scrawny & broken | zalex 13rw

12

I slowly open my eyes and feel that I'm laying in a bed of some sorts, gripping the sheets as I blink quickly, confused. As my eyes open and I'm hit with bright lights, I see a woman in blue scrubs that isn't facing me, doing something that I can't make out.

"Where the hell am I?" I manage to croak out, though it feels as if i've lost my voice and ability to speak in general. She looks startled and turns around quickly. "I- Hold on a second." She says in a panicked state, her speeding out of the room I'm in.

I take a second to sit up and really gather in my surroundings and I notice that I'm in a hospital bed. I'm at the hospital? What the hell? Oh god, not this again. All the memories of when I woke up in the hospital without my memories of before start flooding in, and I feel an anxiety attack rushing through.

I start taking quick breaths, not being able to control them or myself, feeling like if I can't breathe at all. The light start to become fuzzy and I feel tears streaming down my cheeks before I can even process that they are forming.

Seconds later, I see Zach rush in, along with my mom, him rushing to my side, seeing the state of mind that I'm in. I can imagine I don't look all that great. He doesn't say a word and instead hugs me, having to bend down slightly because of his height.

Without thinking, I hug him back right away, letting myself get caught in his embrace and scent. I've never been much of a hugger but there's a sort of comfort when it's with Zach. It's like time stopped and my anxiety slowly washed away.

This moment is broken however when Zach pulls away and my mom comes rushing towards me, giving me another hug. When she pulls away, I stay silent not knowing what to say. I look to the side and see that there was also a doctor that came in that I hadn't noticed.

"Hi there Alex, I'm Doctor Conn. Do you remember what happened to you?" He says slowly, as if he didn't want to trigger some sort of reaction. Again, this reminded me of before when I had woken up after the shooting incident.

I try to push those thoughts aside and try to focus on what happened to lead me here now. Then, I see it. I see the water above me. I feel the water flooding through my body and making it's way to my lungs. I feel it entrapping me and I remember everything going dark.

"I.. I drowned?" I say out loud, as if more of a question. Everyone in the room seems to breathe out in relief, probably glad that I hadn't lost my memories this time. "Yes. Your friend Zach here found you in your school's pool. Do you remember how this came to be?" The doctor says in a calming tone.

"I, I slipped in and.. my legs gave out." I say as my face falters at the realization that my legs had stopped functioning. At this thought I immediately thought to move my legs, and I did, thankfully having control of them. For a moment I thought I just woke up completely crippled.

I glance at my mom, whose tears are streaming down her face. "Can I have a moment alone with my son please?" My mom says out loud, everybody leaving the room. She heads towards me and takes a seat on the bed.

"I thought I.. I thought I lost-" She tries to say and gets cut off by her tears, her emotions visibly taking over. I immediately hug her. "I know. I know mom." I say as I form tears as well, both of us sobbing together.

-

About thirty minutes later of me and my mom grieving together about what could have happened, she leaves the room and Zach comes in, it just being me and him.

The look on his face screamed of worry and concern, with a splash of pure vulnerability. He made his way to my hospital bed and sat next to me.

I can't find to words to say anything at first, taking his hand in mine and intertwining our fingers. "I.. I'm so sorry I wasn't there Alex." He says, his voice breaking a bit at the end. His eyes teared up.

"It's okay Zach. Really, I'm okay." I say as I look into his broken eyes. Zach rarely shows his emotions and when he does it's the most beautiful thing.

"But it's not. I should have been there with you, this should have never, I-" He rambles out but gets cut off by me cupping his cheek lightly and connecting our lips to eachother's.

He tenses at first but immediately after goes completely calm, engaging in the kiss. It's soft and not too rushed, not too passionate but passionate enough.

We press our foreheads together, eyes closed. "We're okay, Zach." I say, squeezing his hand that's entrapped in mine lightly.

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Aren't they just the cutest thing ever? This is a really short chapter but today was a double update sooo oh well! More coming soon 💜 thanks for being such amazing readers.