•Street Racer's Sunshine• ✔

•25- Strength•

It's been two whole weeks now, and so far there isn't much progress.

I've just walked into the hospital when a nurse approaches me.

"Alex Belinksi?" she asks. I nod, my heart sinking deeper in my chest.

"We have some good news! Vienna is able to stabilize herself now, so she doesn't need to depend of life support any longer."

"Seriously!" I say, not really believing it. She beckons me to follow her up to Vienna's room so I do. Upon entering, I see a major decrease in machines and wires around her. Even her face seems to be regaining some of it's color.

"Thank you so much." I breathe heavily.

"We'll be keeping a very close eye on her recovery, but her strength should be back in no time!"

Once the doctor leaves, I collapse on the floor from relief. We may not be completely out of the water just yet, but we are getting somewhere.

I call Vienna's father to tell him the news and in no time, he arrived at the hospital. He envelops me into a hug and I hesitate before hugging him back.

"Thank you, my boy." he says. I look at him, confused.

"For what?"

"For staying here with her everyday. I don't have the time to do that because of my job, but you were here every single day without fail. That undoubtedly have some effect on my daughter."

I give him a smile and look back at Vienna. Her chest moved up and down in rhythm with her breathing. That she was doing on her own.

"Well I can't take all the credit, sir. Vienna is a very strong woman. I'm sure she's been working hard to get herself to where she is now."

"You're a good man, son. And please, call me John. I have a feeling I'm going to be seeing a lot of you, so we might as well be on a first name basis."

"Well, John, I don't plan on leaving anytime soon so that would make sense."

He gives a hearty laugh and looks over at his daughter with an admirable gleam in his eyes.

"She's so much like her mother."

"Vienna's told me quite a bit about her. She sounds like an incredible woman. I would have loved to meet her." I say truthfully. With all the stories she's told me, it's hard not to want to have known her before she passed.

"She really was." After a pause he looks at me again. "I'd better be headed home. I'll be sure to visit again soon. Keep me updated."

"Of course."

He left the room and a nurse walked in. He walked to the side of her bed and checked her vitals, making sure everything was in check. Before leaving he came up to me.

"Her progress really is incredible. Her chances of surviving were around 10%, so the fact that she continues to get better each day is really a miracle in itself."

"Thanks for your help." I say and he goes to the room across from the one we are in.

"You hear that? You beat the odds, Sunshine." I laugh a bit.

I'm lying on the couch they moved into the room and look up at the ceiling, thinking about what life would have been like if I wouldn't have been expelled. If I hadn't beat JB near to death after talking shit about Brinley.

I wouldn't be in this room, that's for sure. But I also wouldn't have met the most incredible girl I've ever met. She really changed my life for the better. I haven't touched a cigarette since she came into my life, and I haven't been in a horrible mood everyday.

And to think that I wasn't even here the full school year...

Holy shit!

Graduation is in a month!

That's wild...

"It's crazy that we only have a month until we're out of high school and onto bigger things. What's gonna happen after that?" I wonder out loud. I sigh, suddenly feeling exhausted. I pull the pillow closer to me and close my tired eyes.

"It's time to wake up." a soft voice speaks. I groan and shake my head.

"Five more minutes." A melodic laugh rings through the air. My eyes snap open.

"Vienna?" I say, not really believing my eyes.

"It's me, love. I'm right here." she smiles. I reach out to grab her but she takes a step back.

"What are you doing?" I ask her, sitting up on the couch I fell asleep on.

"You're dreaming, Alex." she says sorrowfully.

"No, you're lying."

"I'm not. But I need to tell you something."

"What?"

"I'm getting tired, Alex. I need you to help me fight." she whispers.

"What am I supposed to do?" I say helplessly.

"You need to set yourself free. You need to let go of the past. Once I feel as if you are free from your haunting past, I will join you here."

"Where are you now?" I wonder.

"I don't really know. But it's dark and I don't like it. Please help me."

"Okay, Sunshine. I'll do it. For you."

"Thank you. I hope to see you soon."

"Me too."

"Oh, and one more thing." she says and turns back around. "I can hear everything you say lately. I'm trying my hardest but I'm tired. Once you are free, so will I be."

With that, she turns around and disappears into thin air. I stand up to look for her but suddenly I'm too dizzy. I sit back on the couch and close my eyes once again....

My eyes flutter open and I check my surroundings. Vienna is still lying in the hospital bed and I'm still sitting on the couch.

It really was a dream.

Checking the time on my phone, I realize that it was much later than I'm usually here. Normally, I would have left by now, but my little nap kept me longer.

I walk over to Vienna's side and grip her hand, leaving soft kisses on her forehead.

"For you."

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