Lost Heart √

Thirty Four

Skylar's POV

Life--you don't realize how much it matters and how much the people in it matter, not until you get a taste of death.

Not until you realize how close you are to losing it, losing those people, losing everything. When you do get hit by the sudden realization--because yes, it's always sudden--it's always almost too late.

"What's your relation to the patient, ma'am?" The hospital receptionist asked me, looking over her computer screen and at me, dark brown eyes questioning and patient.

"Friend. Best friend." I told her, trying not to fidget with the sling around my arm and stay still. "Look, I know I'm not immediate family but I really have to see him. He's my...I'll be there just a moment. A tiny moment. Please."

I was desperate. I'm pretty sure anyone in this hospital could've seen it on my face.

"Ma'am, we don't usually allow anyone outside the immediate family in the first few hours, but lucky for you--" She typed something on the keyboard and passed me a sympathetic smile. "--the doctor has allowed a friend or two to be let in since there aren't any family members around."

Obviously, Alex's parents weren't told yet. That he was injured and in a hospital. As I left the reception desk and rushed across the almost empty hallway, I couldn't help but dread what I'd see when I saw Alex. At how badly he was injured.

The last time I'd seen him, he was being pushed inside an ambulance while on a stretcher, a heavy bleeding wound on his leg that I think had been a gunshot, and he hadn't been conscious then. I didn't know if he'd be conscious now.

I came to a halt in front of the third door from my right, staring at the closed blinds and hesitating. He's going to be fine, Skylar, Caden's words whispered reassuringly in my head--the words he'd said to me as he'd held me outside Felix's base, refusing to let go of me while I'd clung to him.

My heart ached and I finally pushed the door open, stepping inside the tiny hospital room.

The first thing I saw was Alex. Obviously. Lying on the bed with a visibly swollen eye. And the next thing I noticed was another person occupying the chair beside him.

"Hanna." My voice sounded odd. Like I couldn't quite say the words out loud without forcing them. My throat squeezed.

It was Hanna, I realized, looking like she'd literally just crawled out of bed and grabbed a coat, throwing it over her pajamas before running here. She looked up at me and smiled. "Sky, hey. I...I got your message and I came here as soon as I could. Are you all right?"

I nodded quickly, though my throat felt too tight as I looked back at Alex. He seemed to be awake and breathing just fine, and he blinked when he saw me. His lips curved into a relieved smile.

"Brought me flowers?" He asked, voice coming out rather sluggish.

A noise that strangely sounded like a sob left my lips and then I was tossing away the tiny bouquet in my hands--one that I hadn't remembered I was holding--and walking towards him, towards the bed, and throwing my arms around his neck.

And then I started to cry.

"Aw, Sky, you'll ruin my shirt." He complained, though he did wrap his arms around me and hugged me as close as his injuries allowed.