Darkness

Pain

Since I don't want y'all get mad at me for such a mean cliffhanger - here you go.

Whatever happened around him was hell to Avi. He lost Scott's hand and didn't find anything else to hold onto while he was coughing like crazy, choking on his own bile while pain pulsed though his body and he thought his brain would explode. It hurt, so bad that he wanted to die, tears ran down his cheeks as he kept coughing while nurses around him took off the restraints that made sure he didn't fall off the stretcher. There were hands everywhere, touching him, pushing him to the side while he thought he was going to faint from the pain once they had turned him to the right. Avi wheezed and coughed again, relieved that he was getting at least a small amount of oxygen while his lungs started to burn.

And he kept panicking, feeling for Scott, trying to locate his hand while he was patting the papery sheet underneath him but there was no hand, there was no Scott.

"Sir, Sir you have to look at me. Focus on me" he heard one of the nurses say and he tried, he really tried to look at her while everything around him was still dark. "He's not responding!"

Avi wasn't able to locate the pain but it felt like an awful lot was coming from his shoulder that had been injured before. Every movement hurt and while the nurses or whoever it was forced him down he tried to sit back up and he was still coughing, trying to get air. He didn't notice the clip on his finger, the machine that started beeping after his oxygen levels had dropped, the prick of a needle filled with a sedative.

He soon realized that his body didn't move the way he wanted it to. Everything felt heavy and he was sleepy, so sleepy, but he needed Scott, he wanted him there, he needed to touch him to know that he wasn't alone. He still struggled and wanted to sit up but then felt someone holding down his head with their hands on his forehead while he felt more hands on the sides of his head to keep him still. A third hand grabbed his chin and held his mouth open while other people held down the rest of his body.

"Sir, relax. You have to calm down!"

But he didn't hear anything due to the ringing in his ears. Avi thought he was going to suffocate. He couldn't cough anymore, his limbs were too heavy to move and then he felt something at the back of his throat that made him gag. With one last kick he sent a tray with instruments to the floor while he tried to get away from whoever was holding him down while he felt the tube sliding deeper, keeping him from breathing. Not knowing if the sedative or the lack of oxygen was the reason for him to pass out Avi's last thoughts traveled to Scott and how thankful he was to have spent the last hours of his life with him. Then his eyes closed and the nurses let go.

The oxygen levels rose again and Avi's heartbeat slowed down to normal now that he was almost peacefully sleeping on the stretcher. They transferred him to the MRI in the room and checked his body for injuries.

Scott had gotten up from one of the plastic chairs in the waiting area on the other side of the floor, opposite of the room Avi was currently in. He had heard the metal tray with its instruments hitting the table, he had heard his boyfriend's cries and coughing, he had heard the nurses struggling and a doctor barking muffled orders around. The baritone found himself in front the door and he was about to knock when a rather small nurse left the room and took off her gloves.

"Sir?"

"I-I'm Avi's boyfriend. How is he?"

"He's sedated at the moment and the doctor is taking care of him. You don't have to worry."

The blonde man nodded slowly, forced a smile and then sat down again. He had to call Shelly but at the same time he didn't know enough to assure here that Avi was going to be alright. So he waited with his phone and the hoodie in his hands until the door opened again and two male nurses wheeled the bed Avi was lying in out. Before Scott had the chance to ask they disappeared down the hallway, seemingly in a rush and his fingertips started tingling. He absolutely hated not being able to be with Avi.

"Mr. Hoying?" the doctor asked and approached him. He sat down next to Scott and looked at him before he unlocked the iPad he was holding and showed him a picture of Avi's brain. "I have good news, and I have bad news. The good news is that Mr. Kaplan's skull is not fractured and he isn't in pain. He is currently sedated and shouldn't feel anything at all."

Scott nodded slowly and took a deep, shaky breath. "And the bad news?"

"His brain is swelling. It's a life threatening condition and he is receiving medication and treatment for it, but-"

"He can die" Scott mumbled. "Avi can die."

"He can die, yes" the doctor said. "He's getting antibiotics to support his lungs after the coughing fit, if he develops pneumonia his chance-"

Scott nodded. "I know" he said quickly. "Does he have any other injuries?"

"His left arm is broken and his shoulder is dislocated. We popped it back in and he will get a cast so his arm can heal in peace. Otherwise he is okay."

"He doesn't need surgery?"

"No, not at the moment. We're monitoring his brain and if the swelling doesn't go back and or gets worse instead we have to perform surgery. Mr. Kaplan will sleep for another one or two hours but you're free to visit him once the nurses brought him to his room."

"Thank you."