Maybe

Chapter 24

I woke up to dim light streaming through the dirt-encrusted shutters. I squinted through the shadows to see Grayson kneeled over Ethan's leg. I sat up and took a closer look at Grayson.

"Good morning." Grayson said not looking away from his present task

"What are you doing?" I asked

"Fixing him." Grayson said as he looked up at me

A wave of relief washed over me as I looked back at Ethan to see a cool face that had returned to its normal color in the night. His bite had been wrapped in fresh gauze and Grayson was just finishing up his leg.

"The bite looked the same as yesterday which means that it's not improving, but it's also not getting worse. I gave him some fever pills last night. He woke up for a minute or so and he's been doing better ever since. I also cleaned his leg again. I mean you did fine, but it could've been better." Grayson said

"Why are you doing this?" I asked

"You said it yourself. We wouldn't want to live with ourselves if we didn't do everything we could for him. I also owe him a lot." Grayson said

"So this is a repaying of old debts?" I asked suspicious

"No, this is a thank you for some things he did for me in the past and also because he's my brother." Grayson said

"Wow, finally showing some brotherly love?" I asked jokingly

Grayson simply rolled his eyes

"Well, that's all I can do for now." Grayson said

"Thank you." I said

Grayson nodded.

"I'm sorry to have to say this, but if he's gonna change, it's gonna be in the next day." Grayson said

"So we have to leave." I said

"Yeah." Grayson said as he stood up

"Ok... I'll be right out."

Grayson nodded as he walked out of the office door and left me alone with Ethan. I nudged his shoulder to wake him up.

"Ethan?" I whispered

He was out cold. I decided it best not to wake him; maybe sleep would improve his condition.

"Stay asleep, I'll just talk." I said to him, "You'd better not die on me now Ethan. I have saved your butt too many times for you to leave me alone. You are the reason I still wake up every morning; so if you don't want to stay alive for yourself, stay alive for me, because I wouldn't be able to live if the one person I still cared about died."

I leaned down to kiss his forehead.

"I love you, Ethan." I said as a tear slipped down my cheek

I slowly stood up and headed towards the door, hoping that he would wake up and acknowledge that he heard me in case the worst happened. To my dismay, he stayed asleep, and I walked out the door, closing it tightly behind me, separating myself from the person who held my life in his feverish hands.

That night passed by slowly. As I lay down on my makeshift bed, I continued to stare at Ethan, imagining every slight movement was a sign of life. I stared at him until it became so dark he was only a shadow. My eyes fluttered lightly closed and I fell into a deep uninterrupted sleep.

Heat. That's the only thing that registered in my unconscious state of dreaming. It was comforting. My toes burned from the cold while my arms were toasty warm. Too warm. Burning hot. I could hear the faint crackling of burning wood as my skin began to feel as though I was touching an open flame.