Please Let Me Go (dnf)

Please Let Me Go

The harsh fluorescent lights seemed to burn through Dream's eyelids no matter how tightly he squeezed them shut. The cool feeling of a soft hand gliding across his stubbled cheek disappeared. Dream almost felt like he was back at the beach, that by the time his eyes adjusted to the light, George would be sitting there beside him. Dream wanted nothing more than to see the smile on George's face as their two sons giggled by their sandcastles. Oh, to be back on the beach, with his beautiful children, next to the man he loved.

"Honey, are you awake?" A voice Dream could recognize anywhere whispered to him. The bed shifted, a hand reaching across his chest. The cool feeling of a small hand running up and down the bare skin of his forearm caused goosebumps to raise on his skin. He let out a shaky breath, moving his arm to interlock his fingers with the fragile hand that trembled against his skin.

"Hi, mom." Dream said with a soft smile, his eyes remaining closed. He coughed a few times, his throat feeling unbelievably raw. He knew he was in a hospital, the painful flashbacks of waking up surrounded by strangers coming to mind. Strangers who poked and prodded at him, who shoved tubes into his body, whose hands cut the clothing off his body. Dream also kept his eyes shut because as long as they were shut, he could still faintly see the memory of a slightly aged George and the lovely toddlers.

"I'm going to go grab a nurse. Here, drink some water." His mother urged, rushing to stand up and bring over a styrofoam cup filled with room temperature water. Dream finally had to pry his eyes open to accept the cup, regretfully saying goodbye to his last visuals of the family he never had. Dream blinked hard a few times, his eyes hurting from the abrasive unnatural light. He felt his mother's gentle hand resting on his chest when he tried sitting up. "Don't try to sit up on your own. I'll adjust the bed." Her voice sounded so calm and relieved, but the sight before Dream was something he had never seen.

His mother, a woman Dream always thought was extraordinarily beautiful, looked as though she hadn't slept in days, prominent plum colored dark circles under her eyes. Her hair was tied up messily, stray hairs frayed out in all directions, as if the blonde ponytail had been slept in for nights on end with no touch ups. Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy. Dream couldn't tell if she had been crying, if she was about to cry, or both. As the bed slowly propped him into an upright position, Dream looked around the room. There was a cot in the corner of the room beside a large window with the blinds drawn, the sheets and blankets completely arrayed. Even with the curtains closed, Dream could hear the faint drumming of rain against the windows and lightning flashing outside. The storm was still going on.

Dream looked down at himself, seeing an IV in each arm, as well as countless cords taped to his chest. This was all beginning to get too overwhelming. He remembered the doctors standing over him, the empty words of reassurance they gave him. He remembered the dreams, each painful in its own way. He also remembered the two words he wanted nothing more than to forget. The only two words George had to say to him after he confessed his love.

"Get out."

Dream let out a shaky breath, instinctively pulling on the wires taped to his chest. The pain tugging on the wires caused him didn't even matter- he just wanted them off. The second he pulled one out, an alarm started going off from one of the machines surrounding him. The first person to enter the room was his mother at a quick jog, immediately followed by two nurses- one pushing a bright red cart with a heart defibrillator on it. Dream stared at them in horror, the continued beeping from the alarm and his heart monitors the only sound in the room as the three stared at him. The nurse pushing the cart was the first to approach him, taking the wire out of his hand and reattaching it to the port on his chest.

"You can't pull these out, okay? We need to watch your heart very closely." The nurse advised, his words stern as he began checking all the other wires. Dream felt like he was paralyzed by fear, his ability to speak suddenly leaving him. He wasn't necessarily afraid of hospitals, but he had never been in a situation like this. He had never woken up attached to countless machines and monitors without a clue of the situation. He didn't even fully understand how he got there or what happened.