A Unique Kind of Love (25 page)

Out of nowhere, I scooped her up in my arms, hearing her sweet, melodious giggles fill my ear.

“Fine, if you won’t tell me, then I’LL TICKLE YOU UNTILL YOU SPILL!” My hands poked her belly as she squirmed and squealed. I held her tightly with one arm, as she was tiny, and my grip was firm enough to assure that she wouldn’t fall.

“LEE-YUM, PWEEASE STOP!” I immediately froze and looked at her with utter seriousness.

“Are you going to tell me?” I asked, raising one eyebrow. She nodded obediently, a smile present on her face.

“Room 412.”

I gently put her down and took her hand in mine. I looked up to Adam, who was quite amused by this situation.

“I’ll meet you over there, what’s her room number?”

“586.”

“Alright, see you later.”

Adam left, leaving me alone with Ellie. She was grinning.

“Let’s go now shall we?” I ruffled her hair. And we walked towards the hall where rooms starting with 4 were.

The small walk was anything but silent. Ellie talked about her preferred food, her hobbies, how her mom always reads her a story before she went to sleep; her favorite was Cinderella. She was a little bundle of joy, someone whom it was impossible not to smile upon seeing. I knew she would grow up to be a successful and happy person, I just hoped life wouldn’t bring her down. I also wished that she would cope with her mom’s absence, through time.

400,402,404
, I mentally counted.

“I also have a sister, she’s really pretty.”

“Really? What’s her name?”

“Scarlett, but I call her Scar. It’s easier.”

408, 410, 412… Here we go.

I stood in front of the open door, my body becoming suddenly tense. My eyes scanned the room and saw a man, probably in his fifties, sobbing uncontrollably beside the bed which contained a covered body. His body shook with every breath he took. On the corner, a girl with long hair sat on a chair, her face in her hands, her shoulders were somewhat quivering; I noticed that she was crying.

“Scar!” cried out Ellie, running towards the girl. “Scar” looked up and engulfed her sister in an embrace.

“Where were you? I was s-so worried!” Her voice was shaky, but her condition was more stable than her dad’s.

“I went outside, and met my new friend Lee-yum.” She pointed at me. Scar averted her gaze to me, and stood up, advancing towards me. Her eyes couldn’t meet mine, somehow. She offered her hand to shake.

I took her hand and nodded. “Thank you so much for bringing her back, I’m Scarlett.”

“I’m Liam, and you’re welcome.”

My voice seemed to wake something in her, because she immediately locked her teary eyes with mine. Their pale ocean blue color was mesmerizing. But they weren’t the beautiful chestnut brown Lena’s were.

“Well, I’ve got to go.”

I squatted to be in Ellie’s level and hugged her closely. She offered me her pinky finger, as I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion.

“Do you promise to stay my friend?”

“I promise.” I locked my pinky with hers.

I stood up and scribbled my number on one of the smaller papers I always had with me. I handed it to Scarlett, whose eyes were open wide. It suddenly clicked into my head.

“Um, it’s not what you think. This is if Ellie needs anything, or if you need a babysitter, I’m here. I-I have a girlfriend anyway.”

Scarlett chuckled dryly, then took the paper and put in her pocket.

“Don’t worry about it; I see that look in your eyes.”

I smiled, and waved one last time to Ellie, then walked away. Although, I stopped almost immediately in my tracks, remembering something.

I turned back and looked at Scarlett.

“I’m really sorry for your loss.”

She nodded, fresh tears already falling from her eyes.

And this time, I walked in the direction of room 586, hoping that I wouldn’t get any bad news. This world deserved a little happiness.

After a couple of minutes, I finally reached the room. The door was open, so I immediately went in. The first thing I saw was Annabelle, peacefully sleeping on the bed situated in the middle of the room. Catherine was by her side, completely expressionless. Mrs. Winter was sitting on a chair, silently weeping. Adam and Tori were sitting on the other side, my cousin hugging Tori as she cried. I knew for a fact that they weren’t crying about Annabelle.

“What is it?”

The room stayed silent, apart from the weeping and hiccuping. A pin could drop. Frustration made me nervous.

“Did the doctor come?”

I took their silence as a yes.  I suddenly felt weak and all I could hear was my heart pounding at an incredible speed.

“What did he say?” I whispered, barely audible.

No answer.

“Tell me, please! I need to know she’s not dead. She’s not gone, right? Please tell me she’s not.” I pleaded, looking at Adam, knowing that he would be able to tell me. He shook his head as a no and I sighed in relief. But the expressions everyone wore still worried me.

“Adam, tell me.”

He cleared his throat and then stood up so he could be facing me. I saw the hesitation in his eyes and braced myself for his next words.

“Well, as the bottles were full, and the glass hit her cranium with huge power, which affected her brain, that caused head trauma. That led to…” He trailed off, his gaze now glued to the ground.

