Quiet Like a Ghost

Twenty Four;

Opal's POV:
I wake up hearing and feeling Devin start to hyperventilate. He was crying, trying not wake me. "Shh, Dev, I'm here, shh..." I coo, trying not to cry at the sight of my love upset. I was almost certain he was crying out of fear or just sadness, not pain. There's a different cry for that I've learned.

He was trying to 'man up' and stop crying but we both knew it was useless. I pull myself up, letting him bury his face in my chest which always soothes him, which I still don't fully understand. I think he has mommy issues but to each their own, I don't got a problem with it.

I soothe him to sleep and then sneak out to go check on the kids. Allie and Ryan took them home so I have to drive there, I hope I'm back before Devin wakes, I know last time he seemed a little freaked out when I wasn't there. I'm so worried about him, I don't know what I'm going to do without him.

"Oh, hey Opal. Came to check up on the kids?" Allie smiles the sympathetic smile she and everyone as been giving me as if Dev was already dead. "Yeah." I nod. "They're in the living room." She motions me in.

Trixie was drawing while Silas was 'playing' a little banjo. "Mommy!" Trixie smiles when she sees me. "Is daddy not better yet?" She frowns noticing her favorite parent wasn't there. "No, I'm sorry darling." I kiss her forehead, feeling a tear slip down my cheek.

"Opal," Ryan looks at me worried. "I'm fine." I weakly smile, wiping the tear off my cheek. "What is it mommy?" Trixie asks. "Bella, Mommy is just tired. She does that sometimes." Allie covers for me. "Yeah, don't worry. Everything is going to be ok." I tell her, my voice cracking and I knew I was about to cry. "Mommy's got to go." I whisper, running out of there before I start sobbing in front of the kids.

I wipe my eyes while walking which led to me running to somebody. That somebody being Ricky. "Hey, Opal... what's wrong?" He wraps his arms around me comfortingly. "Did Ryan not tell you that my boyfriend is dying?" I ask, tears running down my face. "He did, but Opal, miracles do happen." He kisses my head. "Not very often." I'm extremely pessimistic on the death topic, everyone I've ever truly loved either died or is dying. "Lemme get you back to him." He picks me up, somehow managing to carry me out to his car even though I'm taller than him.

"He can't see," I blurt. "Or talk, or anything. I woke up to him crying and I don't know what to do." I cry even more. "Opie, you know what I'm going to say." He grabs my hand to hold while he drives. "That I should just be there for him and come to grips with reality?" I chuckle, knowing that was what my practical side of my brain was telling me. "Kinda. But he's still alive, remember that." Ricky squeezes my hand reassuringly.

When we get the hospital the nurse was hovering over Devin's unconscious body, writing things down. "Is he ok?" I ask her. "Um, he went into a coma not long after you left. His brain was just overworking, trying to communicate. He's still fighting." She smiles kindly but with a hint of pity. Fuck you people, he's not dead you said it yourself.

Ricky walks forward, seeing the horrible condition his friend is in, looking saddened. "Uh, sir, it's family only." The nurse tells him. "I want him here. He's close enough to family to Dev." I tell her and she nods walking out.

I walk up to him, touching his back making him jump, the water that had collected at the edges of his eyes, falling down in a single tear. "I'm sorry." I whisper and he quickly wipes the tear away. "He loves you a lot you know." He whispers back. "Of course I know. I love him just as much." He nods slightly, pulling me into his embrace to comfort me.