Come Back to Me [Boy x Boy]

Chapter 15

Jesse P.O.V

As if Connie's presence was magic, suddenly, I am all alone. I'm laying on the couch, grasping something that isn't there. The wires that I'm connected to are straining from the tension. John isn't here.

"Jesse, you should rest," Connie suggests softly.

"John was here," I murmur, "I swear he was." By the expression Connie has, she thinks I'm insane.

"You should get some rest," she says softly, easing my aching body from the couch.

"He was here," I swear under my breath.

Connie forces me to lay in the hospital bed. The wires can finally ease themselves back to a relaxed shape.

"I bet he was," she says in a soft tone. It's the type of tone parents use when a child talks about the fun adventures they had with an imaginary friend. She obviously doesn't believe me.

"You don't believe me," my voice comes out as a weak mutter.

Connie doesn't respond to my accusation. It proves my statement perfectly. She thinks that I'm in a drug-laced illusion; that I imagined my partner waking up from his comatose state and sweeping me off my feet all over again.

"He's in a coma, Jesse. He's still asleep," Connie says after a moment.

"No." My eyes begin to flood with tears. "No, he was here! He told me he would still be here when I woke up!" I sob.

Our parents suddenly come in the room. They both see me sobbing and give each other worried looks.

"What's going on?" one of them asks.

Connie takes it upon herself to take them both aside and explain the situation. She tries to talk quietly, but I still manage to hear.

"Jesse thinks he saw John. It's the drugs in his system causing hallucinations," she whispers.

"The doctors did say that could happen," our dad, Xander, chimes in.

"What did you tell him?" Jack asks.

"The truth. What else was I supposed to tell him?" Connie asks with a snippy tone.

"You should've gone along with his story. He'd probably forget by the time the drugs worked their way out of his system."

My eyes finally stop the flow of tears after I rub them roughly. My family members are still bickering about something. I'm choosing not to listen any longer. Their entire conversation is a waste of my time.

"I'm right here!" my temper finally breaks.

The entire family looks my way when I snap. They all give me the same worried expression. Connie acts like a mother all the time. In reality, I have two fathers and a sister that's more of a mother than anyone.

"Jesse, Sweetie, calm down," Xander says softly while sitting on the edge of the bed.

He gently places his hands on my cheeks, wiping away a single stray tear. I want to be upset, but he's always been the soothing parent. He's good at it.

"Go back to sleep. We'll be right outside, okay?"

As if he were magic, he gently pushes me back and pulls the covers over my body. It's like I've been fooled into doing something that I originally didn't want to do.

My family leaves the room. The door closes softly and their voices slowly fade with a bit of distance. My eyes grow heavy as they finally flutter closed. It seems as though my family has gotten the better of me.

Perhaps John returning to me was just a drug induced dream come true. He seemed very real to me, but the more I think about it, the more I find it strange. It's an awfully convenient coincidence that he would just happen to wake up after my attempted overdose. As much as I want him to come back to me, the longer I think about it, the more I realize that it was just something my intoxicated brain came up with as a solution to try and ease my depression.

"I knew it was too good to be true," I whisper to myself, knowing that there's no one else in the room to speak to.

"Hey, I'm here," John says, appearing out of thin air.

I sigh softly. "No, you're not. You're still lying in bed in your eternal slumber. This is just an illusion that the drugs in my system have created."

John leans back as if he's been struck by a bullet. "I'm hurt, Jesse. Here I am, right in front of you, and you don't believe it."

He would often joke around with that pose when we spent time together. He liked to be funny. John was always making me laugh. He loved to see me smile. It was the one thing he claimed that he never tired of doing.

"You're in a coma," I argue, "and I'm on a lot of medication and a sedative. I'm hallucinating your presence here because I miss you."

John frowns and sits on the edge of the bed. I must admit, he looks real. If I didn't know better, I would have sworn he was really right in front of me.

"Come on, Jesse. I'm right here."

"If you were really awake you would be in physical therapy right now. You've been in a coma for months. You can't just go wherever you want as soon as you wake up," I explain to him.

He laughs softly and rubs the back of his neck. "I never could fool you, Babe," he says softly.

I sigh quietly and run my fingers through my hair. Having my partner back was too good to be true. My eyes burn with hot tears once again. Right now, I feel like I should just cry forever to save myself the trouble of trying to stop.

"Hey, hey, don't cry." John rubs his thumb across my cheek softly. "I'm still here with you now," he reminds me.

"But you're not here! You're only here because of my hallucinations!" I argue.

"I'm always here with you, Jesse. You just have to wait," he says while kissing my forehead.

I take in a deep breath and sigh. John is right. I need to remain optimistic. My love will be back soon.

"Get some rest," he whispers with a soothing tone.

Hesitantly, I lean my head back and sigh. My body has grown tired once again. I should sleep off the rest of the drugs in my system.

"I love you," John says.

"I love you too."