I'm not in love

Breathtaking (seriously)

"Ok you ready?" Wolfie asked. It had been a week since Gwen left the hospital. Due to her broken leg, she had to walk with a cast around it for a while.
"Ready!" She announced, and Wolfie let her go. She wobbled a bit, then slowly started walking. After walking in slow circles around the house several times, she finally got used to moving on the crutches.
"I can't believe this!" She exclaimed suddenly. A smile lit up her face as she continued to talk. "When I first walked out of that room I was so happy!"
Wolfie smiled at the memory of the young girl who came back two weeks ago. When they saw her walking around, their stomach felt like it was doing somersaults. She would smile and wave every time she saw them and would talk animatedly with whoever happened to be near her. At first, she tried avoiding people, but when she did get over her initial shyness, the pair were quick to notice how much she enjoyed having some company. As soon as she found someone she was comfortable with and could communicate properly with, she would become even more friendly. The doctors didn't tell anyone how much pain she was feeling when they removed the stitches from her leg, but they knew it must have hurt because she had tears streaming down her face every time she put weight onto her bad leg. She had told everyone about what a brave woman she was and had assured them that she wouldn't forget what had gone through her life in such a short amount of time.
The young couple decided to bring her to a nearby park, a place where no one had ever bothered them before. It made them feel safer knowing there weren't too many places people might come into contact with them that they didn't want to interact with. As far as they know, no one wanted anything to do with them either. They figured it would make sense for her to spend some time by herself to try to regain control of her body.
"How's your foot holding up?" Wolfie asked as Gwen hobbled along.
"Good! Just needs practice." She joked. Once again, she stopped and looked around the park before asking the same question.
"So what are we doing today? Are we gonna play catch or something?"
"No! Today is special though." They told her as they reached the swings. Taking a seat, they patted the spot next to him. "C'mon Gwen, you need to swing."
A hesitant expression appeared in her eyes. Slowly, she stepped into the swing and sat on it, looking as if her world depended on getting it right. Wolfie held their breath as he watched her move in her seat. They couldn't stop himself from smiling as she swung gently in the air, enjoying the gentle breeze. Suddenly, Gwen fell forward, grabbing onto the chain for support. She grunted in pain as her back connected with the metal bars, making a loud thud.
"Gwen?" Wolfie called out. Gwen didn't respond, so they hopped off his seat and ran up to her. When they got to the swing, they bent down to look at her face. Her black eyes were focused on a point somewhere behind them. Their heart sank when they realized that she wasn't breathing and quickly grabbed Gwen's shoulder, remembering the doctors saying that her lungs weren't in the best condition. The two sat there for a moment before Wolfie spoke up.
"W... We gotta go.." They whispered. They grabbed both of her hands before running towards the nearest emergency room. Wolfie was so scared; they'd never seen Gwen like this before and all they could think was that she needed medical attention.
It only took them about five minutes to reach the building, and they ran inside to find the receptionist. She looked up from her computer and seemed surprised to see them, but said nothing.
"Is there a doctor around here?" They demanded. The receptionist nodded slowly and pointed towards a door at the end of the hall.
"There should be. Just go in there and ask for Doctor Smith." The receptionist told them. With one last nod in response, they turned around and headed towards the room. Inside was a doctor talking on the phone with another doctor. When they saw him, they walked quickly across the room, hoping that he hadn't already gotten in trouble.
"Doctor Smith?" They asked. He looked up from his conversation and gave them a small smile.
"Yes, can I help you?" He asked.
"My friend Gwen has collapsed and we're worried about her lung capacity." They explained.
"Alright, follow me." He said as he stood up. Following him, they went back to the waiting area and waited anxiously for her to recover. Soon enough, Gwen's doctor returned. He checked Gwen's breathing and heartbeat. The doctor looked up and told them everything was fine. As if on cue, Gwen started coughing and wheezing loudly. Looking away from the doctor, Wolfie noticed how red Gwen's face had become.
"What can I help you with?" The doctor asked.
"Do you have a nurse to take Gwen to the cafeteria?"
"Oh, yes, I do. Wait just a moment." The doctor replied.
"I'll come too." Wolfie volunteered. The doctor nodded and they both followed after him. Once they arrived at the cafeteria, the doctor told them which direction to go before leaving.
Inside the cafeteria, there was a long line of chairs with a few tables scattered throughout the room. When the doctor finished ordering food, he led the way to a table near the end of the cafeteria.
"Here we are," The doctor said as he gestured at the table. Taking a seat across from each other, Gwen opened her mouth to speak, but stopped midway. Taking in a deep breath, she sighed.
"Sorry to disappoint you, Doctor Smith. But I don't really have any lungs anymore. I think my chest caved in during the accident." She chuckled nervously.
"That sounds like an unfortunate coincidence, but it doesn't mean that you will give up so easily." The doctor smiled reassuringly at her and patted her hand.
"Are you sure?"
"Positive." The doctor replied as he handed the food to her. "Eat as much as possible and drink plenty of water."
"Thank you, Doctor Smith."
"You're welcome. Now, try not to choke."
"Will do!"
