Dead and Grey *dark*

Beginning or End?

Peace is a fickle thing, it never lasts for long
___

The babbling of patients and nurses alike grabs my attention. I almost didn't notice the sun had risen. Sam still sleeps next to me but wakes as I scramble from underneath her grasp.

"What's going on out there?" She questions groggily. The noise from outside our door grows scarcely as she speaks.

"I'm not sure, but I'm about to find out," I reply and stand from the bed, only to cringe at my hospital gown.

I scavenge the room for any other article of clothing to wear but find nothing except for the clothes I had when I got here. The dark red blouse is dingy with sweat and dirt. Letting out a slow sigh, I slip the shirt over my head and slide my blue jeans on. There was just one thing missing.

"Where's my jacket?" I face Sam and she shrugs, sleep still clouding her eyes.

"Okay well, I need it." I roll my eyes and make my way into the hallway. A dozen people stand at the nurse's station, some angry and some confused.

"All I know is that the meeting is taking place in the waiting lounge in half an hour. I don't know the contents of the meeting. We will all be figuring it out at the same time," An exhausted nurse tries to explain to a silver-streaked bearded man. Behind him, two people grab my attention. A younger man stands tall, bleached ropes of hair tickle his dark brows. His bronzed skin shines with sweat and his face is contorted into a harsh scowl. Somehow, he looks more intense than Theo. I almost chuckle at the thought before remembering I would never see him again.

Next to him, a woman faces away from me. Dark, tight-knit spirals surround her head in a beautiful halo. She's whispering something to the taller man; what she says brings a half-smile to his grumpy features.

As she turns back towards the desk, I audibly gasp. It can't be, can it?

"Cassie?" I shout over the buzz. Immediately, she turns towards me, recognition lights up her face as she pushes through the crowd towards me. The man she had been talking to follows tight on her heels. His energy is dark as they approach, eyeing me like I'm a danger.

"Dels? Oh my god!" Cassie closes the space between us, strangling me into a tight embrace. I feel the air wheeze out of my lungs at the impact. I don't have time to hug her back before she drops me as fast as she picked me up.

"Sorry, I forgot about the hugging thing." Her sickly sweet smile warms me.

"Why are you here?" I cut to the chase. As amazed as I am to see her, I'm more surprised that I'm seeing her in this hospital.

"Well, we were visiting, until..." her words merge into silence, but the man behind her is quick to intervene. A growing seed of guilt takes root in my gut. The only person she would be visiting is her mother, and I don't see her.

"I'm Callum, Cassies cousin." His voice startles me. With his brooding attitude, I expected a deep, rumbling voice. Instead, it's like a feather, light and drifting.

Hesitantly I extend my own hand and shake his. Callums' hand is the opposite of Theo's. It's soft and warm, comforting, opposed to Theo's rough and calloused hands. His deep brown eyes only meet mine for a few seconds; in that brief moment his eyes smile, but his scowl stays plastered to his face. I release my grip from him when the handshake goes on a second past comfort.

"Please tell me that Sams okay." Cassie places a soft hand on my elbow, concern written in her placement.

"She-she's fine," I struggle to respond as the feeling of Callum's eyes on me intensifies. "What's this meeting about?" I change the subject away from family.