The Impossibilities of Greendale (2/3) *On HOLD*

Chapter 2

A/N:
Things get interesting in this chap, and some crazy secrets get revealed.
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After my parents talked about how much they missed me and literally said nothing that answered my questions while I nodded or shook my head or shrugged, they left. Thankfully, I might add. I loved my parents, but everything was just more sickening when they were around to remind me of it. Having my parents visit was great and all, but to me, it was irrelevant. In my mind, everyone who comes to visit is simply not Evan. Unless he came to see me, I really
didn’t care who did.
    I wondered why he hadn’t showed. Apparently, they were allowing visitors now, so he should’ve been the first one prancing through the doorway. Still, he might not have known yet, or maybe they were only allowing family visitors first. I just wished he was okay, that he was doing well. That was all that mattered to me. Aside from Logan.
    I sat up, staring down at my feet again. I wanted to make a habit of practicing my own muscle movements. Since I wasn’t working with the doctors here because I refused to talk, I needed to get my physical therapy in somehow. I started out small again.
    Lift your left foot. Back down. Lift your right foot. Back down.
    I smiled at my microscopic milestone. Then, it was back to work.
    Circle your left foot. Circle your right foot. Circle your left foot. Circle your right foot; Valeri Elizabeth Pilou, you are on a roll!
    The door opened, deterring my exercises. I looked up, anticipating to see who had walked in. I went numb.
    Not like “nervous” numb. Not like “I first woke up from my coma” numb. Not like “I couldn’t feel anything” numb. That wasn’t the case at all.
    I felt everything. So many things coursing through my veins that it numbed me. My senses were electrified, pulsing through me in overwhelming waves, but I felt everything and nothing. It was the most indescribable feeling I’d ever had.
    And he was there. He wasn’t a dream. He wasn’t my imagination. He was really there, staring at me with those toasted olive eyes. As they stared at me, they brightened, sparkling and twinkling as they evolved into bright emerald.
    His chest heaved up and down, his lips cracked into a smile. He was here. I couldn’t believe Evan was actually here.
    His face still seemed a little deprived, lacking color and illumination. His irises’ striking green was even more intensified against the pale canvas of his face. But he was looking way better than when I’d last laid eyes on him. And believe me, I remember every detail about how zombified his features were that day. It was borderline disturbing, actually traumatic if you ask me. Especially if you knew how he usually looked.
    He was wearing a dark green sweatshirt, his hands buried into the pocket. I felt something.
    It felt familiar… is that…? Is that a word? 
    Yep. That’s exactly what that was. I opened my mouth.
    “Evan,” I began. I had forgotten the sound of my own voice. I was quiet, a little choked up, but clear. His features softened as his shoulders slumped, just like he did when he first saw me after I woke up. He walked over and he wrapped his arms around me. I could barely wrap my arms around him back, but I managed.
    This was, without a doubt, the best moment of my life, or rather the best moment I could remember. His hug was strong and loving. I had become accustomed to the feel of emptiness, the absence of warmth from his embraces. Not this time. This time I fell into his hug like a nosedive into the deep end of the pool. I fell into his arms like you fall into a good book. And he held me like I would crumble if he ever let me go. To be honest, I just might have.
    I managed to stay in one piece when he did pull away. We laughed together as he got tangled up in the tubes that were attached to my arms. He successfully escaped without ruining things too much. He stepped back, pulling up a chair and sitting down. The grin on his face was so wide, it could outdo the sun. I found myself smiling, too.
    “I missed you,” I said. I realized my speech was a bit slower, but not obnoxiously slurred like I expected. He shook his head.
    “Not more than I missed you, Val,” he whispered. My gut did a backflip. “I was so worried about you.”
    I wondered if we were dating. I couldn’t remember much of what happened before my coma, so I needed to know. Although, I’d save that for another time.
    “I’m fine,” I reassured him. He nodded a bit, but then tilted his head to the side as he squinted at me.
    “You know, rumor has it that you haven’t been talking much lately. Like, at all.” I smiled at him.
    “Only for you,” I murmured. His grin only grew wider. I remembered all the questions I had. I asked the first one that came to mind. “How long was I in the coma?” His smile quickly turned sympathetic.
    “A little short of a year.” I thought I was out for 2 years…
    If that wasn’t the case, then, “How old am I?”
    “16,” he responded. His features turned a little sad for a second as he said, “You were still out when your birthday rolled around.”
    “How’d I get in the coma?” I asked. He looked down.
    “Car accident.” Well, at least I was right about that part. He looked back up at me. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”
    I smiled at him. “Don’t worry about me, I’m just fine.” I stared into his eyes as I asked, “How are you, though?”
    He lifted his eyebrows and pursed his lips. “Me? Oh, I’m peachy. Why do you ask?” he responded. To be honest, I remembered what he looked like the day I had awaken, and he didn’t look too good. I wanted to know if he was okay.
    “Well, you were kind of a mess that day,” I explained. I didn’t have to go further into what “that day” was. He knew what I was talking about. He nodded as he opened his mouth to speak, but closed it. He took a deep breath before he tried again.
    “When I first found out you were in a coma, I kind of lost it. I mean, you’re my best friend, what was I gonna do without you? We’ve known each other since we were kids, you’ve always been my friend when I had none… ”
    Well, we’re not dating. That’s for sure. He’s talking about me like I’m his sister.
    “So when I got the call that you were in an accident, I broke down. I remember that night very well.” He sniffled a bit before he continued. “Every doctor said that after a few weeks, you probably wouldn’t wake up. So I tried to make peace with it. I spent everyday trying to find a way to live without you. But I couldn’t. After about a month, I fell into depression, wouldn’t eat, wouldn’t go outside, wouldn’t do much of anything.” I felt tears falling down my cheeks from his heart clenching story.
