An Impossible Love (ON HOLD)

Chapter 7

^Death

Hadley's POV

When I opened my eyes, everything was white: the sky, benches, lights, and even grass. It looked as if someone had drawn a picture of a park and had not colored it in. There wasn't anyone in sight except for one figure in a tattered black cloak. I bit my lip then decided to talk to the figure who was sitting on one of the benches farther down the sidewalk, which was also white. I was starting to dislike the color.

"Excuse me," I said as I neared the figure.

The figure's head snapped towards me and I saw that it was a boy of about eighteen with dark brown hair and eyes so brown they almost looked black. In short, I thought he was super cute, which is weird because I've never really been one to think that way.

"Hi," he replied. "You're Hadley, right?"

I was immediately on my guard. "How do you know my name?"

"I know everyone's name who is close to dying." He stretched his legs and stood up, his height reaching about 5'11".

"Who are you?" Ignoring every single thing about strangers that my dad taught me, I walked closer until I was standing in front of him.

"I'm Death with a capital 'D.'" He looked at me as if sizing me up. I paled a little.

"So I'm dead?" I squeaked.

"Not yet, but almost. Right now your physical body is in a hospital in critical condition."

"Oh. But I'm here because I'm going to die, though, right?"

Death pursed his lips, a sad look crossing his face. "Yes and no. Yes you are here because this is where people come when they are dying, but no you aren't going to die because I'm going to send you back."

"Why? Isn't it your job to take people's lives once they die?" I was confused. If this was truly Death, then why was he sending me back to life?

Death cleared his throat awkwardly. "Yes."

"Then why are you sending me back? Why not just take my life and send me wherever dead people go?

"I have my reasons."

I cocked my head, not taking my eyes off of him. "And what reasons would those be?"

Death just avoided my question. "Doesn't matter. I need to send you back now. If you stay any longer, you will actually die, and I won't be able to send you back. Goodbye, Hadley. It was nice to meet you." And with that, he waved his hand and I blacked out again.

---Line break---

When I came to, I heard a faint beeping. I groaned quietly then slowly opened my eyes, quickly shutting them as the light streamed in. After another couple seconds I was able to pry my eyes open and I found myself in another white room, but this time there was some color.

"Hadley?" I heard someone call out. My eyes drifted towards the sound of the voice, and I saw my mom and dad sitting in chairs at the end of my bed.

"Mom? Dad?" I asked quietly, not quite believing what I was seeing.

"Hadley!" my mom sobbed out, rushing over to hug me, but then she stopped, sat down on the bed, and settled for holding my hand. My dad also rushed over to me and sat on the opposite side of the bed as my mom.

I sent a tired smile to both of them. "Hi."

Dad grabbed my other hand and smiled widely, his eyes watering. "How are you feeling?"

My smile dropped a bit as I thought about what Death and done. Why would he send me back? It doesn't make sense. "I'm fine. Really sore, and my head hurts, but I should be okay."

My mom leaned forward and kissed my forehead. "We should let the doctor know that you're awake."

"I'll go," my dad offered. And with that, he stood up and walked outside to find a nurse.

I looked back at my mom. "How long was I out?"

"Two days," my mom replied in a small voice.

I stared at her in disbelief. "What? No. I could have sworn I was talking to him only for a couple minutes. No way was it days!"

My mom frowned, reaching over to feel my forehead. "What do you mean? Who were you talking to?"

"Death. At least, if he has a second name, he didn't tell me. We were talking and then he said he was sending me back." I bit my lip, trying to remember our conversation. My mom looked at me, and I could tell she thought I was simply hallucinating.

Just then, my dad came back with a nurse.

She smiled. "Hi, Hadley. My name is Katie and I'm going to be your nurse for today. How are you feeling?"

"Not great. My head hurts really bad, I feel groggy, and just sore all around," I told her, wincing as a spike of pain shot through my head.

"Well, that makes sense. You have a pretty back head injury, a cracked rib, and some damage to your spine, although we won't know the full extent until we do an MRI." Katie looked at the monitor beside me and took notes on her clipboard. "How about we go get your scan now that you're awake. Sound like a plan?"

"Okay." I tried to readjust myself on the bed, but my legs weren't cooperating. In fact, they weren't even moving. I couldn't feel them at all. I sent my parents and the nurse a panicky look and started breathing heavily and faster. "I can't feel my legs!"

Sorry I haven't updated  in a while. School has been kicking my butt since it got shortened by two weeks. I should have another chapter done by mid October. I have so many paragraphs that belong to different chapters, so I just gotta see if I can fit them together... Until next time!