Promise from the heart

Chapter 34

When Ezra and Brooklyn came into the room, they both started wailing. They both tried to talk to Charlie but they didn't get out much more than loud sobs. Ariel had to hold on to their hands so they wouldn't fling themselves on Charlie. Had he not been so injured, he'd have let them, and wanted them to.

After a few "I love you"s were exchanged, Ariel told the boys they were at least allowed to kiss Charlie's cheek and hold his hand, and they both eagerly did.

She agreed to let Julian stay there, and decided to take the three of them to dinner in the cafeteria, to give Charlie time to speak to Jordan.

Jordan's uncle had already been discharged, but Jordan was still admitted to the hospital. But he was allowed and encouraged to move around, so with Ariel's help, he could come to Charlie's room.

When Ariel and the boys went to fetch him, Charlie's mind and heart were racing. Suddenly he was terrified. He didn't know why, but he felt like this wasn't just going to be an exchange of "I love you"s like with his family. He felt as if this was going to be a goodbye.

The machine next to him went crazy as his pulse raised. The door was still open and eventually a nurse rushed in to see that he was alright. By then Charlie had started panicking.

"Are you alright, dear? Are you in pain?" She asked in a soft American accent.

Charlie couldn't speak. He could barely breathe.

"You're okay, you're fine. You're safe." She said and took his hand and rested her other hand on his forehead. "Breathe in, one, two, three, four, five, hold your breath... exhale, one, two, three, four, five."

They breathed together for a while, and slowly his breathing returned to normal. He was still scared and his eyes were full of tears.

"Oh, sweetheart," she said and brushed a tear away from his cheek. "Got a bit overwhelmed? Not surprising after what you've been through."

"I know what it's like. I was attacked a few years ago. It'll be bad for a while, and you may have more panic attacks like this one, and you may have nightmares and flashbacks, but it will get better. I promise you that it will get better. You just have to ride out the pain, and focus on the good. As much as you can, be with your loved ones, do things that make you feel safe. Care for yourself. And remember that it's okay to need to be alone. It is okay to not be okay. You don't have to be okay yet.

You might not be okay for a long time, and that is okay. You have been through something awful, and your body has been injured, yes. But you have also been injured here," she gently laid two fingers on Charlie's heart, "and here." she placed the fingers at his temple.

"And those two places take longer than the body to heal. You may not get to hear that a lot, being a teenager and all, but crying, even screaming, whatever you need to do to allow yourself to feel and feel things completely, is good. Crying is good. Don't be afraid to just let go and feel."

She brushed her knuckles against his cheek and squeezed his hand. "Okay, sugar?"

Charlie looked at her. Her aura was pure white. Her touch felt like she was feeding pure light. She was a healer. And she was beautiful.

He nodded. "Thank you."

Knock-knock.

The door was still open and in the opening, Ariel stood with Jordan, leaning heavily on her small frame.

"The boyfriend has arrived," the nurse squealed.

Charlie blushed.

"Come on, sugar, I'll help you to the chair."