| published! under the new title MEET ME IN THE MIDDLE | Eden knows she can't love Truman, the boy with the angelic smile and devilish eyes. Why? He's her best friend Katie's older brother, who she strictly promised she'd stay away from.
But when a...
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T R U M A N
There was a machine attached to my sister that always beeped. It was the first thing I heard when I woke up that morning, the sound of her heart beating in red waves that filled the screen. It was a reminder that she was alive, and sometimes it felt like she was watching. That one day Katie'd wake up and take one look at my face, and then she'd know her brother was falling in love.
But not with his girlfriend.
My mom told me that same sound was the reason she slept in Katie's hospital room every night. That she liked to wake up to the reminder that her baby girl was alive. That her heart was still beating even with her eyes closed.
I wondered what she would think if she knew the truth. If she knew that I slept here because it made me feel less alone. That it made the guilt stay at bay knowing Katie's eyes were closed and she couldn't see what was happening in the world she wasn't in anymore.
I woke up that morning to the sound of her heart beating on a screen, and to Santana sitting on the couch, watching me.
"Morning," I said, rubbing my eyes with my knuckles. "How long have you been up?"
"Just an hour." She leaned in to kiss my cheek. "Eden came by to see Katie."
I sat up a little straighter. "She did? Is she still here?"
Santana shook her head. I knew she could hear it in my voice, the eagerness, the hope, but she didn't say anything. Her eyes, though. Those told a different story. Because Santana had these eyes that were like glass. I could see right through them, read every thought, every emotion. And right now, she was angry. But we were laying on a couch beside my sister in a coma, so she was trying to hide it.
"She left, said something about having class," Santana said, standing up and stretching her arms above her head. "Wanna get breakfast?"
"No, I'll stay here for a little. You go."
"I'll stay with you," she said, smiling. She was back on the couch, back in my lap, kissing my neck when I gently pushed her off me.
"San, stop." She moved her hands down my chest, then under the blanket. "Santana,stop. We're in a fucking hospital, my sister is right here."
"She can't see us," she murmured, "she doesn't even know we're here."
"So we should just make out on this fucking couch while she's five-feet away, unconscious?"
Santana sighed, looking up at me with her wide eyes. "You're right. I'm sorry."
She was off my lap when my phone rang, opening the blinds and letting the sun in. I rummaged through the couch looking for it, finding it squished between the cushions. Eden's name was on the screen.
"Hey devil."
"Where are you?" she asked. So much for greetings.
"Where are you? It sounds like you're walking through a microwave."
