Coma (Slowly Editing)

Epilogue

Someone is brushing my hair back. I think I’m on my bed, but I can’t be sure. Something warm touches my forehead, and then my cheeks, and then tip of my nose. They feel good, like warm kisses. Maybe they are. I open my eyes to find a pair of blue-grey ones staring right back at me.

“Annalise Bell,” their owner whispers. “You’re are the most wonderful girl in the world.”

I close my eyes, and then open them again. He is still staring at me and there is a smile on his face, a quiet, knowing one. I lift my fingers and trace the outline of his face. The corner of his eyes. The curve of his lips. The shadows along his jawline.

“Am I dreaming?” I ask hoarsely.

“It really depends.”

“On what?”

“On whether this feels real or not,” he answers. He leaned in and pressed his lips to mine.

It feels like forever, until he pulled away.

“You can’t go,” I said. My voice cracks on the last word. “You cannot die on me again.”

“They say third time is the charm,” he replies. He smiles again but his smile is sad, and I know now what it meant.

“No.” I bury my face in the crook of his neck and clutches his shirt in my hands. “No, no, no. Don’t go. Please don’t go. Tell me you’re not leaving.”

He kisses my eyelids. “You are beautiful.” He kisses my cheeks. “You are strong.” He kisses my lips. “You’ll be okay, you’ll be more than okay.”