Let Go

9: Wrecked

Aiden's Pov

The nurse retracted the tube out of my arm. “Thank you, Damien,” he applied a small band-aid in its place. Damien smiled, but it quickly faded away when I tried to walk. I stumbled and had to steady myself against him.

“Hey, easy now. You gave away a lot of blood,” Damien warned. “Go to the cafeteria, eat something, and drink some juice,” How was I supposed to eat and drink when he was lying unconscious, drained of his own blood.

I couldn’t give more without hurting myself, and God knew if we were going to find any more soon.

I sat in the cafeteria, which was barren considering the late hour. Only one other person was sitting three tables away. I got myself a sandwich and a box of juice. I ate the sandwich fervently.

The cafeteria was quiet and smelled, just like the rest of the hospital, of sanitization. There was barely any smell of food or even life.

The door opened, echoing against the empty hall. None other than my twin stepped inside. He was arm to arm with Thomas, his husband and Harken’s brother.

Astonishingly enough, they sat at my table. Last time I checked, my brother didn’t talk to me.

“Hey, Aiden,” Thomas said, seating Raiden and excusing himself to get my brother something to eat.

It was a family dinner at the very last hours of the night. We didn’t speak. Raiden couldn’t even meet my eyes.

It was stupid. Just because I was screwing his abuser’s sister didn’t mean I was supporting his abuser or the abuse. It was an invalid reason to cut off your only brother and twin.

Thomas was back with the food. He placed them in front of Raiden, which he thanked him for. Then he looked at me and at Raiden and at the rising tension between us. He wasn’t having it.

“Listen here you two,” Thomas reprimanded, “that person dying in there is my brother. It’s taking every little inch in me to not start sobbing uncontrollably and make matters worse for everyone.” He took a deep breath and clenched his nose with his thumb and index finger. “My only brother is between life and death and I can’t do anything except wait and scold myself and wish I had been there for him more than I was. I can’t turn back time and make amendments. But you dumbfucks are still here, and despite what you’ve been through, you still have each other. Be a little more appreciative of what you got and fix whatever rift is between you two before it’s a little too late.”

Thomas stormed out of the cafeteria, his footstep fading as he walked away.

Raiden and I basked in silence for a short moment before his sigh broke it. “I’m not gonna give an elaborate speech like my husband did, but I don’t wanna lose you. Not in that way,”

“Yeah,” I said, “neither,”

“We lost dad, and in a way, we lost mom, too. And I don’t wanna end up without you.” I remembered a time when Raiden couldn’t even speak a full sentence without stuttering or losing it, and all I could think of was how proud I was of his progress.

I, on the other hand, was becoming more of a wreck than I ever was. I had anxiety and PTSD and the love of my life was dying.

I started crying.

I couldn’t keep myself together any more. I was a mess and the whole thing was a mess and nothing seemed to be going the right way.

Raiden got up and sat next to me. He put his arm around me and let me cry freely. “It’s okay, I forgive you,” he repeated over and over again. “You still have me.”

The crying, the reassurance, the lack of blood. Everything was hitting me at once, and it felt like I was lightheaded. The cafeteria started spinning. I closed my eyes but it didn’t stop.

Then I woke up in a hospital bed myself.

I could hear the occasional beep of the monitor, but I wasn’t ready to open my eyes just yet. I didn’t need to see to know I was in a hospital bed. I was too familiar with them, being a nurse myself.

Not long after, I heard someone walk into my room. I didn’t open my eyes. But then a male voice spoke, and I knew it was Damien. “Disappointed in you, tsk, tsk,” Damien joked. He was the most positive person in this whole hospital.

“Shut up,” I said. My tongue felt too dry and my head too light.

“You overworked your body. I didn’t expect this from you,” I would’ve lashed out on the nurse had I not known he wasn’t being serious.

“I’d like you to be in my place for one day and then tell me you’ll end up on a feathery mattress and not this old thing,”

“Me? Be you? You wish I were that ugly,” Damien joked as he noted down my vitals. “The guy who looks exactly like you is still waiting for you. I’m assuming he’s your brother? I don’t know he seemed to lack the attitude so I’m not really sure,”

I smiled knowing Raiden meant what he said, and didn’t just say it for the hell of it.

I swallowed dryly then spoke. “How’s Harken?”

Damien’s silence gave it away. “He died, didn’t he?” I said, tears brimming in my eyes.

“No, God,” Damien muttered. “He’s comatose.” He said, as if that was better. “He’s been transferred to the Psychiatric ICU. In case he woke up he needs immediate psychiatric attention considering it was a self-offing situation.”

Why was he back in Rivertown? I wanted to believe that he came to see me, but then he tried to kill himself. Was it a cruel joke? Did he do it to hurt himself or hurt me?

I had too many questions for him and he couldn’t answer any of them.

A/N: More soon x.