Element Bearers

Chapter 8

I groaned and tried to move.

"Sh. Its alright." someone said next to me.

I realized someone was holding my hands and I felt wet splats on my skin. They were crying. I struggled to open my eyes. When I finally did I was surprised by who it was.

It was Caleb. I sucked in a breath. Why was he here, holding my hand? In fact where was I? What had happened? I remember flames.

"Ember, if you don't wake up, I'll never forgive myself." he said next to me.

I then faintly saw, through my barely opened eyes, Drew standing in the doorway. "Dude, you should get some sleep."

"No. I'm fine. I'm just going to stay with Ember." he said angrily.

Drew smiled. "You know, its really obvious that you have a crush on her."

"Shut up." Caleb said weakly.

"Everyone can tell by the way you always pick on her, and especially since you haven't left he side since you saved her from the fire." Drew said in a soft tone.

"So what? Its not like she likes me back." Caleb said stubbornly.

"So. Tell her. You might be surprised." Drew said. He turned to exit and I swear he winked at me.

"Ember, please wake up." Caleb said.

"C-caleb?" I tried to speak.

I saw his whole face light up. I saw that familiar twinkle in his eyes. He smiled and a few tears escaped his eyes.

"You're awake." he said with a sigh of relief.

He doesn't know that I know he likes me. "Caleb, where am I?"

"You're in the hospital. You inhaled a lot of smoke and you passed out in the building. Because of you, we all made it out alright." he told me.

"How did I get out?" I asked.

"I noticed you weren't behind us, so I ran back in and got you." he said sheepishly.

"You saved my life." I stated.

"Oh my gosh! Ember you're awake!" I heard someone say from the doorway.

I looked up and saw my uncle Tom. He ran in followed by Drew and Lucky. Uncle Tom ran up and hugged me. I noticed he was crying.

"Tom, I'm alright. Thanks to Caleb." I said.

He released me and looked over at Caleb. "You saved my niece?"

Caleb slowly nodded.

"Thank you." Tom said grabbing Caleb's hand and shaking it. "Now, Ember, how about we get you checked out and see if you can leave the hospital. You're parents are quite frantic. Especially since you've been out for almost a week."

Uncle Tom went to go get a nurse, and on his way out I swear I saw him check out Drew.

"Did you guys see..." I trailed off.

"Oh I saw it." Drew said looking back at the doorway smiling.

Lucky gave him a weird look than focused her attention back to me. "Are you alright? I should have helped you. I can't believe I let you do all the work. You wouldn't be in the hospital if it weren't for me. This is all my fault. I-"

"Lucky. Stop. This isn't you're fault. You were under pressure and scared. It's all right. I didn't say anything either so this is my fault." I told her.

Her eyes were watering now. "I'm still sorry."

Uncle Tom came back into the room and smiled. "They did a test while you were asleep and you are all ready to go."

A nurse came in and took out my IV and got me ready to go. They gave me back my washed clothes and I changed. I looked in a mirror and my hair looked like a rats nest. I walked out to everyone waiting.

We headed back to campus and I smiled as I walked towards our building. It actually felt like home. Lucky and I walked up to our apartment intent on crashing as soon as the beds were insight. Lucky opened the door and we both screamed when we saw the person waiting for us.