Lavender [Completed] #Wattys2018 (Under Editing)

11: La Victoire de Lavande

"Nick."

Jenny lay on the bed, looking shriveled, so thin, weak and pale. Her voice sounded hoarse and useless. She sounds so weak...

She looked so weak. It was pathetic.

But I could see in her eyes that she was a fighter. Of course I've always known that, but only when you're the weakest, that's when you find your strength, and obviously she found hers.

The moment I heard Jenny's voice I collapsed, crying and sobbing, taking out all I had been through the past half year.

In recent months I haven't been myself; Jenny made me who I am. She was my best friend, the one who stood by me in moments of crisis, the one who always pushed me to continue fighting all the obstacles, the only girl who believed in me, even when I was too deep in my alcoholism.

She is awake. And I finally feel a part inside me that was dead coming back to life.

I felt her hand brush gently and fragilely my head, feeling how every movement she made was hard on her.

I took her hand off my head and kissed it, tears falling from my eyes as I said, "Don't you dare do that to me ever again, you hear me? I'll kill you if you'll do it."

"It seems to me that you'll probably end up killing yourself. You look like shit." Jenny said hoarsely, trying to smile but even that gesture was hard for her.

"Don't move too much, you have to rest." I said anxiously

"Don't move too much?! You're kidding me." She tried to sit down with an effort, and when I tried to help her she pushed my hands from her gently, "I've been sleeping for now, how long, a year? The last thing I want to do is rest!"

I couldn't help but laugh. That was a Jenny answer. How I missed her. "Close enough - just over six months."

"Dear God! No wonder I've become such a spoiled bitch!" She said, moaning in frustration when she couldn't get up on her own, making my laughter grow stronger, "What are you sitting there, laughing? Help me!"

"I don't think you should move too much, your condition is not the best-"

"Shut up. I'm very well aware of my situation: I'm the one who has to live in my fucked-up body, don't I? Now help me sit down, I'm tired of lying on that fucking bed."

"Yes ma'am." I said, and helped her sit down, watching her as she tried to stifle a groan of pain from her mouth, "Where's everyone? Luna... And Tim?" For a moment I forgot that her sister run away so I bit my lips before her name came out of my mouth. I didn't know if she knew what happened, and I don't want to be the one to tell her if she didn't knew.

She pursed her lips in frustration with the pain, and said in a surprised voice, "Tim? You suddenly call him by his name?"

"You could say that we... Overcame the differences between us." I said, remembering the first time I saw him break down in the hospital after the doctor told us that Jenny had fallen into a coma. It was heartbreaking.

"Happy to hear." She said, smiling weakly, "but God, until I finally managed to get my mother to stop crying... It was awful. I told her, 'Mom, I only went for six months, like a vacation!' And she was angry with me. You know my mother, too sensitive."

"You're in a talkative mood." I said, gently stroking her cheek.

"Obviously, I haven't been able to speak for half a year! I have to fill in the gaps!" She said with excitement.

"Oh, Jenny, what will I do without you?" I said in mock despair, beginning to laugh at her sneering eye roll.

"Really, what have you done without me in the past six months?" She asked me and I froze. There's no way I'll ever admit my drinking problem, especially not now that she's so weak.