A Reunion Between A Lost Pair

Chapter 17- Panic

Chapter 17

Ritchie's POV of the last chapter

I woke up to the blinding lights of a hospital room, the stench of antibacterial spray sending me flying upwards into a sitting position. I was panting heavily, my forehead drenched in sweat. I could feel it dripping down my face.

Panic.

That's how I'd explain it.

I was all out panicking.

Did that really happen?

I grasped at my shirt collar, pulling it outward so that I could see my shoulder. There lay a row of freshly sewn stitches, perfectly straight, exactly 1cm apart.

Shoot.

It was real.

*Pause*

It was real.

I shot out of the bed immediately, stumbling for a moment as I reached my feet.

I ignored it.

I continued to the door, stumbling with the handle for a moment before kicking it wide open, flinching slightly as it slammed into the wall behind me.

Then Austin was beside me, engulfing me in a hug. 

I don't know what he said. I'm sure it was comforting, he's good like that, but all I could hear was my own heartbeat and the ringing of my ears. A repetitive thud in my ear. A reminder that I'm still here. A reminder that he's not.

I had to find him.

I pushed away from the hands that were holding me, slamming onto the wall. From the corner of my eye I could see the concerned expressions, but I paid them no mind. I barged into the nearest door, slamming it open in the process.

Then there was silence.

The pounding was gone, all that remained was the strained breathing from across the room. I could hear it with such agonizing clarity that I'm sure my own breathing must have synced with it.

I was beside the bed in an instant. I reached to grasp his hand but paused when I noticed the ring of iron around it.

Then Michael moved. A small shudder then open eyes. They were squinting at the light, making their way around the room. When, they reached me however, they appeared to go straight through me. Not a single hint of recognition.

Then he began thrashing irrationally. I could hear his wrist clanging against the metal, his feet slamming against the bed.

"Michael" I tried.

"Michael, It's me" I tried again, louder this time.

I pressed down on his shoulders in an attempt to get him to stop. "Michael, I need you to stop. You're going to hurt yourself!"

It didn't work.

In fact, it made it worse.

He began thrashing with much more force. At this point I was struggling to hold him down.

"please, stop"

Then he froze, focussing in on something. I realised it was me. He finally met my eye, his eyebrow raising in confusion when he did so.

I felt a tear roll down my cheek.

"What happened?" His voice was horse and undoubtably strained, but it was him. It had the same familiarity it had before, without the hint of malice.

It was him.

I pulled him into a hug, never planning to let go.

Two posts in a day? Who is this?