Lia’s POV
The world was dark, but voices floated in and out of my head, and hands fluttered over me. In the distance, a siren wailed, the sound haunting, but strangely beautiful.A life could be ending, or it could be being saved; a second chance, or one last shot.
It took me a minute to actually realize that the ambulance was coming for me.
I could hear the sound of Vic’s panicked voice, mingling with the piercing siren. He was shaking me, begging me to wake up, but I couldn’t. Not this time.
I was aware, but I was trapped in my own body and unable to escape. I desperately wanted to tell Vic I was okay, just to sit up and pretend everything was fine. But I’d been pretending for so long that it was too late. Too late to tell him about my illness; because surprise, he’d seen it first-hand. And he didn’t know what to do, so I was stuck and so was he. I was stuck without him, and him without me, on opposite ends of the spectrum. I was shoved out of the world, into this new, dark place where no light can reach and I can’t get back, and he was thrust into the light without me.
I was clawing at my mind, trying to get out and live again but I couldn’t. I was pressured into this new universe where I was forced to feel but unable to speak or move. Time seemed to lapse, and sounds ebbed around me. The blackness stayed, but my feelings only intensified. The voices of the paramedics and of Vic filled my ears, and I tried to unscramble what they were saying, but the barrage of noise and feeling prevented me from doing so successfully. Each touch to my body sent a spark, and I could feel the tension and the electricity as if I could use all my senses.
I snapped to alertness suddenly. Awareness surrounded me, but I was still unable to contact the world of the living. I could hear the familiar sounds of the hospital, and feel Vic’s familiar touch. The pungent smell of rubbing alcohol and the bitter scent of coffee accosted my nose, causing strange colors to fly beneath my eyelids. The darkness was gone now; in its place, a menagerie of colors that changed whenever I smelled or heard something new. Vic rubbed smooth circles on my hands, “Wake up. I’ll do anything for you to wake up. I’m begging, Lia. Can you hear me ? Show me a sign, anything…” It pained me to hear him speak like that, knowing I was the cause of his agony. “Your parents are in the cafeteria right now…they told me everything, Lia. Why-” His voice broke. Swallowing, he started again “Why didn’t you tell me ?” I could hear the sob he bit back, and the colors I was seeing turned dark. Aubergine mixed with a pearly black, swirling around and around like a hurricane.
A while later, a new sensation came- dizzy spells. I felt like Alice in Wonderland as bright blue’s and vivid oranges splattered around in my mind, splashing color in the furthest corners of my brain. I felt like I was spinning out of control, on a carnival ride I couldn’t escape. My body shook and the colors swirled faster, whipping around like flags in the wind. “What’s happening ?!” Vic was panicking, screaming for a doctor. The screams only intensified my episode, adding a blinding red to the mixture. The hands of a doctor tried to calm me, but I couldn’t stop. The shot of a needle didn’t help, and soon a group of doctors were surrounding me, casually holding my life in their hands.
The shaking stopped, along with the colors. The sound and feeling went too, and then I was back to being inhuman.
Vic’s POV
I shoved my chair back and stood up, rushing out of the classroom. I couldn’t focus, I couldn’t do this anymore. Lia needed me right now, school didn’t matter. I kept going until I reached the main doors, shoving them open forcefully. I had to get to the hospital.
I started running.
The doctors knew me by now, I stayed by her side for the past two days, but now that it was Monday my parents forced me to go to school. Lia’s day nurse, Amber, let me into her room right away. I already knew the state she was in, but each time, it still took my breath away. Her tiny, pale body was covered with needles, tubes, and wires. Blankets piled high over her skinny body, only one hand and her face exposed. I flashed back for a moment, my head replaying the moment that I saw her fall. It was in slow motion, but it was an image I’ll never forget. We had just entered the field, and we were about to start setting up for our night when she just dropped. Just straight dropped to the ground like a dead weight. It was so sudden I thought she was kidding, but then her nose started pouring blood. She was just laying there, unresponsive, her skin as pale as her blood was red. I begged and begged for her to wake up, but she never did, and she still hasn’t.
I sat down next to her bed, clutching her free hand in mine. Then I thought back to when her parents had sat me down in the hospital cafeteria and explained to me everything. It still didn’t seem real to me….Lia wasn’t sick, she couldn’t be. She was MINE. My gorgeous, perfect, HEALTHY Lia. My best friend. I need her here, they can’t take her away….
I rested my forehead against the bed, tracing shapes on her hand. How could she be fine one minute and then comatose the next ? I didn’t understand it. How did it go from black-outs and nosebleeds to seizures and a coma ? She didn’t deserve this, and I would do anything to trade places with her.
I was left alone all day, her parents were forced to work, especially now that they had hospital bills to pay. I tried everything to wake her up; shaking her, singing to her, raising my voice…but nothing worked. I squeezed her hand, “It’s me, Vic. Wake up, I know you can hear me ! I need you, babe. I need you here so much and I can’t stand you being away. Come back to me, okay ?” I kissed her cheek softly, but she remained still and silent. She gave no indication that she had heard me, and the realization made my tears spill over.
“Lia. I love you.”
“You never think the last time is the last time, you think there’ll be more.
you think you have forever but you don’t.”
