If I Live

3.

Operating rooms are gross.

That hospital gown is not going to be flattering.

Ew, the insides of my body look gross.

Can I walk through walls? That would be cool.

I walk in to a wall.

Ow. I guess that doesn't work.

What about opening doors? Can I do that?

Yup, I can.

How is Mike doing?

Is he okay?

Let's go check on him.

I exit the door, and go looking for him.

Grandma Judy and Grandpa Jack? Oy, and uncle Scott?

Uncle Scott is my dad's younger brother. He is twenty-five. I bet if him and Ezra bond at all they will become really good friends.

How did they get here this fast?

Aren't they supposed to be in Chicago?

There's Mike.

"Aria?" He yells.

"Mike!" I say, hugging him.

"I don't know if I will be able to stay. Even if I can, I really won't want to. They are chopping off a leg. I am losing so many things from this. Mom, Dad, lacrosse, and my leg. I had a very nice leg!" He says.

"So? You will have me. And Mona. Hell, even Ezra and the girls. Why are they chopping off a leg? Did it get caught in something?" I argue.

"I won't have Mona. She broke up with me over a text message. The bones inside the lower part are broken past repair." He says, hugging me.

"Oh Mikey." I say, hugging him. "You will always have me. If it makes you feel better, her eyes are small and beady, and she is a fool to break up with you, especially over a text message. Come on. Let's go stare at people. Whatever you do, I do. For now. We need each other." I say.

"Alright." He moans. "I will stay until you decide. Maybe longer, I don't know."

"Oh my god. Ezra is an ugly cryer." Mike says.

"I love him to death, but look at his face. He looks like poop right now. At least his eyes look good." I say.

"They do look nice." He says.

"When I first met him, I fell in love with his eyes. Then you know, the person behind them."

"Did you get a special feeling?" Mike asks.

"Yes. A feeling I never got before. Whenever I am around him, I feel it."

"We are basically ghosts right now, want to mess with people?"

"Mike! We are in a hospital. And I was getting worried you would never ask that. Sure, but not old people." I tease.

"Soooo, basically just Ezra and the girls. There are a lot of old people here." He says, looking around.

"I guess not." I say.

"Aria Montgomery is out of surgery." The doctor says.

"How is she?" Ezra asks.

"I am sorry, sir. That is confidential.

"I will be the legal guardian of her and her brother the next four months, unless if she wants to get emancipated. Please, tell the man." Uncle Scott says.

"She is starting to look a little better. It all depends on her brain."

"What does that mean?" Ezra stutters.

"If she wants to stay. She will be allowed visitors in three hours."

"How is her brother?" Scott asks.

"He is in the same condition as Miss Montgomery, but he is missing a leg."

"Why is he missing a leg?" Judy asks.

"It was completely severed. There was no hope in saving it, well, from his knee down. If he stays, he may get a prosthetic later in life."

"A robot leg. Nice." Mike says.

I hit him playfully.

I need to convince Mike to stay.