~~
THIRD PERSON POV
In a hospital room, back in New York City, a group of young adults in their early twenties was sitting on chairs, surrounding a hospital bed in the middle. There were two women and one man, they were all resting, waiting for the final member of their group who had yet to come, to bring their food.
Finally, after a short wait, the door opened, and in came a brunette, carrying three boxes of pizza. They all perked up, the smell wafting to their noses.
"Well, finally!" One of the girls that had been waiting exclaimed, jumping to her feet from her friend's side and to the newcomer who had brought the heavenly blessing called food.
"Haha, sorry. My boss had me stay back a bit because the coffee shop was packed." The tired brunette excused herself as she sat down on the couch, placing the pizzas on the table, along with her blonde friend.
"Oh, do you have anything from there?" Another girl, the one with black hair, asked in hopefulness, knowing how delicious the pastries in her friend's workplace were.
Before the girl in question could answer, the only male in the room, which was the black-haired beauty's fiancé, said, "Come on, you just finished a whole box of donuts! I don't get your fascination with sweets."
He then got smacked in the head, but he only gave a teasing grin to his fiancé.
"Shut up, Jordan." She said, glaring at him. "Are you saying I'm fat?!"
He immediately got alarmed, "No, no! Of course not! It's not you, sweetie, it's the baby--"
Gasp. "Are you saying our baby's fat?!"
"Wha– no! Come on, Alyssa!"
The rest ignored their couple friends' bickering, which was already the usual. And like always, it would end with Alyssa being the winner.
"Hey, Miles. Any changes on him?" The brunette, which was Fiona, asked her best friend, looking at the patient on the hospital bed.
Unfortunately, the platinum-blonde female merely shook her head. "No, still none. Same as every day." Sigh. "Honestly speaking, I'm starting to wonder whether or not he will--"
"Stop. What are you even talking about?!"
The whole room was silenced by Fiona's shout. She rarely raised her voice, but when it came to this matter…
"Fiona…"
She cut Miley off, "No, Miley. What are you thinking, saying all that? Of course, he'll wake up! H-he just needs time--"
"Fiona, stop!" This time, Miley was the one who cut her off and had raised her voice. "Look, we all want him to wake up, yeah. But this coma of his… We don't know if he'll even ever wake up, okay?! Sooner or later, you'll have to accept that."
The brunette looked broken. She faced her other friends, looking at their faces whether they support or oppose Miley's words. None of them had any objections, but instead, looked at her in pity, as if they were telling her that it was time to move on.
However, Fiona shook her head, her stubbornness and emotions leading her. "No. He will wake up. I-I know he will… A-and if you don't believe so, then get out. All of you."
Her friends looked ashen.
"Fee…" Jordan called her using her nickname, but she merely ignored him and hugged her arms around herself.
He sighed, then patted Miley's shoulder, saying, "Let's go--"
"No!" She snapped, shocking him. She stood up and glared at Fiona, saying, "Look, Fiona. We all want him to wake up. He was our best friend, after all! But this… This is reality! There is a fifty-fifty chance of him not waking up, so you have to be ready if ever that chance comes. I'm not telling you to forget him, I'm telling you, to not get your hopes up too much, and get too hurt afterward!"
After saying her peace, Miley, snatched her bag from where it was seated on the couch and marched outside, flinging the door wide open, and not even closing it.
Alyssa came forward and stretched her arm out to Fiona, wanting to comfort her friend, but Fiona scooted backward. It was obvious that her actions said that she wanted to be alone. So without another protest, they all went out, closing the door behind them in silence, leaving her to her thoughts.
Leaving the cold boxes of pizza on the table, she stood up and walked towards the patient on the bed. Fiona lifted her hand and placed it on top of his, gazing at his face which she considered the most handsome.
As she quietly watched him lift his chest up and down, che couldn't help but wonder, where did the money that was paying his hospital bills come from? Every time one of them went to pay, they were told that all his expenses had already been paid, and in full.
And not to mention, he was also in a VIP room.
All of them were clueless. They knew that his family was missing, and might have been pronounced dead already, so where did that come from?
Also, another mystery that was yet to be solved was, who brought him here. She recalled how five years ago, they were all searching high and low for him, but a few months after his disappearance, all of his friends were given a text message which said where he was.
When they did go there and confirm that their missing friend was alive, but in a coma, they tried to message the number back, but it was all disconnected. Like, the number was destroyed right after relaying that message.
Going back to the present, Fiona unconsciously reached her other hand up to his face, softly caressing every part, like she was engraving the memory of his face in her mind.
No matter how much she wanted to deny it, Miley's words held truth in them. There was only a fifty percent chance of him waking up, and another fifty of him… Never waking up.
But she just couldn't let go. She'd done it once, and she lost him. She can't be thinking right to do it the second time around.
As she was thinking this, she felt a tiny pressure on her hand, but it was enough to alert her.
Fiona's eyes turned wide, as she stared hard at the hand she was holding, to see whether or not it was only a trick of her mind or reality.
She wished it was the latter.
To her utmost joy, his hand twitched again, this time, almost all the fingers.
Looking back to his face for any signs of waking up, she was stumped to see the lashes that had been unmoving for five years finally moved.
Slowly by slowly, his eyes opened, only to squint at the bright light. Soon, a shadow overcame that light, making it easier for him to reopen his closed eyes.
Fiona held her breath as she watched him open up his eyes in a daze, then he slowly focused on her.
Unable to contain her joy, tears started to stream down her face as she clenched his hand with hers, whispering, "You're awake. You're awake, you're awake…"
"Rayver…"
She then. saw him open his mouth, and expected him to say something. Her name, perhaps, but was shocked still when he said something else instead.
"W-who… You?"
~~
"It appears that he is experiencing some memory loss, which is quite normal. Post-traumatic amnesia most often appears after a person emerges from a coma." The doctor explained to Fiona as he checked his patient's condition.
However, Fiona wasn't so relieved.
"W-will he regain his memories back?" She gulped.
The doctor looked thoughtful as he looked at the now-sleeping Rayver. Then, he answered, "In most cases, amnesia resolves itself without treatment. However, if an underlying physical or mental disorder is present, treatment may be necessary. Psychotherapy can help some patients, but I am still unsure about him. We will see by time."
After a few more words with Fiona about his condition and whatnot, the doctor bid himself goodbye and left Fiona alone with Rayver in the room.
With trembling hands, she reached for his hands and kissed them, tears threatening to fall again.
He's awake. He's alive.
That's all that matters.
And even though he forgot about her, about all of them, it doesn't matter. She'll help him.
Because she loves him.
~~
[1411]