An Anonymous Call | √

Chapter 27

"We'll stay forever this way,
You are safe in my heart
And my heart will go on and on."

— My Heart Will Go On // Celine Dion

I was thinking of this song while writing this chapter :)

******

Brittney told her parents everything about Michael. It was hard for her to explain exactly how she ended up calling him in the first place, since this included her history with Haywood.

She continued anyways, revealing bits and parts of her past here and there. When she blurted out the whole story, her parents did not say anything. They both hugged her tightly one by one.

After a while her father stood up and said:

"I still think you should take some rest. A lot has been going on in your mind. Go, freshen up. Everything will be alright."

She did not want to go. But she did. She took a long shower, thinking about a lot of things. Later in the afternoon when she finally came back, she met with an unusual scenario.

In the waiting room, along with her parents sat Michael's father. Or at least the one who she had assumed to be so.

Brittney's father was patting his back, as her mother was whispering some soothing words to him. However, she was not sure if he was feeling any better. His face— red and blotchy—was contorted with pain, his eyes looked dull, creamy brown hair appeared awry. He looked so torn, so distorted that Brittney could sense there was something definitely wrong.

"Mom, dad, is everything okay?" She was asking the question more to his father than her parents.

First her father made her sit down beside him, then whispered slowly in her ears, "That boy has still not regained consciousness."

She felt a very funny feeling inside her stomach.

"But what happened to him?"

"He made these deep cuts in both his hands. His father found out and called 911. God, it's.."

First her eyes widened, then her heart started pounding in her chest eerily. "C-can I please see him, Mr. Adams?"

Either there was something in the way she spoke, or the situation was so bad, or that Mr. Adams was shook from heart, this time he spoke gently. "I cannot let you go inside now, they would not permit. But when they do, I'd let you know."

The next few hours were as bad as ever. Occasionally Brittney would walk up to Katherine's room and watch her sleep in peace from outside. At about 11 o'clock, when she was dozing off, Mr. Adams finally called.

"Come on, you can see him now."

"He gained consciousness?"

His father said nothing, just motioned her to follow him.

Mr. Adams led the way. She followed him all through the hallway—until he finally stopped in front of a particular door. Now that she was there, she realized she did not want to go inside at all.

"I'd wait outside," he said.

She gave him a short nod and walked inside with trembling legs and a pounding heart; dreading what was to come next.

She was taking steps smaller than a snail. After what seemed like an hour, she finally reached the bed.

There he laid—eyes closed, disheveled creamy brown hair, slightly parted pink lips. He looked miserable. His face clearly mirrored what might have been going on inside him in the past few days. There were dark bags under his eyes, a purple bruise near his chin. His entire body seemed to have gone through heavy torture. She was convinced that he was the one behind all the tormenting and bruises.

Bandages were covering both his arms. There might have been more cuts, but she did not dare look for them. Too many machines and pipes were surrounding him. It broke her heart to look at him like this, in this condition.

They were to meet, but this was not how.

She knelt to the ground beside him and gently touched one of his arms. "I have faith in you. You will be just fine, alright?"

"And I know you will live. I just know you will. There might be hundred reasons why you want to die today." She caressed his forehead lightly. Her voice was shaking by this point. "But there are thousand more why you need to live."

"Michael, believe it or not, you are an amazing person. You don't think you can be happy ever again, but you've made me happy, you've made me smile! And if you can do that, I..I know you will—you will live on as well to find that smile back on your face."

Her cheeks were already dump from crying all day; but tears started rolling down uncontrollably again. Her breath stuttered as she tried taking a deep breath, there was a lump in her throat that made her insides ache. Her eyes were bloodshot, eyelids puffy.

She closed her eyes, as a moan of pain passed her lips. Every fiber inside her ached even to look at his face. It was a torture to look at him as she remembered all the times he had made light jokes, laughed at her, or had looked at her with those bright, green eyes.

"When you open your eyes, I promise I'll make sure the world around you would not look as bad as you wanted to close your eyes for."

It felt as if a heavy, fuming iron rod was being rolled all over her—licking and burning her insides. Though it was one of the worst situations she had ever faced, still there was a question rising in her subconscious.

Why did he matter so much that it almost felt like having someone in his place who she had been friends with her entire life?

Was it just friendship?

She knew it was not a moment to want to justify her feelings for him. But she could not ignore it as well. And as much as she hated to admit it, she knew it was uncertain if he would ever open his eyes again. But he couldn't die!

Just then she opened up her eyes, only to find a pair of charming green eyes looking back at her with astonishment.

She had never felt happier.

*****

You know I just wrote thousand and two words there! Why am I writing such long chapters? Sorry, I got a little carried away with the flow. Lengthy chapters = more boring, I know..XD

Anyways, please don't forget to vote, comment, and add it to your awesome reading lists and libraries.

Also, this is the last week for submission of one shot. Accepting entries till 26th June, 2016. So hurry up! (But tbh I am already having a hard time with the existing entries.. and I seriously don't know who to select!)