Deal With It

forty one

Chapter 41

Those words tumbled out of my mouth before my mind managed to process them. I got up and shot straight past Daniel but he caught onto my arm. "Let me go!" I yanked my arm free but he only pulled me back and tightly gripped onto my shoulders, restricting my movement.

"Arissa, Tyler is alive," he calmly explained to me.

"What?" I said. "But... I saw it myself. Are you lying to me?" I struggled to break away from him and his lies but he captured both my wrists in one hand and held them behind my back. It almost felt like I was being arrested, the handcuffs about to be clicked into place any moment.

I shoved him back and he pressed his lips in a tight line, almost looking angry. "I wouldn't ever lie to you, and definitely not about something like this," he pushed a lock of my hair behind my ear and I took a step back. "It was just a bad dream. You were screaming when I got here," he gently told me. What he was saying began to make sense to me as I examined my location.

I wasn't in some enclosed room, surrounded by cold walls with no doors. Tyler wasn't on the floor lying in his own blood. We were still in the hospital. He was still being tested. "But it felt so real," I said aloud, still knowing how it felt to see him like that. I could feel that cold, unwelcoming pang deep inside of me despite it only being a part of my imagination. "I need to see him."

Before he even replied, I ran in the opposite direction where Tyler was being monitored. I peeked through the small window in the door but was unable to see much. All I saw was machines and a few nurses, but not my boyfriend. I was about to push open the doors but was stopped.

"What are you doing? You're not allowed to go in there," Daniel said.

"Bu—"

"Arissa. They'll tell you when you can go in."

I groaned and stomped my foot on the ground, feeling like crying but only allowing my anger to be released in front of Daniel. The two of us walked back to the waiting area and sat down, whilst Kirsty was still trying to sleep. She had seemed so restless all night. I didn't blame her. "So, why did you come here?" I asked Daniel after a while. Things still seemed awkward after what had happened at my house not so long ago.

"You mean why am I here since Tyler hates my guts and I'm not too fond of him either?" he rephrased my question and he had a pretty accurate idea of what I was really thinking. I plainly stared at him, not particularly amused by what he had said and still awaiting an answer to my question.

"I came to see if you were okay," he sighed, giving in to my stare.

"Oh," I answered. "Well, I'm not the one who got shot," I grimly said.

He remained silent, probably not knowing what to say back to me. "We're also going to need you to come down to the station tomorrow. I know it's too soon today and we need your statement," he informed me quietly.

"I'll be there," I tried to muster a small smile for him and he stood up. He nodded and turned on his heel, most likely not wanting to sit through more minutes of extreme awkwardness. "Hey, Daniel," I stopped him and he looked back.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for coming by."

He opened his mouth to say something but suddenly pushed his words back, looking down and shaking his head before shooting me a smile. He lightly waved before exiting the building.

About half an hour after he left, Keith, Heidi and Alec returned after last night. I gave Heidi a hug and Alec squeezed my arm in reassurance. "How is he doing?" he asked.