Time

XIII

Aris

It's been 3 days and she still hasn't woken up...

It's been 3 days and I haven't left this chair...

It's been 3 days and it feels like the whole world has come crashing down...

I still can't get the image of her in the tub out my head, I haven't been able to sleep without seeing it. All that blood...

It took 25 minutes for the ambulance to get to us. It took me 5 minutes to get her out the tub. It took me 10 minutes to tie towels around her wrist to stop the bleeding and put a shirt and boxers on her. I sat for 10 minutes crying over her while I held her wrists begging God to save her as I impatiently waited. All you could hear were my sobs and the 911 operator telling me to hold on and keep pressure applied. I could feel her heartbeat slowing down. I could feel her breath slipping away.. and I couldn't do anything but wait.

Once they got her in the ambulance her heart stopped and I watched them resuscitate her. We finally made it to the hospital but once they got her stabilized she had already lost too much blood and slipped into a coma. Kerian came in and did a blood transfusion and since then it's been a waiting game. I've been sitting here for 3 days in the same clothes I found her in, in the same state of shock.

I've been trying to make sense of everything, trying to figure out why. If I hadn't been so caught up in the drama of Sin I could've been there for her. I could've helped, I could've saved her. This is the second time I've had to watch somebody I love slip away, I just prayed she wouldn't end up like Tyliq.

"ARIS!" i head knocking me out my idle state. I looked up seeing Kerian.

His eyes were bloodshot, you could tell he'd been crying. He wasn't sulking like I was though; it gave me the impression that this wasn't the first time this has happened.

I just stared up at him not able to form any words. I tore my eyes away from him and looked back at Nauti's hand in mine.

He took a seat beside me and laid his head on my shoulder looking at her in the bed.

"Nauti has had a hard life, Aris. I don't know how much she's told you about our mother but she was evil, she hurt her and I wasn't there to protect her" he said getting choked up. "She's been fighting an internal battle for years and no matter how much we try to get her to open up she doesn't. She always brushes it off like it's nothing but I know my sister. I know how bad she's been hurting. I used to sit in the bed with her and hold her while she cried for an entire year when she first came to live with us. I know she doesn't want to die, she just wants the pain to stop" he said sniffling.

Tears slowly started to cascade down my face as I grabbed his hand with the one I had sitting in my lap. He turned to me looking at the side of my face since I was still

"I know this is hard on you, especially with you finding her and i'm so sorry.. but she wouldn't want you right here sulking like this. I want- no I NEED you to get up from this chair. Even if you don't leave, atleast go take a shower and put some food on your stomach. You're no good to yourself or her like this. You still have her blood on your jeans, that's not going to give you peace of mind. I brought you a bag of clothes and got you some food your mom made, please go take care of you. I promise i'll be right here." he said.

I just stared off for a couple seconds before speaking for the first time since calling everybody, "Okay"

-

Nautica

I could hear somebody crying but couldn't quite register who it was. I tried to open my eyes but was blinded by light, causing me to groan.