in harms way || [m.c.]

chapter 3

sloane woke up to the sound of sirens. everything felt foggy, like she was still half asleep. she tried to open her eyes but she couldn't. it scared her, and when she went to say something, she realized she couldn't talk either. her surroundings were moving so quickly that she couldn't hold her gaze for a moment. but she got small slices of things, like her moms soft, puggy hand on her arm, a hard plastic bed, the freshness of the afternoon air as she floated through the front door. her mind wasn't working in time with her surrounding and she was suddenly confused how she was moving through the air. then she tasted the blood. it confused her how she hasn't realized it until this moment, but her mouth was completely full of blood. it was spilling out onto her face and into a gauze that had been tied around her face. she was going to be sick. her eyes drifted to the street as the floating plastic bed moved through the yard. there was a crowd forming. standing in the middle of the crowd was a shock of white hair, their green eyes were scared. sloane had her first clear thought, Michael was standing in her yard. then, she passed out.

the next time sloane woke, the first thing she saw was a white tiled ceiling. then, she felt the pain. it felt like someone had caught her throat and chest on fire. she then realized that she could hardly breathe. her hands flew up to the breathing tube in her mouth and a hand grabbed her arm. sloane flicked her eyes to the person sitting next to her bed. it was michael. she tried to sigh in relief but her breath caught when she remembered her tube. michael automatically put his calloused hand on her forehead and started to sooth her. sloane had so many questions. she could hear her heart beating quickly on the monitor out of fear and michaels tired eyes frowned. without a word, he pressed the button on the wall by the bed, then he reached out and took sloanes hand. his eyes flicked to his lap.

'I'll have the nurse explain what happened. though you probably already know..' he trailed off for a moment before looking towards the door. 'your parents are in a meeting with a doctor from psych at the moment but they should be here shortly.' Michaels voice was so quiet as he spoke that sloane struggled to hear him. her heart beat wildly at the mention of psych and michael squeezed her hand. just then the door swung open and a nurse came in. her greasy hair was held by a large clip and she smelled like old chips when she moved around sloanes bed to check her vitals.

'ms. oliverio, its nice to see your awake' she said it with a fake smile. not condescending, just uncaring. 'I'm sure you have a lot of question, but after I take out your breathing tube, I need you to not try and speak. has Mr. Clifford here told you what happened?' sloane shook her head slightly back and forth.

'I'm going to give you some pain meds and then I'm going to take out your breathing tube.' the greasy nurse pulled a small note pad and pen from her back pocket. 'I almost forgot, you'll need this to communicate.' the nurse handed the items to Michael and started on the meds. pulling a large syringe from a tray, she injected a clear liquid into sloanes IV. next she pulled up right beside sloanes face.

'this might be a little uncomfortable but it will be over very quickly.' sloane felt a a strange sensation as the nurse slowly pulled the tube out of her throat. it felt like someone was pulling out her throat, only the pain meds kept the pain at bay. after the tube was out, sloane still felt a strange sensation in her throat it felt like her esophagus was clogged. the room grew quiet for a second as the nurse pulled her eyes down to her hands.

'ms. oliverio, last monday you were rushed to the hospital after your esophagus split open. the constant stomach acid from the vomiting washing over your esophagus plus the large quantity of food that you vomited caused it to explode. your mother found you on the bathroom floor and called 911 where you were rushed in to emergency surgery. the surgery went perfectly fine and you will recover fully, but upon opening your chest, the surgeons found that your heart is in a very weak condition. your parents are in a meeting in the psych ward right now and should be out in the next half hour. do you have any questions?' sloanes brain slowly took in the information and tears rushed to her eyes. the nurse motion for Michael to hand her the notepad.

'what day of the week is it?' sloane wrote out in her messy drug addled sprawl.

'its thursday.' Michael said quietly before the nurse could answer. sloane set the notepad down on her lap and brought her hands to her ryes, wiping away the tears. the nurse showed herself out and then it was quiet. sloane took a deep breath and pulled the notepad back into her weak hands. tears slipped down her face as she scribbled on the notepad.

'please dont hate me' she showed it to Michael for a moment before is eyes flicked to her face. he lifted his hand and rested it lightly on her cheek, eyes full of confusion.

'don't you see?' he spoke, still quiet 'this happening to you only made me realize how deeply I'm falling for you. watching you be shipped away in that ambulance broke my heart. your the only thing that matters now, sloane oliverio. I can't lose you.' his grip on her hand slackened and he started to pull back in uncertainty. Sloane was noiselessly weeping at this point and smiling weakly. she grabbed his retreating hand and pulled it back to her face, holding it there with her cold, boney fingers. after a moment, she picked up the notepad and slowly wrote on it.

'ok asshole. kiss me now!' Michael laughed before quickly diving in and kissing her. their lips moved in unison, breathing each others air they pulled closer. despite sloanes dry hospital lips and both of their tear stained cheeks rubbing against each other, they had reached paradise for just a moment in that fluorescently lit hospital room.

Hi!!!! I've been writing like a mad lady. there are do many errors in this, but I seriously don't give a fuck!!!!! posting more soon. xx

-H