Ice Thug

Capitolo tredici

It's hard seeing Trey like this.

I'm used to staring into cold, empty, emotionless eyes, not burdened, heavy ones.

"Hey, I'm going to get a cup of coffee. You want me to get one for you as well?" I ask, standing up from the chair I've been sitting on for hours.

Since the blood transfusion, Trey has never left Angelo's side, neither have I. However, mine has been more or less peppered with breaks. Toilet breaks, food breaks...Trey has had none.

He just sits there, shifting heavy, sad gazes between Angelo and the monitor, as though it is going to act sporadically and kill Angelo if he's not around to watch it.

Cute?

It's scary to me while being wholesome at the same time.

He shakes his head in response to my question. I walk out of the room with an objective in mind. 'Get me a cup of coffee and get a chocolate drink for Trey.'

On my way to the kitchen, I pass Doctor Pasquale, whom I stop to inquire about the fundamentals of Angelo's health.

"It's tough to say, in a coma, dear. But what I'm more afraid of is him delaying waking up." Doctor Pasquale replies.

"By how long?" I ask.

"Like I said. It's tough..."

"The one you fear," I clarify. "How long do you think he'll delay by?"

Doctor Pasquale swallows, "A month, two...years, decades? I don't know, Nova. It's all up to him in there."

I sigh loudly, and all my bones sag. Suddenly, like Trey, even I don't feel like taking anything.

"I can assure you that by my monitoring, your brother is far from dead. It's just...that's the way with comas. He could wake up before you're back from whatever errand you're about to run, or he could be up by the time you have your third child. It all depends." He explains more deeply somehow, that offers more comfort.

I walk to the kitchen and prepare the drinks with trickles of hope.

Maybe...just maybe, by the time I return, Angelo would be awake.

I don't think I prepared myself enough for the disappointment I get when I get back, and his eyes are still closed, with Trey as sad as ever.

"I brought you hot chocolate." I extend it out to him when I get back.
No answer.

"Trey..."

"I said I want nothing, Nova. Did I not make that clear?" he asks. His voice is filled with way too much emotion for it to be the vexation of me flouting his orders of a simple coffee.

"Still," I answer, "You should take something."

I keep my arm stretched for as long as it takes before he receives the cup, and when he does, he sets in on the desk beside Angelo before going back to what he was doing before.

"If you keep this up, Angelo will not be the only one in a coma." I try to persuade him to take something. "Doctor Pasquale said Angelo would live. He doesn't know when he's going to wake up.

Trey inclines his head towards me ever so slightly, indicating his processing the information I have just given him.

"Is he not as good as dead lying on this bed and doing nothing?" He croaks. It's been a while since he spoke, so his voice comes out as a weird hybrid between a whisper and a groan.

He sounds and looks terrible.

To be fair, probably, so do I.

Oh, and he's right as well...about Angelo.