Obliviate My Rebellion {Book 3}

22. Hold on, hold onto me

Hour one.

We sat in uncomfortable plastic chairs in silence, beadily watching every healer that passed in case they gave us news. Sam had one arm wrapped around either of us, as if she could protect us from the reality of what was happening.

Cole was possibly dying on the operating table, his body stuffed with pills that he wanted to poison himself with. I kept thinking about the first thing he ever said to me: 'Are you Aurora Oswin?' and how sweet and puppy-like he was.

That day he'd wormed his way into all of our lives, without anybody even realising it until he followed us around everywhere and laugh at everyone's jokes. That bond we all had to Cole seemed un-breakable, and I'd always thought he'd be my friend forever.

But now I was sat here chewing my nails and wondering if he was going to die. I kept thinking what if what if what if. What if we'd talked civilly to Cole? What if I hadn't left him? What if we arrived a few minutes too late?

What if what if what if.

Hour Two

Sam had left to find us coffee to keep us awake, and try and bully some answers out of the healers at what the hell was going on. Gennie and I were clasping hands, staying silent and hoping.

"It's my fault he's like this." Gennie whimpered.

I frowned at her. "No it's not."

"I could have just told him I needed to find Sam. Why did I have to fake breaking up with him?" she whispered. "I pushed him over the edge."

I'd had this fear as well, but I didn't want to dwell on it. I'd only just come off my pills, and I didn't want to be swollen up with guilt again.

"He would have done it anyway." I said quietly. "He has depression and some other condition--both of which he's not coping with. And Umbridge bringing up Ashton, and heading back home to see his mother.... We didn't push him over the edge, life did."

"What if I don't ever see him again?" Gennie whimpered, her expression looking close to breaking point. "What if I never hug or kiss him again? What if I never get to tell him how much I love him--God, I can't even remember the last time I told him! What if he didn't believe I loved him?"

"He knows." I said, tightening my grip on Gennie's hand. "If he knows anything, it's that you love him."

Hour Three

"Are you relatives of Cole Wilde?" a healer asked us.

We looked up, to see a healer standing in front of us in blue robes that were faintly stained with red and yellow. His expression wasn't sympathetic, or grim. He looked impassive. 

Gennie stood up, pulling me with her. "I'm his girlfriend, and she's practically his sister. Is he okay?"

"I wouldn't say okay." The healer said, rubbing their hands on his robes. "We've been flushing the pills out of his system--but it's becoming problematic as he keeps fighting the anesthetic we're using on him, to vomit or say one word: Gennie."

Gennie shut her eyes, and a wavering smile was on her face. "So have you got everything out? Is he stable?"

"We've flushed everything out now, and we've put given him some sleeping potions to keep him sedated for now." the healer said. "He's not out of danger yet--we still don't know everything he took."

"Uh, I know he had his anti-depressants, mood stablisers, paracetamols and sleeping pills." I said. "And he's got a condition which he takes medicine for we think--but he never told us what's wrong."