As soon as he woke up, I was holding his hand. Well, more like squeezing. When his eyes opened, he was looking into mine. "Max..?" his week voice whispered.
"Yeah, Johnnycake. I'm here. I'm right here."
"Wha-" Trying to sit up, he grunted.
I helped ease him back down and smoothed hair away from his face. "Shh..." I whispered, "Try not to move, Hun. Dr. Saroyan says that'll hurt the most."
"What happened...?"
I clenched my eyes shut for a second to keep the tears back and squeezed his hand more. "Y-you got shot..."
I felt his hand twitch back, trying to hold both of mine that were wrapped around it. "W-who?"
"W-we don't know, Johnnycake... I'm just glad you're alive right now." I opened my eyes and smiled into his. "Just stay that way, okay?"
"I-I saw someone."
"What?! Y-you mean who shot you?!"
"N-no. After that. I was in a room. It was perfect. But you weren't there so I didn't think it was a dream. There was a man. He talked to me like a friend. He knew me but I didn't know him."
I glanced over at Ghost. He shared my nervous feeling. Knowing he wouldn't say anything at times like this, I turned back to Johnny and held his hand even tighter. "It... It might have been God..." When that earned me a confused look, I continued, "You flat lined during surgery... You were clinically dead for almost ten minutes."
His jaw slacked open. "H-how?"
I bit my lips together then his hand tightened around my own. My eyes stung red with unshed tears as I opened them again to look at him. "I... I can't let you die..." The last words came out as a raspy whisper.
"These are the best doctors around," he seemed dazed and confused, "How could that..."
He looked back up when I hesitantly told him, "They... They couldn't find a bullet... And there was no exit wound..."
Ghost grimaced and pulled his hoodie over his head, shoving his hands in his pocket. But before he could turn and leave the room, the long beep of our nightmares rang out. Johnny's pillow sunk in and his eyes shut.
I dropped to my knees, involuntarily screaming his name. Ghost cussed and ran out, "Kat! Kat!"
When doctors ran in, it took both Kat and Ghost to pry me away from my love. Before I knew it, I was crying into Kat again. She shushed me and combed my hair with her fingers.
How could this behappening? This couldn't behappening! I was lost without him! I would never be able to handle waking upwithout him. Johnny was my lifeline. And he was about to lose his.