With that he left the room and Wolfie helped her pick through her lunch, helping her eat as little as possible. By the time they were done eating, she felt pretty much okay, but still sore all over. Wolfie suggested taking a short break until they felt better. They left the cafeteria and sat on the bench under the window, both relaxing in silence.
After a while, Wolfie broke the quietness. "You alright?"
"Yeah, just a little tired." She admitted.
"Can I help you get some sleep?"
"I think that would be nice." Gwen replied. Wolfie stood up and offered Gwen a hand to help her stand up as well. After they both walked towards her bed, they sat down. "Thanks."
"Anytime, Gwen." She closed her eyes and snuggled up in bed. For a second, they thought she was asleep, but then Gwen spoke again.
"If you promise me something..."
"Anything."
She hummed quietly before continuing. "If things get worse, promise me you won't run away."
Before Wolfie could answer, they heard footsteps approach and turn down the hallway towards their room. They froze and listened carefully. There was a faint knock on the door and a voice calling for them to open up. Without thinking twice, Wolfie jumped up and walked over to the door, opening it slowly. Standing outside of their doorway was none other than Dr. Smith. Before anyone could say anything, the doctor interrupted their thoughts.
"Is she asleep?" He asked.
"I think she is…"
Without saying another word, Dr. Smith stepped past Wolfie and placed himself next to Gwen's bed. Wolfie and the doctor stared at her until she moved slightly.
"Doc?" She mumbled sleepily.
"Hello, Gwen. How are you feeling?"
"My whole body hurts. Can I sleep now?"
"Not yet. You still need to finish healing and I need to check your temperature to determine whether you've gotten worse." He answered. He pulled out a thermometer out of his pocket and held it over her forehead.
"Does it feel normal?" She asked.
"Very normal, just warm. Now close your eyes and let' me check your pulse, okay?" He asked. Gwen complied and waited patiently for him to finish. As the thermometer was finally pushed back against her forehead, she opened her eyes and waited for the results.
"Everything looks good." The doctor said.
"Really?!" Gwen exclaimed.
"Yes. Your fever seems to be gone. Now all that remains is for you to rest. Good luck tomorrow." He told her.
"Bye, doc."
With that, they exited the room and made their way back down the hall towards the cafeteria. Wolfie tried desperately to suppress their emotions as they went to grab their lunch before heading back out. Everything was going according to plan so far, yet they could feel the worry starting to rise inside them.
"Come on, Wolfie. Don't worry about us. Things will work out just fine."
Wolfie looked over at Gwen. Smiling lightly, she rested her head on their shoulder and gave them a comforting squeeze.
The next morning, Gwen woke up with a start and groaned softly as her head spun violently. It was hard to sit up in bed so she laid back down and covered herself with her duvet. That's when she heard the door click shut, signaling that someone had entered the room. Gwen opened her eyes slowly and saw Wolfie walking over to her bedside with a glass of orange juice.
"Did I wake you?" Wolfie asked. They shook their head slightly before reaching into their pocket for the glass.
"You shouldn't be moving around so much, Gwen." They said as they handed her the glass.
"Thanks, Wolfie." She reached over and gave them a quick hug. "I'm sorry I ruined our day yesterday."
Wolfie frowned. "It's fine, Gwen. If anything, we should thank Dr. Smith for helping us out. Besides, he did save our lives."
"Yeah, he did." Gwen agreed before looking down at her lap. She played around with her fingers for a minute before speaking again. "Can I tell you something?" She asked slowly. Wolfie immediately became concerned and nodded.
"Of course you can, Gwen."
"It's stupid." She continued.
"Tell me anyway."
Gwen looked at Wolfie for a long moment, her gaze lingering on their lips for a few seconds before she spoke again.
"Do you remember when we first met?" She asked.
Wolfie' shoulders drooped slightly. Their brow furrowed deeply and they looked back down at their knees.
"How could I forget." They muttered. Gwen looked down at the ground and shrugged slightly. Wolfie watched her closely as she took a sip of her orange juice. After setting the glass down on the tray table next to the bed, she looked back up at Wolfie.
"When I came here two weeks ago, I had no idea that you knew who I was, but I guess you probably already did."
"Yeah, I figured it out pretty early on," they replied.
"Well… I wanted you to know that… that…" Gwen began. She fidgeted with her hands and tried to find the right words. "I want you to know that you mean everything to me. Even more than you know. We've known each other for such a short period of time and I know you're going through hell right now and I'm sorry. God, I'm so sorry! I never meant for this to happen. I don't even know what happened between us and I didn't mean for it either. I'm so sorry for putting you through so much pain. Please forgive me. Please…" Gwen began crying and Wolfie was completely taken aback by what she was saying. They didn't understand why she was apologizing.
They had no clue how to respond. In response to her sudden burst of tears, they just wrapped one arm around her neck and pulled her tightly to them.
As she cried into their chest, Wolfie stroked her hair gently and kept repeating over and over that it wasn't her fault in a hushed tone that she couldn't hear. A small whimper led Gwen to fall unconscious. Her breathing became rough and shallow.
After a few moments, Wolfie lowered their gaze and looked at her face. Their eyes widened as they saw that her eyes had turned red.
No. Not again...