What Lurks in the Dark

Chapter 4

Even after two, long and agonizing weeks - Mason was still in a coma. I visited him every day and changed his flowers often; today I had brought him a gorgeous bunch of yellow roses that signified joy, friendship and the promise of a new beginning.

I had started to worry that he was never going to wake up. That idea was unbearable, but Jamie and Matt were constantly there trying to cheer me up. They gave me the constant reminder that Mason would be okay.

Nathan even tagged along sometimes and brought me the case files so I could do my work at the hospital. He had helped me out a lot lately, covering for me so that my boss wouldn't really know where I was; Nathan also got me coffee every time he visited so that I didn't constantly feel empty and weak.

I hated to admit it, but he was slowly growing on me. Something about him was different, I couldn't hate him as much as I had before.

When I couldn't sleep, he would let me lay my head on him and he'd calmly rub circles into my shoulder, or run his fingers through my scalp gently, lulling me into a peaceful slumber. However, most of the time when I woke up, I'd be alone because Nathan had to constantly return back to the office - I can't imagine how much gas he had wasted driving here and back constantly. But that was the least of my concerns, my car would be fine.

I stood in the hall with my back up against the wall, rubbing my temples between my thumb and forefinger. I looked up and saw Mason's doctor strolling down the hall in his white coat and a nonchalant expression plastered across his face. "Excuse me, Dr. Rose," I said almost as quiet as a whisper, I started losing my voice due to all the crying.

"Yes, Edythe?" He questioned as he stopped and stood in front of me, furrowing his eyebrows a little - after all, I do keep pestering him about Carter's little brother. At that point he began to address me by name, always sounding drained of energy when he set his eyes on my face.

"I was wondering when Mason will wake up. Will there be any defects?" I asked with a concerned tone, worry laced within. I pushed my glasses up that had begun to slide down the bridge of my nose.

"As I said before, the surgery was a success, but he was hit in the head pretty hard." The doctor lifted his hand up and began stroking his stubble. "There's a 50/50 chance that he'll wake up, so we can only tell when and if he does. " I looked down to the floor as the doctor began walking away to deal with his other patients.

I stepped back defeatedly and re-entered Mason's room, being greeted with the same lifeless and motionless boy. I crouched down beside his bedsheets and clasped his hands, frowning when I noticed that they were a little cold. Being careful to not catch his IV's accidentally, I tucked his icy palms under the ivory sheets and settled for just resting my head on the side of his bed; all the sleep I had missed was finally getting to me and my eyes shut, drifting into dreamland. I woke up to soothing fingers combing through my hair, for a moment, I leaned into the touch a little, however, I then realized I didn't know who it was. Shooting up from my uncomfortable position, I came face to face with a doe-eyed boy who looked extremely confused and startled by my reaction.

"Mason! You're awake," I gasped. Part of me was extremely happy that he'd woken up, but deep down, I was scared that something was wrong. "Are you in pain anywhere?" I questioned concerned. He looked into my eyes, and his facial expression was unreadable. I couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"My head hurts a bit." He admitted and looked around his surroundings, a flash of recognition in his dark eyes. "Edythe? What am I doing here?" He asked worriedly. He took note of all the fading bruises on his body and the IV drips that he was connected to.

"You don't remember anything, at all?" I said and he replied with a shake of his head, his unruly hair falling in front of his eyes in the process accidentally.