Morphed

Chapter 17

I sat with Gavin outside of Andrew's hospital room for what felt like hours. After they had put him on a stretcher (we drove him to the hospital) they hadn't let us go with him into the back.

"'Cause what about, what about angels?
They will come, they will go, make us special

Don't give me up
Don't give...
Me up." Birdy sang into my ear and it seemed to fit my life perfectly right now.

Diana paced while Josh bounced his leg nervously.

"He's going to be okay." Gavin assured me, but it didn't sound convincing.

"How do you know?" I asked frustrated, taking out my right earbud to hear him better.

"Well I don't know, but you have to have hope." Gavin put his hand over mine and intertwined our fingers. "And I won't let go until we know he's okay."

I felt my cheeks turning pink and my hand tingled where he held it. "Really?"

"Really." Gavin murmured into my ear as I leaned over and set my head on his shoulder.

***

"Brynne." Gavin whispered. "Brynne!"

"Huh?" I sputtered, waking up.

"They said we can go see him now, but they didn't say what condition he's in." As promised, Gavin still held onto my hand.

"Okay." We walked hand in hand into Andrew's room. He lay there, perfectly still, with the heart machine beeping at a steady pace. "What's wrong with him?" I asked the nurse.

"He... Well, he's in a coma. I'm so sorry." Right in that moment, I felt my heart shatter into a million pieces. My brother, the first person I felt real compassion from in my current memory, was knocking on deaths door. I was shocked, and there was nothing I could do to change that.

"Brynne." Gavin cooed, pulling me into his arms. I let the flood gates open, and out poured the tears. I wonder how many times I've cried? I know I cried when I fractured my ankle the first month of being here, but that's the last I can remember. I held on tight to Gavin because if I let go then I don't think I would trust myself. "It's okay." Gavin said into my hair.

"But- but... It's not okay! He has so much life to live, and it's all my fault. If I could've just..." I cried into his chest nonstop.

"There's nothing you could've done." He pulled away a little bit to look at me. "Hey, look at me." Gavin tilted my chin up. "You have to think positively. And no, there is nothing you could have done. Diana and Josh know about me and you, they knew what they were getting into."

"They know about me?" I stared into his deep green eyes and kept my eyes locked on. They had flecks of yellow and hazel and were just perfect. Okay Brynne, calm down your brother may be dying right here.

"Yeah. But that's besides the point. Just remember that he's alive."

"But he could die any minute."

"Yeah, but so could we." He shrugged his shoulders casually as I realized it was true. I laid my head against his chest once again and was engulfed in his warmth.

"I'm not ready to lose him." I said in between sobs.

"None of us are, Brynne, none of us are."