Hopelessly Broken

75. Fragile

6.27.20

Jack's POV

When I woke up, I felt this horrible ringing lingering in my ears. It spread through my whole head as a pounding pain, and I had to wonder what happened. I knew I was in a hospital when I heard the monotone beeping of a heart monitor, but I didn't remember why or how. That wasn't what intregued me, though. In fact, there's another set of beeps ringing through out the room; someone's in here with me.

At long last I was able to peel open my eyes, and the room was oddly dark except for the odd flashing of the emergency symbol. The only consistent stream of light was the moon, but even that flicked out briefly every few seconds. Was I casted for a horror movie I didn't know about? I sat up on my bed through the stinging pain of my head, and I found that the stupid human medical stuff was really pissing me off! I tore out the thing they call an IV, and I flicked off the heart monitor before taking that out of my skin as well. I stood up on some unsteady legs, and I used them to stumble towards the other patient in the room. My stupidly weak body just made it before I collapsed onto the plastic hospital chair, and I leaned back in it to catch my breath from my great escape.

When my gaze finally shifted down to the hospital bed, I was shocked to find Dan's smaller looking body underneath the white blanket. He had an IV linked out of his left wrist that rested above the covers, and there was an oxygen mask secured around his nose and mouth. There were bandages wrapped around his exposed torso that were beginning to be bled through, and his eyelids were closed. However, his delicate eyelashes fluttered in the air conditioning, and I knew he was alive from the beeping of the heart monitor.

Suddenly, I got a distinct memory of a loud crashing sound and the screeching of tires. I remembered as the car rolled around and around before coming to a stop the wrong way up. It was harder, but I recalled the car bring flipped back over and being pulled from the vehicle. The sirens echoed around my brain still, and I think there was a bit of shouting before my eyes had closed. My hand ran up through Dan's soft hair, and I realized that the moonlight made him look almost angelic. Suddenly, his emerald green eyes opened, and they sleepily drifted over my face. "J-ja-ja-c-ck-ck," he breathed with great difficulty, and I found myself shushing him quietly.

"I'm here," I reassured while stroking his hair again, and the weak boy leaned into the touch. Suddenly it didn't matter that the hospital room was straight out of a horror movie or that my head was pounding; it was just him. His right hand shook slightly as it rose, and my eyes widened when it cupped my cheek. His limbs were cold yet comforting at the same time, and I lifted my own hand to overlap his.

"W-wh-what ha-ha-pen-en-ed-d?"

"Don't worry about it for now, m'kay?" His fingers shifted again, and I felt them brush a bandage on my head that I didn't know I had. There was concern in his eyes, but he sucked in a breath when the movement pulled at whatever was up with his chest. The arm dropped back down, but it grazed my chest as it went. Just the pressure of his skin against my thin hospital gown brought a shiver down my spine, and I saw a smile grace his lips underneath the plastic mask. I slowly leaned my head forward until it rested on his stomach, and it was his turn to stroke my hair as best as he could around my bandage. I know it isn't the right situation to be doing this, but I allowed a small smile to rest across my face.

"C-cut-te." The word was quiet from his mouth, but it still made my cheeks turn an unhealthy shade of red. The chuckle following made my ears become the same color, and I was glad that my hair was long enough to cover them. I've always hated the stupid things; they're much too large to be proportionate with the rest of my face. That and my tiny nose; can we find a balance, face?

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"I-I d-do-do." The hand that had previously been in my hair settled on my upper arm, and the touch sent goosebumps up my body.

"What do you mean? I have an ugly face and an even uglier attitude; I can see why Devon didn't like me I-"

"Shh-hh-hhhh." His finger rested against my chapped lips, and I looked up into his eyes. He smiled briefly, and I saw the beautiful irises brighten from just the small grin. "Y-you-you-ou're-re b-bea-beau-u-itif-iful-ul."

For the first time I noticed that he had a small, dark ring on. It was barely noticeable without actively looking, but it was extremely expensive looking. "What's that?"

"I-it's a r-ri-ring-g I on-once b-bought. One day, I'm g-goin-ng to give it to the person I love, but I wear it so I'm sure I don't l-lose it," I noticed that the stutter in his still frail voice faded the more he spoke, and I was just glad that he was beginning to gain his strength back.

"Sounds romantic."

"It's supposed to be. I'll just h-hope that my future partner doesn't have tiny hands, or we're screwed."

Suddenly, a cloud went over the moon, and I heard this static sound come over the PA system. "We have your little friend, pathetic earthlings. Show yourselves in hell, or the boy meets his maker." The man's voice was deep, and it sent shivers down my back. It was obviously a demon based on his accent, and I immediately stood up.

"You shouldn't go. It could be a trap."

"Even if it is, our families will need my help. I'll come back, I swear."

"But what if you don't?"

"Then it'll have been my time."

I turned to walk away, but his hand caught on my wrist. As soon as the contact was made, my heart caught in my chest. "I need you, too. Don't you understand?"

"Understand what?"

Dan's arm dropped, and he began to fidget uncomfortably in the bed. All I could hear was the squeaking of the bed as he moved and the constant beep of the heart monitor, and my Lazer focus was on him. His green eyes traced up my body to my face slowly, and I was starting to get uncomfortable with the way he was staring at me. "You're really clueless?"

"Yeah? Is there something I should know?"

"Jack... I like you... A lot."

I've already started planning for my next story even though I probably won't be able to write it till this one is over which is going to be a hot second... I want to ask; more frequent updates or longer ones?