Glowing Eyes || Adopted by Josh Dun

the hospital

The nightmares had gotten worse ever since Josh's accident. Even some of the older ones - like the one of my mom cornering me into a room with no doors or windows - had come back in full force. Instead of Josh being there to help me through them, though, it was Tyler.

I was staying at Tyler and Jenna's apartment, since no one was back at Josh and I's, and despite them trying to get me to take their bed instead, I slept out on the couch. I liked it better out in the living room anyways. There was a window right next to me where I could see and hear the traffic. It helped me fall asleep. It reminded me of the huge window in my bedroom back at home.

In the middle of the night, I would wake up screaming and crying, and Tyler would come rushing out of his room to calm me down. Tyler didn't get nightmares after Josh was admitted into the hospital. His anxieties and worries manifested into never sleeping. Every time he rushed in, I could tell he was awake in the first place. And despite the deep circles under his eyes, tattoos of lost dreams, he'd calm me down until my breathing returned to normal - whether it took minutes or hours.

We were supposed to be able to start visiting Josh the next morning. He had gotten out of his surgeries - most of which having to do with his leg. I was excited for the day to come... until the hospital called and told us Josh had fallen into a coma. I wouldn't be able to talk with him. All I could do was sit next to him and see him. I was glad to see him, still, but a coma... the idea scared me.

And now Tyler and I were back where we started, sitting on the couch and staring out of the window, wondering if the people passing in taxis in front of us would make it home safe.

"Tyler?" I asked softly out into the darkness.

"Yeah, Lynn?" he answered, still staring out at the city, his eyes unmoving with a certain hollowness.

"You never told me exactly what happened to Josh's leg... Will he..." I swallowed. "Will he be able to walk again?"

Tyler shut his eyes tightly, like he was trying desperately to keep something inside of him that was fighting its way up. "The doctors aren't sure, they..." he took a labored breath. "They said it isn't likely, no."

Tyler was only silent for a second before his body started shaking and he put his hands to his face. I had never seen him cry before. I was paralyzed, watching his wracking sobs. I felt his body shake. I could feel his thrown emotions radiating off of him, and I slowly put my arms in a hug around his neck and shoulders. He clung onto my arm over his chest desperately with his fingers and cried into it as I rested my chin on his shoulder, staring at the space beyond him.

"Lynn... Lynn I'm so sorry," he hiccuped.

I shut my eyes tight, feeling tears escape anyways. I stayed silent for a moment before saying softly, "It's going to be okay. Josh is going to be okay. No matter what happens, we'll all be okay. I promise."

•••••••

Tyler held my hand as I stared at the door knob in front of me. It felt like there was a wall between me and that room. Josh was in there but it didn't seem like it. None of this seemed real. I gulped and continued to stare, knowing that if I stayed here, nothing would get worse.

Tyler squeezed my hand and I shut my eyes for a moment, taking a breath and slowly opening the door.

If I didn't know better, I would've thought he was asleep. He was significantly less bruised than what I remembered seeing a few weeks ago. There were stitches everywhere... one in his elbow, his cheek bone, his shoulder, his bicep. And his leg. His right leg looked nearly normal, but his left leg was wrapped in a huge cast, from the foot up over the knee.