*Rowan Pinada POV*
My eyes felt heavy enough to hold me down. My throat dry, and my limbs tingly. As I mustered up the strength to tap my finger I heard people shuffle around me. Something equally as heavy as the weight on my eyes appeared on my wrist. "Rowan?"
I opened my eyes and quickly shielded myself from the bright light. "Where am I?"
I scanned the room and took a moment to finally process where I was, "The hospital?"
"Rowan, you're okay!" Amelie replied. She had a relieved expression on her face, but I couldn't understand why. "I was so worried you wouldn't-"
She paused once Antonio rested his hand on her back. She looked up at him and squeezed him tight, "We're gonna go get you some food, Ro. And a nurse of course."
"Why is she looking at him like that?" I asked Pietro once the two of them had left the room. Pietro sat himself next to my hospital bed. He reached out for my hand, which I jerked away. "What aren't you guys telling me?"
Silence filled the room. Pietro and I had a way of always managing to fill the air with the sound of our voices or laughter. And even when it was silent, it was never awkward or uncomfortable. Now, it was.
"Pietro." I whispered to him. "What aren't you telling me?"
He shook his head. His fingers remained interlocked and he stared down at them to avoid eye contact. His nervous demeanor made me feel guilty for attempting to force him to tell me something that wasn't something he was meant to tell. It was between his brother and my bestfriend.
"Nevermind that, tell me what happened. Why am I here?"
"After I left you in the bathroom, I didn't see you for a while. Not until you stumbled up to me saying how much you hated Carlo and he had offered you a drink. We were dancing,"
As he spoke I tried to imagine all of the events occurring in my head.
"And you had a seizure."
I sat up in my bed and placed my hand on my heart. "A seizure? Do my parents know?"
My mother wouldn't stand for this. First our argument in the pool a few days ago, then sneaking out to go to a party, and now having a seizure at said party. "Yes."
Fuck. I thought to myself as I held my hands in my palms. I peeked through the space inbetween my palms once I'd heard Pietro stand up from the chair. He sat down next to me on the bed and pulled on my wrist. I obeyed, showing my face to him. I tried my hardest to hold back the tears, scared they'd scare Pietro away.
But he motioned for me to scoot over, which I did, and sat next to me. Holding onto me tighter than I'd ever been held before I felt safe. As if he was a shield against all of the fear and pain I'd felt in that instant. A tear fell from my eyes and soon enough, I'd start to cry.
I didn't cry, I sobbed. I sobbed all the tears I'd been holding back for weeks, months maybe. I never allowed myself to cry, especially not in front of people. I held it together when I felt like I needed to. Which was always.
"It's okay to cry," he whispered.
+
Amelie had gone home. Her parents were worried about her well-being and hated hospitals. She'd apologized profusely for having to leave, which I laughed off. I knew her parents, a scary italian man and an even scarier italian woman.
'I'm sorry, but only one person is allowed to stay the night.' The nurse said to us once visiting hours had ended. Both Antonio and Pietro looked at one another and without saying a word, agreed who'd stay. And that was Pietro.
Now, he laid next to me in another hospital bed, rolled into a ball. I hated hospitals as much as Amelie's parents did. My mother had always told me the stories of how she'd stayed in the hospital for weeks after she had me. I also hated having to ask permission.
I had Pietro's computer on my lap, watching movies for the last few hours. '4:50' read the clock that continued to tick and continued to annoy me since Pietro had fallen asleep. I continued to scroll through the pages of youtube videos but found myself bored. I listened to Pietro roll and kick in his sleep. "Stop."
I turned my head to Pietro's bed. He was still asleep, he's a sleep talker. More blackmail for me to use in the future. I thought to myself.
"Don't touch her!" He continued to scream. I quickly threw the computer to the edge of my bed, walking as quickly as I could with my sore feet to the edge of his bed.
"Pietro," I shook him awake from his slumber. "Pietro it's just a nightmare."
Thunder cracked against the window and rain poured after it. Had it been raining? I must not have noticed it.
His eyes opened wide and I held him the same way he'd held me only hours before. "It was just a dream, i'm right here."
I held his head against my chest and combed my fingers through his hair. "Just stay like this, with me. Please."
I nodded, "Of course. Now get some rest."
+
In the morning I was discharged and Amelie came over to stay the night, since her parents were happy to keep her at our place rather than a hospital room. We stayed up for hours, Amelie and my parents on my beckon and call. We'd finally settled down after my parents had fallen asleep knowing how worn down they were emotionally and physically after finding out what had happened. What had happened? I wondered to myself often.
Not even I knew what had reallt happened in order for me to seize in the middle of a highschool party. I hoped when I got back to school my locker wasnt filled with flowers and get-well-soon cards.
That's when it hit me. Going back to scjoool would be the worst art of this entire experience, everyone would stare and whisper, come up and tap
my arm and say 'I'm glad you're okay.'
The first time this happened was sophomore year, after I'd gotten into a car accident with my drunken mother. At that time I appreciated Amelie's company and Carlo's. Now it was Amelie, Antonio and Pietro.
Amelie and Antonio.
"Amelie?" I whispered after turning towards my best friend. "Hmm?" She replied with a tone of sleepiness in her voice.
"Are you and Antonio dating?"
Amelie sat up and turned towards me quickly before raising an eyebrow, "Who said that?"
"Nobody," I shook my head. "I saw how you two were in the hospital, I tried asking Pietro but he wouldn't budge."
She held my hands in hers, "Yes."
"Why didn't you tell me!" Excitement filled my body.
We spent the rest of the night talking about how Antonio and Amelie had talked during the party, ended up making out and dancing.
Soon after she'd fallen asleep I stayed awake continuing to watch movies. I turned my head to the knock on the window. Pietro leaned against his window sill, almost slipping off just to knock.
"Pietro? It's like four in the morning! We have school tomorrow you idiot."
He smiled, "Come over?"
He held out his hand, which I eyed before huffing and walking towards mr window. I pulled the window upwards and propped my feet on the windowsill edge of outside. I clutched onto his hands the same way I had just a few days before and jumped in through his window. Onto the bed we fell, and laughed.
"So," I said after I'd propped myself on the bed. "Why'd you invite me over?"
Pietro looked up to blow one of the hairs out of place back into its place. "'Im not sure actually. I guess I've started to enjoy your company."
He cleared his throat, "You hungry?"
I nodded. I was glad It was a mutual way of friendship with him, instead of a one sided fondness of his presence. I followed him downstairs and into the kitchen where I sat across from him on a stool. "So, I found out about Amelie and Antonio."
He turned and chuckled, "Took long enough. Don't get mad at me though," he pointed the butter knife towards me playfully. "I'd only found out a few minutes before you-"
Silence filled the room. Awkward silence. The loudest thing in the room was the sound of Pietro taking the cold hotdogs could of the crinkling package. "I'm sorry,"
I quieted myself. I still wasn't sure what had actually happened because nobody would tell me or nobody knew.
He turned around with two sandwiches, which he carried up the staircase and into his room. Although he'd made them for both of us, he was the only one who ate them. "Are you tired?" He asked once I'd made myself comfortable in his bed. I nodded and he made his way into the bed next to me. He froze and scooted away from me. "I can sleep downstairs if you want. I know you're probably too tired to go back home."
I shook my head and turned to him, "We're friends, right?"
He laid next to me and wrapped an arm around me. Eventually I drifted off into sleep in Pietro's arms. Had we become so comfortable with each other that this could happen platonically? Was it even platonic?