Letters from the Empty

Practically Dead

Baz hadn't changed so far as Simon could tell. His eyes were closed. His face was blank and hollow. One blanket was pushed up to his chest, but his arms were placed above, limp at his sides.

As Simon got closer he saw the device attached to his finger, the tubes taped to his arm, the ones in his nose, and another tube stuck between his lips, holding his mouth open.

A knot rose up in Simon's throat and he swallowed it down. Again, he searched for all the ways he knew it was Baz, and after it was confirmed, he still felt it was wrong. This wasn't Baz. It just wasn't.

"Baz," Simon said and half winced. His voice sounded loud, a knife through the empty air. But then he waited and Baz didn't stir, didn't even twitch.

"Baz," he said again, then louder. "Baz!"

Simon strode forward until he was at the edge of his bed and jabbed Baz's shoulder before leaping back.

Normal Baz would have killed him by now. Simon had never tried to wake Baz up. Never. Then again, he'd never had to.

But Baz didn't wake. Didn't move. Simon felt like a rock had formed in his chest and was making it harder to breath, harder to keep himself upright.

"Ba--"

"You shouldn't be here."

Simon swiveled around and leapt backwards, nearly propelling himself back into the hospital bed. Luckily he just bumped it, which didn't even succeed in waking Baz up despite how it shook him.

"Mordelia," Simon gasped.

"Simon Snow," she replied. "You shouldn't be here."

"I didn't-- I was just-- I didn't mean to--"

"No, I mean it's dangerous. Do you know what would happen if my mother found you here? I can't even imagine what it would be like if my dad did." She said this all flatly. She was just stating facts.

"I..." Simon gestured pitifully behind him. "I just needed to know... I thought you left..."

Morelia shoved past him to the other side of the room. She bent down and unplugged a phone from the wall.

"These days you need these constantly."

"You forgot your phone?"

"Sure."

"What do you mean, 'sure'?"

"Well, I sure look like I forgot it, don't I?"

"You... Meant to...?"

"Hm," Mordelia said. "Your not as clueless as he said you were." She gestured at Baz, then straightened and stuffed her phone in her purse. It looked expensive.

"I saw you pass through the window," Mordelia explained. "I needed an excuse to come back and see if you figured it out."

"Figured what out?"

"Who I am."

"Mordelia Grimm-Pitch."

"Mordelia Grimm. Only Baz is Grimm-Pitch."

"Oh."

She strode past him. Leaving him with wisps of sweet scented perfume. She turned to face him before exiting.

"You should be careful, Snow. My family still hates you. Actually, they might even hate you more than before."

"I... Wait!" Simon surged forward and turned the corner before she could leave. "What happened to him?"

Mordelia cocked an eyebrow. "He's in a coma."

"But how... Why? What made him go into a coma. He's not dying, is he?"

Mordelia's face faltered slightly at the mention of death, but she recovered quickly, shrugging. "We won't know yet."

"What do you mean?"

"If he wakes up, he's alive. If he doesn't, he's practically dead, isn't he?"