Chapter Six

I hurt all over. That’s all I seem to be able to register. Forget the bright, almost burning lights above my head, forget the all too sanitary smell attacking my sense of smell. All I can feel is this aching pain, like the blood in my body has been replaced with cement. My heart is pumping poison. I squint my eyes shut, feeling the burning sensation at the back of my head more than anything else. And open them again, slower this time. Hospital. Great.

“Aiden? Aiden, baby you’re awake!” Emily coos her hand brushing my hair off my forehead. Her hand is cool, and brings a sense of relief to me. I blink rapidly clearing the tears from my eyes. She leans in her hair brushing softly over my skin and kisses me on the forehead. I stifle a cry, as everything floods back to me.

“Aiden?” Evan’s voice is soft and gentle, on my other side. I can feel my shoulders slump in comfort as he reaches out his hand to grab mine. His hand is like a lifeline, holding me from this earth, it’s a dam holding back my tears. 

“Aiden, who did this to you?” I can feel the tears flow down my cheeks as I retell the story. Neither of them speak. Emily simply smoothes my hair back over my forehead and Evan rubs soft slow circles on my hand. At the end, I am sobbing.

I’m drifting in a place of nightmares. Somewhere in-between sleep and consciousness. At one point, I’m crying. The next time my eyes flutter awake, Emily is curled up around me, arms wrapped around my waist her legs sandwiched between mine. Evan is slumped forward in a chair, his fingers tangled up in mine. His mouth slightly open, his eyes closed. He’s beautiful. I move a finger and gently trace down the slope of his nose, over his eyebrows, fluttering softly against the closed lids of his eyes. My finger trails down his jaw line, across his chin, brushing against his lips. Soft and pink like rose petals. He nuzzles his head against the bed, and hold my hand tighter. This is when I know everything is going to be okay.

I blink my eyes open to the artificial light again, it’s becoming painful. I can feel the stiffness in my muscles, as I sit up for the first time in a couple days. Em is sleeping in a chair, legs pulled up tightly to her chest, Evan’s letterman jacket draped over her tiny frame. Her chestnut brown hair spills over the edge of the chair, creating a fountain of safety around her. 

“Morning sleeping beauty.” Evan jokes walking into the room carrying two cups of what must be coffee. 

“How long have I been here?” I whisper as he sits tenderly on the edge of the bed. “Three days. No internal injuries, just a lot of cuts and bruises, and a cracked rib.” He replies his face taking on a serious air as he hands me a cup of coffee. I raise it to my mouth immediately thankful for the caffeine, even if it tastes like death.

“I- Who found me?” I whisper, almost not wanting to hear the answer. He flushes.

“I went looking for you, some of the jocks were just talking s**t. And I-I was worried.” He murmurs looking at his hands almost embarrassed. 

“I should have known. I should have come faster. I shouldn’t have let that happen. When I found you, I was so scared. I was so pissed. I just wanted to kill Jake, I wanted to rip out his throat. I wanted to hurt him. I wanted Daniel to watch. I wanted to do something bad. I wanted them gone.” He blurts now studying his palms as if the hold the answers to the world. I scoot closer to him brushing his hair out of his eyes. 

“What does Daniel have to do with anything?” I murmur rubbing slow circles on his back. Daniel was his best friend, they’d been close for about six years. I know that in times where things have been rough, he’d helped Evan through it. When Evan was having family problems, Daniel had been there. 

“He’s the one who threw you.” He replies tears in his eyes

Reviews

[eatmills]

You know that twist in the plot, music? DaDaDuhhhh Well that's what went through my head. Love your writing.