Living on a Time Limit

Chapter 6 ~ Back to Safety

I had a pounding headache, my mind was foggy, and my entire body felt heavy and glued to the bed as I woke up.

"How did I get here...?"

Ayelet.

I scrambled out of bed, almost falling over from how weak I felt.

Not bothering to change out of yesterday's clothes, I opened my bedroom door and walked into the living room, immediately noticing Ayelet sitting on the couch.

"...You're still here."

"Oh, good morning, sleepyhead! Or, I should say good afternoon, really." She looked behind her, at me, with a soft smile.

"How long did I sleep for?"

"Well, you passed out at around 2am, and it's 1 pm right now, so..." She counted her fingers. "About 11 hours, I guess?"

I thought I could faint again from that information.

"Did you at least check on me at one point?"

"...No, why would I need to?"

"I could have been dead and you wouldn't have known!" I yelled.

"You just had a little panic attack, if something had happened to you, I think I'd know."

"You were out here the entire time, Ay."

"And that's where you're wrong." She pointed a finger at me, half-jokingly. "I was in your room, watching over you most of the time, and I only went out here to make and eat lunch."

"That sounds creepy."

"I guess so, but think of me as your guardian angel, okay?"

"Angels are dead spirits."

"You know what I mean. Now, speaking of lunch, are you hungry? I made breakfast for you, but you weren't awake."

"I don't really know..." I wasn't in the mood to eat, especially because of how every limb on my body felt as if they had weights attached to them.

"Okay, well, if you want lunch, I'll have it ready for you in no time."

"Okay, thanks."

"It's what cousins are for."

She went back to doing whatever she was doing earlier on the couch, and I trudged over to her and sat down.

Ayelet was typing on her phone, and it looked like she was texting someone.

I leaned over to see what she was doing out of nosiness, and she tilted her phone screen away from me.

"You do realize how suspicious that is, right?" I said, straightening back up.

"I'm not doing anything bad, promise."

"Then why are you hiding your phone?"

"Because I don't want you to see a conversation I'm having with someone."

"Who...?" I teased while slowly leaning in again.

"Evelyn, the waitress back at the diner." I could see her start to blush. "...She says we can call her Evie, though."

I gasped and danced around in place, a little too dramatically. Unintentionally, of course. What can I say? I'm excited for her.

"Does she like you back? Are you two going to start dating? Where are you going for the first date? When is the first date?" I started asking questions at light speed, and suddenly, all of the weights got lifted.

"Okay, calm down!" Ayelet reached her hands out to me to signal to do so and laughed. She typed something on her phone, then turned it off and looked back at me. "To answer your first question, yes, she does like me back. Second, we plan to go to a cafe for a coffee in about a week."

I squealed and kicked my legs up and punched the air, as if I was a kid receiving good news or an exciting present, and my cousin laughed again in response.

When I was able to calm down, I wrapped my arms around Ayelet, like last night in the park, and she hugged me back, smiling.

Just then, I realized how lucky I was to be alive.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

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