The temperature in the room had suddenly dropped a hundred degrees. “Just come out with it.” Adam’s eyes met mine, and seeing the pity and sadness in them, I prepared myself for the worst.

“Lena’s in a coma.”

25

Hold You

"The worst day of loving someone is the day you lose them."

~Elena Gilbert~

Liam Christopher Black

I finished my History test, certain of getting at least a 90%. I'd studied my butt off last night and information about Renaissance was still fresh in my mind. Mrs. Brown shot me a small smile as I handed her my exam. I nodded in response, smiling was an impossible thing to do these days. Holding my new leather jacket in one hand, I opened the door to leave. Unlike most teachers, Mrs. Brown was kind enough to let the students go as soon as they finished their test. But of course, this wasn't a midterm evaluation; these were over before the Christmas vacation. Opening my report card last week, I’d received no surprise. I was still a straight A student. That was one of the things that hadn’t changed.

Heading towards my locker, I earned some stares, but that was nothing new. The only thing that may have differed was that a few girls sent me flirty stares, which I replied to with a stony hard glare. I stuffed the books I would need in my bag and slammed my locker. I put my jacket on and went out of the school.

Frankly, this place felt unwelcoming and all I could do was stay silent to the not-so-secret whispers, that hadn’t stopped ever since Christmas break. Although, the only thing that kept me here was learning. I was determined to finish my year, with high scores and I wanted to get a scholarship in any university. I wasn’t really sure about who I wanted to be yet. As nerdy as this sounded, I also loved learning and studying.  

I patted my pockets, checking to see if my keys and cell phone were there.

The final bell rang, signaling the end of a Friday school day, its noise fading in the background. I could almost see the rushing students, laughing and chatting with one another, not possessing a care in the world. I started the car’s engine and headed towards Sainte-Catherine’s hospital.

Where else would I go anyway?

Home was dull and empty. Catherine was constantly at work, Adam and Belle spent their days at University. The homely spirit in the house had been broken. Ever since that damned day at the restaurant, Annabelle had gone through a severe case of depression.

I would see her crying in her room almost every day. She also had nightmares, every night. She would wake up screaming and crying.  As I never went to sleep, I would sometimes make her a cup of hot chocolate and sit with her in a comfortable silence. It always made her feel better and make me feel better.

She talked and I sat there, letting her words sink in. Through those moments, we learned to form a strong bond of friendship. I’d never thought to see the rebel Annabelle Black in such state, but the impossible happens.

As for Adam, my cousin broke up with his girlfriend a few days after the incident happened. He figured if he couldn’t go to Australia, the best thing to do was to do it on a video chat. He refused to be an asshole and break it off through text, or email. He and Victoria had been growing a lot closer lately and he confessed that he would ask her out when the time was right. At the time, I nodded and turned my night light off and just laid my head on my pillow. We both knew that I wasn’t sleeping.

When I tried to, the nightmares would wake me up. Only one actually. It repeated itself and it got worse every time I was tired and foolish enough to drift off. Plus, I never slept any more than three or four hours.

My heart felt heavy as I locked the car and looked up at the building 
she
 was in. I hated it with all my heart and soul. I despised that hospital. It brought me every ounce of sadness a person could ever get. Here, at the age of ten, I found out that my family was dead. About two months and a week ago, my grandmother died here. Now, 
she
 was in a coma in the same damned hospital.

I walked through the halls, only stopping a couple of times to nod in appreciation to a few faces I knew. My mind was only in one room, 
173. 
Trudy had just gotten out of the room, clutching her clipboard. She gently shut the door and finally noticed me. She walked towards me, as my mouth moved to trace the familiar words I mouthed, every time I came here.

“
Is she better?”

“I’m sorry son, there’s no progress,” said the old nurse, slightly shaking her head in pity. She patted my shoulder and walked away, probably to check on another patient. Dread washed over me, what had I expected anyway? My shoulders slumped, and I went into 
her 
room. I found my chair by her side and sat there.

Her hair was gently placed around her on the pillow, laying beneath her head in such a soft way; I couldn’t stop myself from grazing it. Her long eyelashes framed her eyes, which were tightly shut. Unlike any patient I’d ever seen, she had no circles beneath her eyes. Her features were serene and her mouth was slightly parted in a relaxed way. The tube in her nose was still there, enabling her to breath. She looked so peaceful; I would’ve thought that she was just sleeping.

Just sleeping, for two whole months?

I had this hope of just waking up, to see her by my side. To know that this was all just a dream.

But it wasn’t.

I placed my lips on hers, then pulled back and cleared my throat. I wrapped her hand with mine and took a deep breath.

“Hey, Lena,” I whispered, barely audible.

My voice was hoarse. Well, it would be a surprise if it wasn’t, because I hadn’t spoken during the whole day. I just-couldn’t force any words out of me, I had no reason to. After all, I’d started speaking to people again because of her. And it would make me so happy to see her eyes proudly smiling at me. How she’d squeeze my hand when I hesitated to talk. And that was just the night of the restaurant.