    “I visited as often as I could, at least 3 times a week. By the time the 5th month rolled around, they were ready to take you off of life support, but I wouldn’t let them. I convinced your parents that there was still a chance, even though they were practically falling apart when they decided they should say goodbye.” I ignored the faces that were staring, dumbfounded, at me through the hallway window. They were probably bewildered as to how he got me to talk.
“So 5 more months roll around, and I’m here for my visit, but they won’t let me in the room. I asked why and they said it was because your family was in there saying goodbye because they were about to actually let you go. I was arguing with the doctor to let me in so I could try to convince them, but that’s when your dad came in and told us that you woke up.” I was shocked that I  had awaken the day that I was going to die. By now, tears were also gliding down his face, and he quickly wiped them away with the sleeve of his shirt. The redness around his eyes and his green irises meshed like a christmas decoration. He ran his fingers through his hair and gave a sad smile.
    “The only weird thing is that when you wake up, you’re supposed to forget a lot of stuff, even simple things like eating. Usually the longer you’re under, the more things you forget and the less likely you are to wake up,” he elaborated. I furrowed my eyebrows.
    “Well, why do I remember everything?” I asked. He shrugged as he shifted in his seat.
    “Doctor said every case is different, just like every brain is different.” I nodded in understanding.  I guess I lucked out.
    There was a glint in his eyes as he said, “I’m really glad you’re okay, Val.” I smiled.
    “I’m great,” I said. He warmly smiled back until humor sparkled in his eyes.
    “You need to hurry up and get better because I could still totally massacre you in Call Of Duty.” A flashback flickered as I closed my eyes, my eyelid acting as a screen to play the film of our memories. It was him and me, giggling, asking one another to cover for us as we ruthlessly tapped the buttons on our controllers.
    When I was brought back to reality, a content grin crossed my face.
    “Soon as I’m outta here, you’re on,” I dared. He smirked.
    “Gotta warn you, Val. I’ve gotten a lot of practice in, I don’t know if you’re up for the challenge.” He shook his head as he spoke with a wicked grin on his lips. He looked so adorable.
    Was this a bad time to tell him I loved him?
    I chuckled, the first real laugh I’d had in awhile. A long while.
    “Just you wait, pal,” I warned. “You just make sure that your Xbox is all warmed up for me.”
    “All plugged up and ready to go, baby,” he countered. He threw me a quick wink before his smile crawled back on his face.
    Was he flirting?
    I hoped he was. He’d be the best “welcome home” gift I could ever have waiting for me when I got out of here.
    A loud beeping interrupted my thoughts. I looked over to see the heart rate monitor picking up pace. His eyes followed mine, eyeing the machine. I hated that machine for blowing my cover. Now he knew how my heart was pounding for him.
    My head spun around back to him when I felt something on my chest. He had put his hand there, staring at me in wonder.
    “Oh my God, you’re heart’s beating super fast…”
    Him putting his hand on my chest wasn’t really helping that.
    I giggled nervously, looking down at his hand on my heart. He  chuckled a bit, but his eyebrows scrunched a little as he looked worried, slightly pulling away.
    “Are you alright?” he questioned. I scoffed.
    “Yeah, I’m… I’m fine.” I waved my hand, shrugging it off. He smirked, returning to his position in his chair. He ran the same hand through his hair, brushing the stray strands from his face. His hair was a little longer than in my dream, but it actually looked better, pushed up in the same voluminous quiff. I cleared my throat. The dinging of his cell phone caught both of our attention. He glanced down at the screen, looking at something I couldn’t see.
    “Tiera said she’s coming to see you tomorrow,” he informed. I was overjoyed at the fact that Tiera was real. She was still my best friend, the one I could always count on.
    I then felt sad as I contemplated if Mason, Seth, and Jackson were real. I’d come to be really close with the three of them, and I missed them dearly. Their immature personalities, hilarity, abilities to brighten any mood. They were my friends.
    He looked up at me with a disappointed look.
    “I gotta go, Val. I’m almost late for work. I just had to stop by to see you.” I knitted my eyebrows.
    “Work?” I quizzed. He sheepishly smirked, shaking his head a little.
    “Nah, just part time. It’s not too serious or anything, just babysitting, kind of. My mom made me get a job to pass the time and to get out more, so I picked one up at the community center down on Westwood Road. I’m teaching a little art class to some kids to babysit them. It’s no big deal…”
    The thought of Evan playing around with kids, helping them complete macaroni portraits suddenly made him so much more attractive. He stood up, shoving his phone into his pocket.
    "Maybe you could drop in sometime when you're feeling better," he offered. "The kids would love you." He hugged me again, pecked me on the cheek (which made my heart melt and the heart rate monitor had no problem showing that) and started for the door. Before he could walk out, I called out to him. He pivoted in my direction, looking expectant.
    “Promise me something,” I said. He offered a small smile.
    “Sure, anything, Val.” I pursed my lips and, finally, I spoke.
    “Just promise me you’ll be back.” I had given him up one too many times, and I couldn’t let this be the last time I’d see him. I couldn’t handle that.
    He smiled, shrugging his shoulders as he glanced away.
    “I don’t know, I mean, I’m kinda busy…” he joked, falling into a laughing fit. I joined in, shaking while giggles came out of me.
    “Seriously,” I started once I had regained my composure. “Promise me.” His expression turned meaningful. He peered into my eyes, a small smile still playing on his lips.
    “Always, Val,” he assured me. “I’ll always come back for you.” He full on grinned at me, not holding back the dimples that adorned his cheeks. “Take care,” he said, and he turned for the door, walking out.
    That was the first true happiness I’d felt in months.