Ethereal Love (Book 2 LS Series)

Chapter 57

Skipper's POV

The world is seems to be shamefully filled with words tinted blue.

"It's hospital policy, we're so sorry."

This place is an ocean of loss and pain, and every word anyone utters to me now only gets lost in the current.

"We know how much it hurts, but you're going to have to let him go."

"He loved you, baby girl. He loved you."

Time passes as slowly as the earth revolves around the sun, until suddenly you turn around and time runs as rapidly as a road runner.

"His body has to be put to rest. You have to unplug the machines. It's over now."

****

I cannot breathe through the thick stench of hospital sterilizer, bleach, and sorrow. It clogs my airways, invading my mind and my senses. It seems to me that five seconds have passed since Michael's injury, until I am reminded that a month has passed, and May is poking her warm fingers over the horizon.

"It's time, baby," I think Daddy tells me, bringing one of his quivering hands upward to his cheek. He attempts to wipe away some of his many tears, staring at me with that same sorrow that fills the atmosphere. I bring my hand to his sharp cheek, my fingertips graze against the wetness there.

I let my gaze touch each body in the room. The doctors, all my colleagues, dressed in their lab coats, stand in a somber circle surrounding the bed. I am in my usual spot, beside Michael's warm body in the bed, resting against his shoulder. His body is weak now, pale, his cheeks are adorned with shadowy pits.

I can still sense his steady breathing beside me, his smell is still strong, his warmth still reaches beyond my skin. He is just as alive as the rest of us in my opinion.

"It's time now, Dr. Nelson. We've been warning you for two weeks," I let my eyes slowly slide to the source of the disruption, an intern standing beside Dr. Ladawn. That asshole.

"If you'd like some time to say goodbye, that could be arranged." He adds softly, and I divert my attention to my father. He is sobbing, I don't know why. I just put them all out of my mind and focus on the way Michael's jaw clenches and loosens beneath his coppery skin.

"Don't worry," I whisper in his ear, and lay a gentle kiss there. "They'll leave eventually, and then we can be alone." I yawn, and nestle into his neck. I've worked with every moment of my spare time, building up a strong wall to protect the both of us from the outside world. Nothing can hurt us behind these barriers of safety, nothing can effect us. We're perfect.

"Well, I guess we'll move on with the process." Dr. Ladawn fires a shot at my walls. My eyes fly open as they shake in protest, and he walks over to the beeping monitor beside our safe haven. "We're going to turn off the life support machine. He won't pass immediately, it may take from a few minutes to an hour," He explains.

I turn my head, and gaze at Daddy again. He sobs into his hands, also hammering away at my walls. Damn it.

"Are you ready?" Ladawn asks me.

And then they are gone. The cold ocean of pain comes rushing in at me, forcing me under a layer of cold realization. I lie on the bed, gasping for breath, and feeling myself beginning to sink into the depths of reality. No matter how hard I fight it: Michael has been comatose for a month, and these people are going to take him away from me.

Ladawn wants to tear me from the love of my life forever, and Daddy is just going to let them. The doctors in the room want to rip us apart, and put Michael six feet under like Moonsie. The universe wants Michael to be gone. But I don't want this. I won't let this happen.