Love is Hard

Explanation?

I feel warmth slowly spread through my body.
"Miss, you're going to be alright." I hear a calming voice say. I feel a hand wrap around mine, and I smile. When I finally get the strength to open my weakened eyelids, the light plays with my vision. I see Caleb(?) looking over me. When the color dims and I can actually see correctly, it turns out to be Justin. His eyes are stretched in worry, but mostly shock. But, I have this feeling deep down that those feelings aren't just because of me....
"Where's," I take a deel breath, feeling the warm air on my frozen throat sting. "Caleb." Justins eyes water and he wipes his face onto his sleeve just in time to stop a tear from rolling down his cheek. I feel my breathing hitch, and the box that makes the sound of my heartbeat rises in speed. Caleb? No. My sight blurs, and its hard to breathe. Justin is shouting for me to calm down, but I can't.... I won't.

~~~

Beep. Beep. Beep.
It sounds like an alarm clock that doesn't have an off switch. I move my fingers, feeling the soft sheets around me. When I open my eyes, I notice I'm in a hospital room. I am dressed in a sweater, and sweat pants. There's a blanket on top of me, but I don't feel any heat. I look to my left, right by the door, and there is a big huge box, that looks like it is filled with blankets. They must be trying to get me warm. When I look to my right, I see everyone crashed somewhere in the room, positioned very awkwardly. Mom, dad and Ella were on the couch. Jackson and Katie were on the floor with their backs to the wall, and Justin was passed out in the recliner chair, which he pulled up next to me. His hand was inches away from mine, proving he was holding it before he passed out. I look out the window, seeing the darkness overtake the sky. A nurse stops by and my head turns to her.
"Please!" I struggle, my voice cracking, yet staying at a quite volume.
"Miss. Johnson, can I assist you?" She comes to the other side of my bed, clicking on some buttons on the monitor.
"Yes." I murmur. Her eyes transfer onto mine, showing that she heard the desperate need in my voice. "Caleb Thompson." I whisper.
"We are keeping a very close eye on him." She replies, smoothing out the blanket, as a tear runs down the side of my face.
"Where?" My voice gets louder, causing Justin to stir beside me.
"The E.R." Her face falls as she answers.

~~~

"Mom." I keep my eyes closed, my throat stinging. I hear her stand up, her feet quickly shuffling towards the hospital gurney.
"Yes, my baby girl?" When I finally open my eyes, I feel the warm air envade. My body had started feeling the warmth of the blankets during the night. Not like I slept much anyways.
"Please, explain everything." I plea, my throat getting scratchy.
"I can't."
"Why?" I slowly sit up, feeling the numbness travel down my back and to my toes.
"Justin is the only one who knows what happened." She sits down in the recliner, "He won't talk to anyone unless it's you or Caleb; and you two have not been awake."
"Caleb?"
"He hasn't woke up since he saved you...." She wraps her fragile hands around mine.
"Where's Justin now?" I sent a quick search around the room.
"He's with Caleb. He has been switching between you two." She pats my numb hand, "I'll go get your brother." I stare at the ceiling, trying to piece this all together. It felt like hours, but I guess it was only minutes, until Justin appears at the doorway. His face is fallen, and his eyes are reddened. He hesitates to lift his head and look at me, but when he does he breaks down.
"I'm, so, sorry!" I motion for him to come and he does. He ends up sitting beside me, crying on my lap.
"It's okay." I struggle, feeling the tears fill my vision.
"No, it's not. I should've been more careful!" His voice breaks, "It's all my fault."
"Oh, no, don't say that!"
"Its true though." He sits up, never letting go of his grip on my hand.
"And I'm to blame for Caleb! I didn't have the courage, or the guts to jump in after you! Because I hesitated, he acted. When I got to you, I was so caught up in getting you onto the dock, I didn't see him sinking to the bottom of the lake!" I cover my mouth, remembering how helpless I felt when the frozen, death holding, water envaded my throat and lungs. I start to cry once more, hoping he didn't feel that. "By the time I turned around, once I hung up with the police, he had been under for longer than five minutes..." He buries his head, "He could-"
"Don't finish that sentence." My throat stings from the use of my growl.
"I am responsible for this." He looks me in the eyes and I run my hand along the side of his head, traveling through his hair, like how I would when he came to me broken hearted.
"No," I shake my head, tears streaming down my cheeks. "You're not."

~~~

"Isabelle!" My mother cries out. Before I know it, I hit the floor. I'm still numb, but I needed to get out of that room. My feet have been stumbling since I, somehow, got out of my "bed". I reach for the railing, not really knowing if I was holding onto it or not. My mom rushes to my side and grabs my arm, which I only notice because I see it happen.
"I have to see him!" I grumble, as the nearby nurses run over to help me into a wheel chair.
"Honey, you fell into a frozen lake, and almost drowned. You can't just get up and walk the next day!" She huffs, "You scared me!"
"He's in worse shape than me, and he needs me by his side when he wakes up!" The ladies move my body, as if I were paralyzed.
"Isabelle!" I hear my father's worried voice down the hallway. I groan, not really wanting all this attention now.
"Dad, I'm fine." The nurses roll me into the room, which was less than two feet away. I ask to stay in the chair, secretly never wanting to get back in that bed. I could hear my parents having an argument outside the poorly cracked door;
"She could've gotten hurt, Oliver!"
"I know this, Kindra. But think about it, the poor girl doesn't even know his state!"
"And who's gonna be the one to tell her? You?"
"At least I'll be able to comfort my baby girl." When he comes in, he takes off his fishing hat. He holds it against his chest playing with the bill. He moves forward placing it on my head sideways.
"Dad?" I see his small smile disappear.
"Iz, my little girl, you know how life sometimes hands you a bad deal of cards?" He sits down in the recliner and pulls my mobile seat closer.
"Daddy?" I whisper, picking up his term for bad news.
"Well, honey, you're gonna get through this." He grabs my hand, hesitating to pull away when he feels the coldness on my skin.
"Get through what?"
"Caleb," he pauses, making my eyes blur already. "He's been classified to be in a coma." I feel my heart come up my throat, and my head take control of the thoughts running through my mind. No, it can't be....
"No," I struggle, shaking my head continuously.
"Izabelle-"
"He only calls me that!" I yell, my tears falling onto my cheeks, for once allowing me to feel the burning wetness on my skin.
"I'm sorry." He hangs his head in grief. It takes me a moment to stop the tears from flowing down my face, but I somehow ask how it all happened. "When he jumped in to save you, there were some ice developing under the water and he hit it, head on. He somehow got you to the surface, but he couldn't get there himself."
"Tell me it's all just a dream." I whisper to my father, as I feel his rough fingers wipe away my falling tears.
"I'm afraid I can't, baby girl."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks for reading!

Sorry it took longer than I said. Please content your thoughts; I wanna know if you like it!

- Emuna_Jasmine