Real || Solby

This is the worst part about making books

I'm sorry... By the end of this chapter you will all hate me with a passion.

S  A  M

I'm so happy! Finally, I can be with Colby for real. No more distance spans between us, we are here together. Present.

I feel worse, but I feel better. My body protests moving, groaning and complaining, but my mind is ecstatic, hoping to jump up and dance. It hasn't been that long since I woke up, maybe three days, and the doctor says I can go home. 

"You've made quite incredible progress, Mr. Golbach. I'm pleased to say that today is the day we set you free. Of course, you will need to go through physical therapy for a while, but you should be good to go. How are you feeling?" 

"Okay, I still ache a bit."

"That's fine. It's natural to feel a bit cramped and sore after being still for so long. It should recede within the next few days. Could you stand up and walk around for me?" 

I got up out of the bed and took some steady steps. I was improving; last time I almost fell over. I walked back to the bed and sat down again.

"Very good. It may seem a bit early to let you go home, but I'm sure you're as eager as anything to get out of here. Sadly, I have to stay here a lot longer than you do!" 

I laughed. He was very funny sometimes, cracking occasional jokes. 

Not soon enough, Colby came by to pick me up. I left with him, finally going somewhere else. No longer stuck in one spot.

"How does it feel to be a free man?" Colby asked excitedly. 

"Awesome." I stuck my head out the window and let the wind push through my hair. It felt so good after being cooped up in that stale room with hardly enough ventilation. It felt good to breathe.

C  O  L  B  Y

Sam is finally free. I laugh as he sticks his head out the window.

"You look like a dog!" 

"I feel like one too!" 

The drive wasn't long, and we made it to the hotel quickly. Sam dropped himself onto the bed immediately and I laid beside him. We laid in companionable silence for a long time, until Sam broke the silence.

"So it was all a dream, I never really went home." 

It was more of a statement than a question, but I answered it anyways. "Yeah. When I came to see you the first time you started talking, I was so confused. You kept asking how you had gotten home, and I didn't know what to say. So we played along, and it made you happy. The doctor was fine with it, said he actually enjoyed talking to you for that reason. He said you had more life than anyone in that hospital."

"And I just made up an excuse for whatever didn't fit. I woke up a couple times to hearing the beeping of the heart monitors, and I thought someone was microwaving something." He laughed.

I laughed with him. 

Sam turned to me suddenly and played with my hair. Gosh, I forgot how much I missed this.

"How did you deal while I was gone?"

I swallowed hard, thinking of the endless hours I had spent staring at the wall, wishing I could've changed that moment. "Not well."

"It can't have been easy, letting me think everything was okay, not being able to confide in me." He said softly.

I pulled him closer and kissed him, not wanting to pursue the topic further. I didn't want to make him feel bad about it.