Weekly Sanity

Chapter 25 - That day was the 16th day of March, apparently

I knew someone was here.

I felt like I just came back from somewhere dark but very comforting. I can actually hear, see and feel wavy rings, white and slivery until I opened my eyes for the first time this day.

Information started to register on my mind again. Everything around me is so white. I hate it, and at the same time, the plain unassuming wall felt good to the eyes.

"Chloe – you're awake – a-are you there?" A sound of a boy's voice in the verge of breaking, it somehow irritated me and at the same time, I don't want to stop hearing it.

I turned to look at him. It felt so natural not to have a given automatic facial expression as I wanted to study his before I could respond one of my own. He looked so troubled but the smile he was forcing looked so genuine.

"Good morning." He said. Girls should tell him more often that he looked charming when he smiles. Thinking of this, I decided to give him a smile.

"Hey, good morning- Are you taking care of me? I kinda lost it, huh? Did you prepare me breakfast or anything? I'm hungry."

Miles made a step back. He looked at me like he was looking at a ghost. Maybe, I was a ghost. But then, he shouldn't have heard me. No! He just said 'Good morning' to a ghost.

"Miles?" I tried again. Well, assuming that I'm not a ghost, he should respond to that.

"Chloe- you're back! You're alright!" I'm back? Guessing, I think that meant that I was asleep for days. That's a worrying thought.

"Yeah, how long was I asleep? Did I pass out along the way home—'' Hurricane of recollections came back to me... Charles died. The gales stopped there. That single thought quieted me down. Everything did until Miles' voice rang once again.

"Chloe... hey, what do you remember?" I gulped down my emotions for now, the bitter pill. I tried to answer him.

"You were walking me home-" I said raising a questioning eyebrow at him.

"Yeah, that's right!" he responded.

"I wanted to break up with you?" It sounded like I quipped because of guilt I felt as I said that. He looked uncomfortable but he smiled.

"Hey, it's alright," he said waving his hand dismissively. "We'll talk about that later, what else?" I eyed him suspiciously. He didn't look affected at all? Never mind, for now...

I dug my thoughts for more mention-worthy memories but the only one that comes is the fact that Charles was dead. I inhaled before letting it out.

"Charles died."

He surveyed me for a while, looking at me up and down. I started to observe him again. He somehow looked fidgety, the type that's leaning more to excitement than nerve. He looked like a playful child peering from a door holding something behind.

"Charles is alive." He did sound hesitant. It was like he didn't know how to say it to me, probably because he wouldn't how I would respond to it. He's kind of right. I don't know how to respond to that myself.

"H-he's alright?" I asked even though I know full well that Miles wouldn't joke about something like this. Still, why am I afraid a negative response?

"He's fine. He'll visit later," he looked indignant that I didn't look like that I had believe him. "He's visiting later if you can't take my word for it," he softened a bit. "He'll be in crutches in a while, though." He was still holding back.

"Hey it's not like that I don't believe you. But you're not really lying, are you?"

"No!"

"Then, you're not telling me something. What is it?" He flinched. Gotcha!