Control

Twenty Two

R A Y L I N

I groaned, and felt the doctor shaking me. I looked up, and saw him smiling.

"You have a visitor. A Justin Haneth?"

"Ok.." I mummerd. I had a terrible feeling in my stomach. He knows...

I let my head fall back onto my pillow, and heard the doctor walk out. My head was pounding, and I realized how bad my side hurt as well.

I heard footsteps, and took a deep breath. I reached on the counter, and grabbed my phone. I flicked it on, and the door opened. Then two moments later, it closed.

"Hey, Raylin.."

"Hi.." I replied, clutching my phone, and keeping my gaze low. He sat down in the chair next to me. I didn't look at him once, afraid I'd break into tears.

I saved him. That's all I should care about.

"I know. Sam filled in the details," he says. I took a shaky breath, and held my phone harder.

"I'm sorry..." I mummerd. My hair covered my face, and I hoped it hid my eyes, which were watering. I didn't want him to see how upset I was.

"I get why you didn't tell me," he says. I held my phone so tight I thought it might break in half. I heard him stand up, and sit on my hospital bed. "Raylin, it's ok. I understand."

I saw him grab my phone. I let him take it from me, and looked up at him. He set it down next to him, and I tried to keep our eyes contact.

"You can talk to me about things," he says. All I could focus on was his eyes, and how honest he sounded. His voice sounded soothing, and made me more comfortable.

I sighed, and held his gaze. I willed myself not to look away, but I ended up dropping my gaze.

"Come on, Raylin. Say something," he says. I shook my head slowly. If I said anything, I'd break down into tears. He sighed. He leaned over and kissed my cheek. "Well, I told Sam and Jaime I'd tell them when we were done talking." I said nothing as he stood. He started walking out. "And by the way," he faces me. I looked up. "Thanks for saving me."

~

I laid in the hospital bed that night, looking up. I sighed, and looked at my phone. Justin still hadn't texted me, and that's what I feared. The hospital seemed so empty. And I felt so.. lonely. There was so much anxiety, and stress pulling at me, I felt like I couldn't take it.

I was so close to screaming when I realized the clock was broken. I cocked my head, and looked at my phone. It was frozen. The screen wasn't working, which angered me for some reason.

I felt something heavy on my chest. My breath was coming shorter, and I couldn't breath properly. I reached beside me, and my finger tips brushed the red button.

"Help!" I yelled, clutching the rail beside me. I was coughing, unable to fully catch a breath. "Help!"

I stood, still coughing. I walked to the door, and leaned against the frame.

"H-hello?" I called, grabbing at my chest. There were doctors in the hallway, but they weren't moving. They were all standing, like they were frozen in place. I dropped down to my knees, feeling extremely light headed. I was still coughing as I saw someone coming down the hallway. I reached one hand out. "H-help.." I wheezed. My vision faded to black before the person reached me.