The Calm Before The Storm

Deep Blue

~Chloe~

I'm not sure what woke me up. Perhaps it was the light Tick Tick of the snow falling against the window panes, of the constant hum of machinery in the room. Whatever the reason, I'm up now.

I stretch uncomfortably in my chair and yawn, my eyes adjusting to the dim light peeking through the windows. I scratch at my scalp, my hair feeling matted and oily. Well, that's probably because I haven't washed it in... in a while. Longer than I'd like to admit.

Anyways, I rub at my eyes and stand up with ease, the clunky cast on my foot replaced with a simple boot. I walk over to the window and pull back the thin blinds. There's frost on the glass panes, thankfully normal for this time of year. The sun is just starting to peek over the horizon, painting the sky in an abundance of color. Pinks, yellows, golds, oranges... *sigh* this is honestly my favorite part of the morning.

Just hold on for a little longer, Chloe. then both of us will be outta here for good, I think to myself turn around and sit back down.

I sigh and look at the bed beside me, seeing Max sleeping soundly which is honestly a rarity nowadays. I don't think she's gotten a single good night sleep in weeks, and the bags under her eyes prove just that.

We've been here for a little over a month, and well... it hasn't exactly been easy, but we're getting by... we always do. I sigh and reach over to Max, resting my hand on hers.

"Psst, Hey Max," I say, intertwining our fingers together, "Come on, it's time to wake up".

Max stirs slightly before opening her eyes and muttering a good morning.

"How are you feeling?" I ask, extending my hand out to her.

She takes it gratefully after stretching out and rubbing the sleep out of her tired, puffy eyes:

Better. Still sore though.

I nod in understanding and absently start rubbing her knuckles. "I know... but look at the bright side. At least you can walk again".

She shrugs and looks away, absently shifting under the sheets.

"Do you wanna get up and try moving around a bit?" I ask.

Max shakes her head and continues to shy away from me.

I sigh, giving up on trying to get Max out of this goddamn bed. "I thought this was what you wanted, Max. Not to be confined to a bed and now that you can finally fucking walk... you refuse to move!".

Max throws her head back and rolls her eyes, lifting her hand up to flip me off.

I groan in annoyance.

At the beginning of the week, Max finally had the pins from her leg removed, meaning that she's able to walk around again. Well, not exactly. She does need help from either a cane or wheelchair, which of course, she refused the latter.

"We're not going to get out of here if you don't start fucking trying, Max. Just get up, okay?. Get up, walk around for a bit like the doctor said, and I'll stop bugging you about it,".

I look down, rubbing at my temples in frustration. God, fucking dammit

Max, of all people, should be the last person who's able to piss me off, but right now, she's being so unbelievably stubborn that I can't not be pissed at her. This isn't like her... this isn't the Max I know. It's like she completely changed right after the second set of surgeries. She's so... scared and defensive now, not to mention skittish. I mean, Max has always been kinda jumpy but this is fucking ridiculous. Max nearly jumps out of her skin whenever there are doctors and nurses around. Shit, she even blacked out one time when one of the nurses tried to draw blood.