Don't Stand By Me (COMPLETE)

EPILOGUE

CASSIE AND KIARA

Year One

I sat silently perched in the still hospital chair as everyone fussed over her. I refused to acknowledge any of them, my gaze trained on her. Since the moment she had been dragged from my arms by paramedics, I hadn't said a word, or cracked a smile. There seemed to be no point. Everyone tried to be comforting, but it fell on deaf ears. They all had each other, their other halves, while mine was unconscious and unmoving in a hospital bed for the better part of two weeks. A medically induced coma is what they told me while I had stared blankly. They had done it to give her body and brain a chance to repair itself from the damage done by Richard.

It made complete sense, but I didn't like it. Most of the time, I sat in silence with Kiara and her elderly roommate who was asleep for most of the day, only waking at night demanding his pudding. I had tried to speak to him a few times but he brushed me off, muttering curses under his breath. So I gave up, sitting in silence with Kiara or quietly regaling the events of the days that had passed to her, about Elvis and Dixon's big move, about Pearl's readjusting to society and Brent being dragged along for the ride.

Dixon had tried for the last four days to drag me from the chair, to bring me anywhere to cheer me up. I would have a quick shower, change my clothes and demand to be brought right back. No amount of mini-golfing or movie trips would drag me from her side for more than an hour. Elvis and Violet accompanied me most days, when not preparing for their futures. I was happy for them, planning theirs, but at the same time it hurt, knowing that there was a possibility Kiara wouldn't have one.

"Cassie."

I ignored it, murmuring close to Kiara's ear, "Tesoro...torna da me."

"Cassie."

...

"Cassie!" A hand smacked my back roughly, causing me to jolt in my seat, yanking Kiara's hand where it had been intertwined in mine.

"What?" I snapped, turning around to glare at the intruder.

Elvis stood there, arms folded and watching me with sad, pitying eyes. I looked away with a scoff, I refused to let him pity me. I ignored Old Dude, as I had dubbed him, as he was surprisingly awake, grumbling about the soap opera playing on the tiny tv perched on the wall.

"Sitting by her side day and night isn't good for you." He said softly, "You know she wouldn't want you to be like this."

"She'd call me whipped." I muttered, causing Elvis to snort lightly.

"Exactly, and she has enough ammunition as it is. Why don't we get some food - in the cafeteria!" He spoke quickly as I opened my mouth to interrupt, "A quick trip, thirty minutes max."

I glanced between him and Kiara, smoothing out the lines on her forehead gently. Eventually I nodded, my gaze still trained on Kiara's sleeping face.

"I miss her." I sighed, "So much. I never even got to tell her that I-'' My voice cracked, unable to finish my sentence.

"She'll come back." Elvis held out a hand, which I took and allowed him to pull me to my feet, "Come on, I'll buy you a pudding."

I looked at Kiara once more as we left the room, smiling softly as her brow was no longer furrowed, instead leaving a serene look on her face. We left the room, closing the door softly behind us and walking to the cafeteria in comfortable silence. Elvis, true to his word, bought me a pudding and a coffee before pushing me to sit at the picnic table style seating in the cafeteria. The seats were just as uncomfortable as the one by Kiara's bedside that I had come to know so well the last few days.