Hiraeth: Belonging (II)

Chapter Four

I was startled awake in the middle of the Night.

Owe, I thought as a pain shot through my back from leaning on Mike's bed. I sat up slowly, blinking awake. Through my dreams, I had felt something touch my hand.

"Mike?" I whispered.

He was still at first, then suddenly stirred. His hand gripped mine tightly, and I realized I hadn't let it go all Night.

"Mike?" I said again, breath taken in anticipation.

He groaned softly, squirming like he was in a struggle. His eyebrows furrowed and his breath quickened.

Then he opened his eyes.

I gasped, the air flooding to my lungs with relief. "Mike!" I exclaimed, throwing my arms around him impulsively.

He winced, but then chuckled, returning the hug. "Ah... R-Roxie?"

His voice. His wonderful, perfect voice.

"Mike, you're awake!" I pulled away and gazed into his eyes, which I had missed more than even his touch. "How?"

"I..." Mike blinked quickly, trying to sit up. Immediately, he snarled and froze with pain. "Aaah!"

"Whoa, don't do that! Just relax, okay?"

He shook his head, tears rimming his eyes. "I can't."

"What?"

Mike sat up straight, letting out a miserable groan. "I have to go. Right now."

"Mike, what are you talking about?"

There was a stubborn determination on his face, almost like Karter. His words were short and stutterless. "I'm going to die, Roxie," he said darkly, still, locking eyes with me. "Unless I leave right now."

I blinked in stunned confusion. "... No, Mike. These tubes and wires are the only things keeping you alive."

He just shook his head angrily. "They don't know anything. They don't- AAH!"

He scooted up, removing the covers shakily. "They don't understa-aaha-nd."

He lifted one leg painfully, touching his bare toes to the floor, then did the same with his other foot. Tears spilled down his face as he did this, but he showed no sign of stopping.

I didn't want to fight him out of fear of hurting his already fragile body, but at that point I grabbed his shoulder. "Mike, please."

He tore one tube from his wrist quickly, gasping. "I have to go. I have to leave r-r-right now."

I tried to stop him, but he only scrunched his face and ripped free from everything else.

"How can we get out of here?" he asked, his voice wavering but words sure. He was already swaying, like he was about to faint again.

"We can't do this," I insisted, hurrying to support him with my arm.

"We have to, Roxie."

"You keep saying that, what do you mean?"

"I'll tell you on the way." With that, Mike closed his eyes and raised a single hand, blacking out the entire hallway in seconds. "Let's go."

We stumbled through the halls as Mike darkened (then undarkened) them, until he found an exit. Panicked voices rang out on occasion, but we were going too fast to stop or care.

Then we ran through the street and away from the hospital. Surrounded by the neon lights, raw smells, and melodic sounds of Music City, we were quickly drenched in rain. Cold, hard rain.