for better or for worse // mitchel cave (completed)

part LXI

*laralyn's pov*

"oh sweetie, it's okay," my mother murmured, my head on her shoulder. i had just gotten back from my third therapy session in the past week or so since i found out.

i didn't believe it at first. i fought against everything everyone told me. i went as far as accusing my mother to selling me to a facility. but then i did my own research.

my therapist, a nice woman named gina, explained it to me the first time i met her.

"many people that are in comas go through it. when they're in a coma, their brain puts on a long drawn out alternate life, very similar to a dream but just extremely extended. this puts many people in shock when they wake up, which is why you shouldn't feel bad for the way you reacted. you went through a very traumatic experience laralyn, and now you must recover."

i didn't believe her either. but i scoured every possible source i could, and she was completely right.

i never met mitchel cave. i never moved to california. i had never even left the state of texas.

after i woke up from blacking out, the doctor went into more detail. i had been involved in a car crash two years ago. physically i only suffered a few problems that would have taken a few weeks stay at a hospital to heal. but i slipped into a coma, and no one could bring me out of it.

the worst part of it was the flashbacks. i was slowly regaining my memory of my old life. my actual life. it turns out i've been a really big fan of chase atlantic for a few years now.

i almost wanted to laugh at how pathetic i was. i lived an entire coma induced alternate life with the lead singer of my favorite band. it was a fangirl's dream i guess, but nothing about this felt remotely good.

in actuality, my parents were rich, but they were caring people, unlike the "parents" in my coma. my mom and dad apparently had stayed at the hospital with me every day for two years, hoping for me to wake up.

the coma did have some real life characters besides them come into play also. i did have a best friend named jessie, but she wasn't a bitch who betrayed me and told mitchel about me cheating on him. she was a wonderful nice girl, and every day i regained more old memories of our friendship.

i was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder. i felt crazy. the entire hospital staff heard what happened. the alternate life with my favorite band, the "engagement", and it almost made me throw up every time a nurse came in to check on me and gave me their pitying looks.

i was snapped out of my thoughts when my mom moved from the bed, stretching her limbs. "your dad will be back from work soon. i'm going to go down to the cafeteria, do you want anything?" she asked.

my parents had been smothering me, not that i blamed them. i mean, imagine your kid being asleep for two years straight and she finally wakes up. i didn't enjoy their company all the time because it usually triggered intense flashbacks from before the crash, but i knew i had to endure all of these flashbacks to regain full memory.

"i don't want anything," i quietly whispered to her, and i saw the sorry in her kind eyes. i could tell she felt bad for what i went through, but she was mostly ecstatic i was awake, and i didn't want to steal her joy.

there was a good chance i would never remember the car crash that robbed me of my sane normal life, and it felt better that way. i was suffering enough.

she walked through the door, leaving me alone with my thoughts. i couldn't tell if i loved it or hated it. as a tear slowly started to roll down my cheek, the door opened once again and i quickly wiped the evidence of emotion away on my sleeve.

the platinum blonde hair of jessie was refreshing to see. she didn't dwell on everything like my parents. she didn't tell me all i missed, but rather what i had to look forward to. truthfully, i didn't think there was much, but it was a pleasant sentiment either way.

"hey chica, feeling any better?" she asked, sliding onto the side of my bed and poking my leg. i nodded my head, not because i actually did feel any better, but because i didn't want to see any more guilt in people's expressions. it was old.

"i heard you get discharged in two days or so," she continued, handing me a iced tea. homemade. just like we liked it. i closed my eyes suddenly, shuddering violently for a second as a flashback came over me.

"this is the last time i buy store brand iced tea!" jessie complained, taking a sip of her glass and fake retching. i giggled as i watched her grab the things to make our own iced tea, just the way we liked it.

my eyes fluttered open and my breathing regulated. i saw jessie staring at me, that same pitiful expression on her face. "another one, huh?"

my therapist gina had explained to them what i was going through and how the ptsd/alternate coma life could affect me.

i nodded again. "yeah. remember the time you tried arizona tea for the first time?"

she nodded quickly, wincing. "it was terrible."

"yeah, well i remember it now too," i laughed slightly. "but yeah, i do get discharged in two days. i'm still coming up here every few days for therapy though, just as an outpatient," i continued the conversation we had before the flashback.

"well, that's great then! we can have a sleepover and listen to ch- .... listen to all of our old favorite songs," she stuttered, correcting herself.

i sighed. i didn't like hearing about chase atlantic often. it was a constant reminder of the loss i was bearing. maybe mitchel and i never really met, but it felt like a family member had died. i spent most nights curled up in the hospital bed, sobbing myself to sleep.

missing his touch, his words, our life..... i missed everything about a man i had never met.

my thoughts were broken as my dad loped into the room, shooting me a smile. he was probably the most understanding. he recognized my pain and loss and let me cope and say things when i felt like it.

"we love you a lot, lara," jessie murmured quietly.
"we sure do," my dad added, putting a hand over mine and squeezing it.

i don't think i can get through this.

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well kiddos, we got ourselves one chapter left of the book. that's literally insane to think about, as i started this book at the beginning of january and i'm finishing it almost 8 months later. i'll see you on the last official update ;) hope you guys aren't as emo about this as i am. ALSO thank u for 25k!