Keeping Us Apart

Fever Dream (18)

The doors of the hospital slid open with a hiss, the balmy Australian morning warming my skin better than my favorite hoodie. It felt like ages since I'd last been outside, but in reality it had only been a couple of months. I'd spent the majority of my stay since waking up from the coma in physical therapy, strengthening my abdominal muscles. I never quite realized how much you use them until I couldn't. 

"Are you sure you're feeling okay?" Joel asks, worry lacing his voice like usual. There hadn't been a day in two months where he hadn't sounded nervous. At this point anxious Joel was the new norm.

I laugh softly, nodding to show that indeed, I'm fine. "Better than okay. I was getting cabin fever being cooped up in that hospital."

"I bet!" chirps Ari, her tone overly cheery. "I would have gone insane a long time ago."

Ari hadn't left my side either since that day she came to visit me in the hospital, and while normally I would be absolutely thrilled to have her with me during something like this, something felt off. But I couldn't figure out what.

"Are you sure you still don't remember anything?" Ari asks, her eyes full of an emotion that I can't place.

"Yeah, nothing. I hope everything comes back, I hate not knowing what events led up to this," I say softly, not really wanting to delve into the topic again. Ari had asked me that same question every day during my stay in the hospital, and every day I gave the same answer.

"We will figure it out together Hudson," Joel says brightly, suddenly looking more himself than he had in a while. "Somebody had to have seen something."

"Yeah! I'm sure they're just scared to come forward," Ari agrees, opening the door to Cherry. 

"Hey, were you not going to wait for me?" Ahren's voice catches my attention, and I have to try very hard not to make it seem like his presence hasn't caused my mood to do a 180. It's been quite the experience trying to hide my feelings from my brother all over again. I just know he'd absolutely lose it, especially with all the stress of what just happened. He's been watching over me like a hawk, and I've barely had any time to myself let alone time to spend with Ahren.

"Ahren, just in time to help me put Hudson in the car," Joel grins.

"Good, 'cause there's no way I could lift her!" Ari says with a short laugh. Joel's eyes flicker to me, and I shrug. Was that a fat joke? It wasn't the first time that she had made a rude comment and passed it off as a joke. Or was I just being too sensitive? 

Ahren and Joel both slip their arms around me, easily lifting me from the wheelchair as Ari supervises. Once I'm safely in the seat, Joel closes the door and everyone piles into the car.

"How did you get here?" asks Joel, his gaze focusing on Ahren, who sits beside him in the front seat.

"Dan dropped me off, seeing as nobody bothered to tell me," he says with a grin.

"Sorry, sorry. It wasn't intentional. They only let us know last night, and then everything was sort of hurried this morning. How did you know anyway?" Joel asks, raising an eyebrow at Ahren through the rearview mirror.

Ahren grins back, shrugging his shoulders. "I was coming to see you guys when I saw Hudson being released."

"Pretty good timing there, Ahren," I laugh.

Ahren laughs too, his brown eyes sparkling. "Yeah, well, something just told me to come and check on you. And I'm glad I did otherwise I would have showed up here looking like an idiot." 

Joel shrugs, tossing a smile back at Ahren as he looks over the seat at us. "Either way, I'm glad you made it. I know Hudson is too."

Joel's words cause Ahren and I to steal a nervous glance at each other, the same question etched into both of our pupils. Does he know?  I hold his gaze and give the tiniest of shrugs, telling Ahren that I don't think he does. I've been alone enough with Joel these couple months that he would bring it up if he thought something was going on. I mean, not that there really is that much going on considering, but still. Ahren and I haven't even had more than a paragraph's worth of private conversation since I woke up in the hospital.