"You turn." Danny sighed, his index finger wiping a tear from his face.
"It's tough seeing him like that, Paige. Be strong. For him." Danny spoke softly, his hand on Paige's shoulder. She couldn't have been more apparent. She was scared. Not nervous, but scared. Her tan skin was ashen, her palms were extremely sweaty, her eyes were shifting everywhere at a very brisk paste, she was just afraid. Paige looked over at Cole and Dylan laughing at something, but there was still worry written all over their crinkled eyes and red cheeks. They seemed torn, and she wondered if it was both inside and out. She noticed that Michelle was gone, and she checked his phone.
'10:48 pm 9 New Messages, 45 Missed Calls.'
She winced and opened the message app. She notices that two were from her mom and four were from Michelle. The rest were from Cole and Dylan from earlier.
"Paige, honey, please tell Braeden I'm so sorry I can't make it and that I hope he gets better! xx"
"Also that I love him and will pray for him. We all are. Stay strong, love xx." Paige smiled. Her mom always worried about Braeden. And all of her friends too, but mostly Braeden. She didn't reply but made a mental note to tell Braeden what Anne wanted him to know.
"I have to take care of the girls for the night! If Braeden reacts in any way, please call me and let me know!"
"If you guys get hungry don't hesitate on calling. I'll get you guys some good food. "
"Dylan and Cole have the new house number just in case you can't reach my cell."
"Oh, last thing, take care, Paige. Louis loves you and he always will. Remember, Braeden and Paige, forever." Paige couldn't help but smile at the last message. She knew, but it felt good knowing that people knew. She took in a deep breath which caused her heartbeat to accelerate at the thought of being with Braeden after so long.
"Good luck." Cole wished, his arms wrapping Paige into a hug.
"It'll be alright," Dylan assured her, his chin pressing onto Paige's shoulder.
"Thanks." Paige half smiled. Her hand touched the doorknob, her foot moving ahead to push the door open, revealing the cold air the room was holding. Paige cleared her throat, her eyes shifting to an empty black chair and a painting hanging on the wall; the white walls were standing silently, they held so much pain.
Her head snapped back to the closing door, blinking furiously, her sight not landing onto Braeden just yet. She breathed for a few seconds. She could feel Braeden's presence. Her trembling hands came up to rub her face. A heavy sigh was released, and that was when she looked at Braeden.
His skin was pale, his eyes were tired, and his hair was dull– it had no shine, the brown was gone. Dark circles were taking over his eyes, his lips were robbed of their color, and his body was skinless. Paige couldn't help it, she lost it at the sight.
Her vision got watery; tears were falling rapidly onto the floor as her ears grew an irritating pain due to the sound of the defibrillator. Braeden wasn't moving, but he was breathing. This made Paige grow a curved smile, wandering Braeden's whole body with her eyes. She walked over to the chair next to the bed, her hands aching while she was pushing the chair back a bit to fit.
Her throat was dry; her eyes were losing their ability to stay focused, "Hey Brae. It's Paige." she starts. And she feels it in herself that this is going to be quite the confession.
"I-I know that you can hear me, at least I hope you can. If you can, well I can only imagine what you are thinking of telling me. Probably thinking that I'm a prick, a twat even. But I can explain why I disappeared like that almost a year ago." Her hands were placed on her thighs, playing with her fingers as she shed a couple tears, not wanting to wipe them away, but let them fall by themselves.
"Let's go all the way back to when we met. You remember right? I can just play it over my head millions of times if I wanted. " She smirked, looking at Braeden with such a soft face, her tears still strolling down his puffy, pale cheeks. Her memory started going back to how she and Braeden met.
