Write Me a Cliché

Chapter Six

~EIRA~

Seven Weeks Ago
Athabasca General Hospital

I woke up, startled.

Groggily, my eyes fixed on the person looming over me, his hand outstretched as if about to touch me. Roxas stepped back as I sat up on the hospital bed. My eyes turned towards the curtained window, wondering if it was evening already. The solace of this morning hadn't lasted long enough.

"Don't ever do that again," I said, brushing a strand of my hair to the side, wanting to maintain as much of my dignity as possible in front of him. I didn't want him to continue visiting me in the hospital. In front of him, I felt vulnerable.

"Sorry, I've never seen you sleep before."

My eyes turned to the drip attached to my elbow pit, softly itching over the spot. "That's creepy," I mumbled, unsure whether he heard me.

Compared to Roxas, I probably looked homeless. He wore a clean black button up shirt along with a pair of dark jeans, while I was only in the hospital gown. Lowering my gaze, I covered my bare legs with the blanket.

He took a seat on the mahogany armchair across from the bed, crossing his leg over the other. Roxas dropped the winter jacket he'd been holding to his side. "Catch," he said, pulling out a chocolate bar, before he threw it at me. I caught it, smiling. It was these small things that he did, that meant the world to me. "Your favourite."

"Aren't you just the best?" I joked, quickly opening up the chocolate bar and taking a bite. I had been missing my food. "I feel like I haven't eaten in ages!"

When Roxas chuckled, I glanced at him. "You looked really distressed. What were you dreaming about?"

I couldn't remember. Before Roxas arrived, I felt like I was moving through worlds, slipping into the shadows as I attempted to find myself a safe place. Maybe I was falling in a hollow pit, moving from security to danger and into a part of my past I had never really escaped.

No, it hadn't been a dream at all.

I shook my head. "I wasn't sleeping. I was thinking."

"Really," he started, leaning forward in his spot. Under the sterile fluorescent lights, his brown eyes glinted mischievously. "Who were you thinking about?"

In return, I rolled my eyes. "Not you, that's for sure."

He smiled, though it didn't look as genuine as usual. I was tempted to tell him I was joking but I didn't. I couldn't take responsibility for his insincere expression. "How are you doing?" Roxas asked instead.

I grabbed the plastic cup from the tray on the side, taking a sip of the water. "I'm better," I told him, running my fingers over the bandage wrapped around my head. I didn't want to die, so why did I feel disappointed when I woke up and found myself alive? "Did you show the letter to the others?"

He felt around in his pockets, then shrugged. "I did show it to them. One of them probably has it now."

I nodded. "So, did you guys figure out what happened during the party?

"In one way or another, they were all at the party," Roxas commented. I pursed my lips into a thin line, thinking to myself. I had seen Sazil that night, but Raeni and Mea? No, I hadn't come across them. "There were other things that were brought up today."