Hold On - Sequel to 'Happier'

2

Rye-

I walk through the hospital door. I'm alone. My family wanted to give me time alone with him. My mum had assured me that he would remember me, but I was worried.

I walked through the halls until I stumbled across his room. It was hard to believe that he was laying just beyond that door. It made me want to cry. I knocked and waited for his response. When I heard his beautiful voice, I pushed the door open.

"Hi." I said once I was inside the room. He looked at me and smiled.

"Hey." He said.

I sighed a sigh of relief. He remembers me. Hope shot through my body as I pulled a chair up next to his bed.

"We need to talk, baby." I said nervously. He gave me a confused look.

"Baby? Why are you calling me baby, Rye?" He asked as he looked up at me innocently. My heart sank.

"A-andy, what's the last thing you can remember?" I asked him timidly. He thought for a minute.

"I don't really know. But what I do know is we had just gotten back from spending Christmas with our families. And Hannah was with me. Oh, where is Hannah? And the other boys?" He asked as he looked out the only window in the room. My breathe hitched in my throat.

This was almost, almost, as bad as him not even remembering me.

"Um.. I have to explain some things to you." I said as I held back the tears. I twiddled my thumbs and looked at the floor.

"Go on." He said as he gestured with his hand for me to continue.

"Well, the other boys are all at their homes. It'll just be me." I said as I tried to smile a bit.

It felt so wrong knowing that he thinks he's still with Hannah. I wanted nothing more then to kill her right now. She's messed up my baby so much and she doesn't even care.

"Oh, ok. Do you mind if I take a little nap? You can leave if you want, I'm just exhausted." He said as he laid his head back onto the pillow.

"Yeah of course. I'll probably stay." I informed him, still trying to keep my voice steady.

I sat back in the chair and tried my hardest to relax the best I could.

Andy-

There she was, standing in front of me, the little sundress and painted nails. The words she spoke just seemed to hurt more each time they replayed over and over again. She was a record on repeat that you can't turn off.

Everything went black and the next thing I knew I was standing in front of Rye. A street light stood behind him, silhouetting him perfectly. I couldn't moved and I couldn't speak. I just watched as our lips connected. It was... Perfect. It was familiar. It was normal.

Once again everything went black and I found myself sitting in front of Rye at the little pond. Our place. His eyes looked into mine with such love.

What is going on?

When I reached out to take his hand, mine went straight through his. I looked back up to his face to see him slowly fading away. The sky was turning grey and words started being spoken. They were being chanted.

"Pathetic. Who would want to be with someone like you? Your just pathetic!"

And it was a familiar voice. One I had fallen in love with. One who's last words to me hurt me more than anything ever could.

Rye.

-

I jolted upright with a little scream. Streams of tears were running down my cheeks.

"Rye!" I called out.

It didn't take long to feel an arm around my waist and a hand pressed to the back of my head. I squeezed my eyes shut and leaned into his chest. He shushed me and pulled me into his back. He ran his fingers through my hair and kissed the top of my head.

"I-im so sorry Rye. I-i love y-you and i-i can't b-believe I forgot about u-us." I said through sobs, my voice shaking.

"Shh. There's no need to apologise. You had no control over it. It's ok. I'm here now. I love you so much." He whispered to me, his lips brushing up against my ear. I grabbed onto his shirt and held it tight.

"I wanna go home." I whispered quietly after a few minutes of silence.

"I know. I do too. But we have to stay because of your head." He said as he pulled away from me and looked into my eyes.

I've missed looking into his deep brown eyes and admiring his beauty. His smile filled me with warmth and happiness. I found a small smile creeping its way onto my lips. His smile widened.

"I never meant anything that I said to you, baby. I love you more than you could ever know." And then his lips were on my own.

~