Hurts Like Hell ˚ E. Lehnsherr [3]

Chapter Twelve

A/N: So...I might have a Cassian Andor story in my drafts and I might have a Erik/Riley/Edward video in the makings...The gif is gonna give away part of the fucking chapter but I think it is pretty obvious with or without it so eh.... Yeah.

I opened my eyes, squinting through the sudden burst of light above me. I felt the ground underneath me to sit up, tilting my head in confusion when I no longer felt the rough texture of the sand. I sat up with a groan, realizing I was in a bed, looking around frantically while my heart practically burst out of my chest. 

"Are you alright?" A voice asked from my left. "Riley, are you okay?" The voice pushed. 

I closed my eyes, flinching when a hand cupped my cheek. "You're not real." I whispered, knowing who was with me. "You're not real... I-I don't-..You're dead!" I shouted, clutching my head in my hands, squeezing my eyes shut as if that would help in some way. "I watched you die. I felt your heart stop, saw the light drain from your eyes right in my arms." 

"Riley. Do you know why you're here?" He asked, putting a hand on my back.

"Am I-"

"Dead? No." He paused, running his thumb back and forth. "Not yet." 

I scoffed, looking up into those damn blue eyes. "Yet." I let out a shaky breath, getting off the bed and coming to a stand. "Are they okay...?" I asked quietly, shifting my eyes to the floor. 

"Who?" Edward asked, walking closer to me.

"The others. My brother... Charles, Jean, Peter... Erik?" I cried. This had to be some sort of dream, right? This whole thing was a dream. All of it. En Sabah Nur... Edward dying in my arms. Everything.

"They're scared." He informed, stopping an inch or two in front of me. "You're dying, Riley." 

I looked up at him, just now noticing the cuts on his face from the last time I saw him. They looked raw and unclean, as if the events that seemed forever ago happened mere seconds before I woke up. "Why am I here?"

"Because you're fighting." Edward said simply, wrapping an arm around my waist and putting his forehead to mine. "Even in times like these, you're stubborn as hell." 

I gave a small smile at his words, but it disappeared just as quick as it came. "This is it, isn't it?"

Edward smiled sadly, his eyes closing. "No. It's not your time. It can't be." He said quietly. "Even though I don't want to say goodbye again," He paused, pressing a soft kiss to my lips. "This is all in your head, Ri." His voice seemed far away as he said this, making me open my eyes. 

I was alone, his touch gone as if it was never there. 

"Riley, come on!" 

"It's not your time."

"Riley, please..."

"This is all in your head, Ri."

"Kochanie, please. I lost you once, please don't make me lose you again."

I closed my eyes, hoping for it to all go away, to stop hearing the pleas of my friends, to stop hearing Edward's voice. I want it all to go away. I don't want to hear these things anymore, I want it to stop.

I want it to stop...

"Riley?" I opened my eyes and saw Erik leaning over me with a worried look on his face. I raised my hand to his face, feeling the sweat that had built up during our battle with Apocalypse. I scanned my eyes over his appearance before I held onto the back of his neck and pulled him into a tight hug. I felt his gloved hands wrap around my waist as he held me close to him while his heart was beating out of control. 

"I'm okay..." I whispered while a tear fell down my cheek. "I'm okay. I'm okay..." I repeated a few times trying to talk myself into thinking it was true, closing my eyes as we just sat there holding onto each other for dear life. "I'm okay." 

A/N: Ooh. Sleepover. C-can we order pizza? Can you tell that I had a massive brain fart in the middle of this? Um. This chapter is so Cliché and I want to die :) Half inspired by If I Stay. 

*Kochanie meaning: Sweetheart in Polish.