Moonlight

27

Shortly after the guys coming in and sitting with me, they haven't left my side. A sedative causes me to sleep, my last image of being awake is them. I drift asleep, waking on a couch. I remember this couch, I scan the room. I know this room, but how do I know this room?

Aunt Lena walks in, holding two ceramic mugs, steam dancing out of them.

"Leah, it's alright. You're okay." Aunt Lena assures me. She hands me a mug, it's warm sides touches my fingertips.

"How are you here?" I ask, remembering the exact day she died.

She died of throat cancer. She looks better than when she died, almost as if she never died. Her hair still dark brown and wavy. Eyes a deep amber brown, a blue, green, and red tattoo on her chest, just right of her armpit.

"You're dreaming, sweetie." She replied calmly.

I look down at the carpeting, wishing that this was real, that she was here, and that we could be together. Wishing that she wasn't a dream.

"I've been watching you, sending prayers to make sure you'd survive. You're a fighter, I'll give you that." She adds.

She scans my face, eyeing the pain and agony I've been through this past year. She reaches over and places her warm hand on mine. She is real, but this is a dream. It can be as real as it seems, but in reality, she's gone.

"Thanks, Aunt Lena. Have you seen or heard anything about-" I begin, looking deep into her eyes. She cuts me off, probably knowing what I was going to say.

"Jack is doing well, and so is Garrison. You don't need to worry about them, I've got people watching over them." She swiftly replies, followed by a wink.

"I went to the future, Jack told me he saved me. Is it true? Did he save me, and am I human?" I curiously ask. I slide to the edge of the couch cushion. She smiles, and doesn't reply.

"You're still curious, just like when you were a kid." She changes the subject, it must be true.

"Leah?" Cameron's echoed voice calls. I look around, trying to find where he is. Aunt Lena smiles and states,

"You take good care of those boys. You've got yourself a wonderful group of friends."

"Leah?" He calls again.

Sucked out of the dream, everything fades. Aunt Lena, the carpet, the couch, the mug, everything. I open my eyes, and wince.

The lights blind me again. They need to do something about that, it's driving me insane.

Once my vision comes to, Cameron and Brent are by my side. They both smile, their hands softly gripped against the railing on the bed.

"Hey Leah." Brent greets in a soft spoken voice, almost a whisper.

I blink twice. All of the blinking and finger movements are going to drive me insane.

They both sit in chairs next to the bed. With the bed still propped up, I can see them better. I can actually see in front of me, rather than just staring at a ceiling and some lights.

"Hey sweetie, are you feeling better?" The nurse asks, I notice she's wearing a different scrub.

This one has Winnie the Pooh characters on it. She smiles, looking into my eyes. I glance at Brent and Cameron, who are looking at me, expecting me to do something. I sigh the best I can, causing pain to my throat. I curl my fingers, just leaving my index up. I slowly point down.

"Well, I have good news, we are able to take the ventilator system out. It's the tube that's down your throat." She reports. Brent and Cameron both nod in unison.

"Would you like us to leave the room?" Cameron quietly asks. His soft spoken voice mixed with a small amount of concern.

"It may be best just to have one of you here with her in case she needs a hand to hold, it can be painful." The nurse suggests. Brent's phone loudly buzzes in his pocket. He checks to see who it is, then announces,

"Excuse me, I have to take this."

"I will stay with her." Cameron mumbles softly.

He moves to the side of the bed, near my head. The nurse walks close to me, the heels to her shoes clicking each time she walks towards me. She carefully sticks a needle into my IV bag.

"This is a sedative, only because this is a little painful." She mumbles, focusing on pushing the top of the needle, releasing the sedative into the IV bag.

I look down at her name tag reflecting against the light, I never noticed it before. Between the rays of light, I make out her name, Aspen. It's inscribed in black ink, across a metallic plating the width of a credit card. She slowly reaches the tube and pulls on it. It causes a small amount of pain. I slightly wince.

"You're okay Leah, I've got you." Cameron assures me.

She pulls on it a little more, it slowly climbs up my throat, scratching it the entire way. Warm tears fall from my eyes. The sedative kicks in, tiredness seeps through. My eyes flutter closed, total darkness falls.

"Leah?" Garrison calls, his voice panicked. His voice gets louder, assuming he's roaming the hall.

"Where's Leah?" He asks, panicked.

I slowly open my eyes, I really hope that Aspen took the tube out. As I open them, I feel an emptiness across my chest and in my mouth. A dragging feeling pulls against my mouth. I reach my mouth, slowly guiding my fingers to my lips.

"All done, sweetie." Aspen chimes.

I suck in a slow breath, my own breath. The first one I've taken on my own, without some machine doing it for me. Aspen turns her back to throw the tubing away in a large red medical waste bin.

"Leah, oh my God. You're awake!" Garrison sighs, rushing into the room.

I weakly smile, the sedative still kicked in, my throat begins to ache more. He rushes over to the bed, with his chest against the bed railing. He gently takes my hand in his, the cords get in the way. Aspen realizes he snuck in, and turns from the medical waste bin.

"I'm sorry sir, but you can't be here right now." Aspen informs him, I can just see the pain in his eyes.

He breaks his gaze from me and looks at Aspen. His hand still holding onto mine, his grip gentle but protective. His warm palm gripped gently to mine. I look down at his hand, red lines run from his fingers to his forearm. Afraid of Aspen noticing, I throw the blanket over his arm. The pain begins to fade.

"She's my fiancé, I can't leave her." He softly replies, confusion subsides over his face.

He begins to walk away, his hand breaking contact with mine. The absence of his touch sends chills throughout my body. I take a deep breath, the pain returns to my chest, hip, and arm. He softly nods, then proceeds into the hallway.

"Aspen, I can leave for a bit so he can spend time with his fiancé. I can come back later." Cameron suggests.

"Take the creepy one with you, he's been checking me out for the last half hour." Aspen replies, pointing to the window.

Which reveals Ian sitting at the hallway window staring at Aspen, with huge puppy dog eyes. His mouth gaped and drool forming a pool against the window sill. It really doesn't surprise me that he's doing this.

"I've got this." Cameron begins, he walks over to the window.

He takes the back of his hand, and beats it against the window where Ian's face is. Ian stumbles back, like he was in a trance. He wipes the corner of his mouth in disgust. He then smiles at Aspen in embarrassment, and awkwardly waves.