so much. And when he connects his eyes with mine, my breath catches.

"It's okay," he whispers with a hint of a smile. "I feel a lot better."

I reach up to caress his cheek, touching him to see if I can take any remaining pain, but there is none to take. He truly has healed into a spitting image of health.

"All healed," he says truthfully and I smile as a tear escapes me. He brings one hand up to my cheek, using his thumb to gently wipe away any moisture and I sniffle. I am overwhelmed by the feeling of seeing him awake. Seeing his eyes. Feeling his touch again. Then my smile dims, remembering why he had been unconscious. "Isaac...I-I'm so sorry," I falter with a shake of my head. "I never wanted to hurt you. I-"

"Renee," he interrupts with his soothing voice. I close my eyes and lean closer into his gentle touch. Oh, how I have missed hearing my name flow from his lips. "It's okay."

My eyes open again and I look up at him dumbfounded, "How is it okay? I almost killed you. I-I almost lost you because you were risking your own life to bring me back to my emotions."