The Boy Next Door

memory

hey guyss

so i got in a fight with my friend today. she says i talk about bratayley too much and then began listing everything she hated about them... tbh idc what anyone says. i like bratayley no matter what and it pisses me off the way she was talking about them, when she knows how much i love bratayley. i don't have any friends that like bratayley. im so jealous of the groups of friends who all love them, i think it would have made caleb's passing easier. do u guys have friends that love bratayley?~ anyway, haters gonna hate, right guys? but now im not 'allowed' to talk about bratayley or caleb anymore.

ughhhh ON ANOTHER NOTE.... a hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

x -e

CALEB'S P.O.V.

"Ebony?" I ask. Her eyes are still closed. I pull her hand close to my chest. She coughs again, harder. "Ebony?" I ask again, my heart's beating so fast. She takes a shuddery breath, sneezes, and her eyes open. Her bad eye is unfocused of course, because she was wearing glasses when she fell, and they cracked. She looks at me with frightened eyes and pulls her hand away from mine.

EBONY'S P.O.V.

"Ebony?" Asks an unfamiliar boy's voice. My throat hurts, I cough. My head aches, like really aches. I can feel I've been asleep, but I'm not sure how long I've been asleep for. Then I feel the pain in my foot, horrible stabbing pain. "Ebony?" The same voice asks again I take a deep breath that hurts my lungs. Something's tickling my nose, I want to push it away but my arm feels like it weighs two hundred pounds. I try exhaling out of my nose, but sneeze as a result and I feel dizzy. It smells weird wherever I am, like rubber and lemon wood cleaner mixed together. My lips feel cracked and dry. Someone's squeezing my hand, I assume it's whoever the voice belongs to.

I open my eyes. My left eye is blurry, but my right one makes out a boy I've never seen before. I pull my hand away from him abruptly. "Ebony? Are you alright?" He asks, he has an American accent. I don't know anybody from America. My chest tightens, where is Mum and Dad and Joey? Why am I in this weird room? My heart begins racing. I feel like I'm about to faint. I scream and try to back away from him, but I hit my head on a metal machine that keeps beeping in my ear. It hurts, but I don't care. I look up at the machine, it seems to be... a heart monitor? My breathing quickens. "Ebony, come here," says the boy, reaching out to me. I look at him again, he's been crying. I confirm I have no idea who he is, and scream again. "Shhh, it's okay, Eb." EB?!

"Get away from me!" I shriek, he looks very, very hurt when I say this, like I've just lied to him. The door to the room flies open and a nurse walks in.

"Is everything okay in here?" She asks, she has an American accent also. I'm so confused.The nurse looks at the boy, who's looking at me. She snaps her head in my direction and gasps. "Oh, you're awake! Hello, Ebony. I'm nurse Elsa and-" I tune her voice out. I'm so scared right now. I can't breathe, I can not breathe. The room becomes really small and I feel like I can't move.

"Get out," I whisper to the nurse. She looks surprised, but then she smiles and says something to the boy and leaves me with him again. Before she left, she hit a button on a radio that's now playing top 40 pop hits or something. The boy walks up to me, I'm trembling. I meant for them both to leave. I try to catch my breath, but end up having a coughing fit. The boy stands by my side, telling me everything is going to be okay. I begin crying, and every time the boy tries to reach for me, I push him away. "Wh-who are y-you?" I ask him.

"I'm Caleb Logan LeBlanc, your boyfriend," he says. I don't have a boyfriend, I don't even have a friend. My head is pounding, I begin breathing really quickly and shortly, and my hands feel numb. I feel like I'm surrounded by ice, and it's filling my head. I can tell the boy, Caleb, is saying something, but I can't hear him. I keep my eyes locked forward and then begin to hyperventilate. I feel him reach for my hand, and I don't pull away this time. I look at him, he looks incredibly concerned. "Ebony, can you hear me?" I nod, "try following my breaths," he says. I watch him inhale, and I do the same, then he exhales and I do the same. We do this for what feels like five or ten minutes, until I'm able to breathe again.