The blackness in my eyes slowly fades out and I find myself staring at an all too white ceiling. Something is squeezing my index finger and I get a tickle from my nose. I can hear a monitor nearby beeping at a steady pace.
Confusion swirls through my mind with many questions that follow. Where am I? What is going on?
I try to speak, but my throat is dry and irritated. Only a small groan like noise leaves my lips. Near me, an object drags against the floor and then a soft hand is pressed into my own. Melody hovers over me with a tearful smile. "You're awake." She speaks in a soft tone.
I am. I want to tell her but my voice box rejects it. The feeling of speaking burns a hole in my throat. Melody reads my pleading eyes and reaches for something next to her. "Do you want water?" She holds a small paper cup for me.
I use my little arm strength to sit myself up against the pillows. I drink down the water and the feeling is delightful.
I am in a hospital room or something close to that. Everything is white, the bed, the sheets, the floors, the walls, the cabinets. It is all white. I've never been in a hospital room before, but this is what I imagined them to look like.
On the counters, there are more potions and random objects in jars. Then there is medical equipment.
The sun barely shines through the window. I don't know if it is because of the blinds or because of the time.
"What happened?" I am finally able to get the words out. Melody's face drops and she takes a seat at the bottom of my bed.
The slim tubes in my nose irritate me. I want to rip them out, but I am sure that the second my hand goes anywhere near them, someone will be yelling at me.
"You were poisoned, Rei..." She waits for my reaction.
My brain starts to crank slowly, bringing together the words she is saying. "Pois..." I say disappointedly.
"She poisoned you, hoping to distract Brandon. She admitted to the entire thing." Melody's words give me flashbacks.
Pois grabbed my hip to pass me when I went over there. I swore she had her gloves on. I saw them, but I must have been mistaken. There was no other time she had ever touched me. My hip and lower back started to hurt not much longer after that. I should have realized sooner. I should have checked instead of ignoring the pain.
Melody turns her head away from me. "You've been in and out of consciousness for two weeks. After you blacked out, you went into cardiac arrest. Once they were able to... get you back, you just never woke up. The poison has been treated and left your system thankfully." She stands up and heads towards the door. "I'm going to get a doctor to check on you."
I assume it is hard to talk about what happened. She's probably gone through a lot these past few weeks... I can't believe it's been that long. My next question is, where's Brandon? I would have expected him to be here when I woke up.
The door opens again and a new face walks in. "Well, well, well look who decided to wake up!" Axel struts in with a cup of coffee in his hand.
"Hey Axel." I smile, glad to see him. "Not to be that person, but do you know where Brandon is?"
Axel sits in the chair across from my bed. He takes no offense and answers, "We've been having to drag him out of here lately. If it wasn't for school, he'd stay here. He comes here almost as soon as he gets out of class. We made him go home last night so he could get some sleep."
I imagine Brandon at my side while I laid here unaware of anything. Darkness was my best friend for two weeks, I guess, even though it only felt like two minutes for me.
I have to ask, I can't not know. "And the match?"
Axel lets out a horse laugh, throwing his head back. "Don't worry, he won. Put up such a good fight they had to drag him out of the ring." I can imagine that too. An enraged Brandon burning hell upon that ring and anything inside it.
"What about yours?"
Axel gives his proudest smirk, "Won, easy peasy. That crow had nothing on me." He holds up his arms to flex his muscles and extends his wings behind him. This position makes me laugh. I clutch my chest and force myself to stop laughing. It hurts to laugh.
An older lady walks into the room with Melody. She has angel wings and a doctor's uniform on. "Hello Reighlynn, I am Dr. Trinity. How are you feeling?"
I roll out my neck. "Like I just came out of hibernation after being hit by a semi-truck." Axel snorts, Melody cracks a smile, and Dr. Trinity laughs. At least I still have some sense of humor.
Dr. Trinity flashes a light in my eyes and then checks my breathing. "You seem stable, Rei. I am going to run a few more tests and then we can see when you can be discharged. How does that sound?" Her wings lay perfectly on her back where you can just see the top of them above her shoulders. They are just as white as this entire room. Would Dante have had wings like that?
"Wonderful."
Dr. Trinity turns to my friends. "You should let that boy know she's awake. I am sure he'd want to know."
Melody waves her phone. "I called him, he is on his way now." Dr. Trinity nods and then exits the room.
Is she speaking of Brandon? Brandon is on his way here now? Obviously it's him, it has to be.
"So," I try to start small talk for the time being, "How much school work do I need to catch up on?" My papers are probably stacking up.
"You've been exempt from most assignments. Only a few important papers I have gathered. I'll help you when you decide to start them." Melody picks at her fingernails while Axel rubs her back.
"You know," Axel starts, "Jeremy and his pack members have been asking about you all the time. They corner me with questions every day. I never believed a cat could become a part of a wolf pack, but I see they really care about you." I can tell he is trying to make me feel better. Lighten the mood and let me know people are worried about me.
I always wondered what it would be like if I ended up in the hospital in my world. Who would show up? If anyone. It's the sad truth. At least here I have friends who are worried or maybe even visited me.
A few minutes later, two knocks come from the door and then Brandon walks in. I have never been more happy to see someone's face. Axel helps Melody up from her chair. "Why don't we give them some time?" With that, we watch them walk out and close the door behind them.
As soon as that wooden door shuts, Brandon is at my side. He kisses my forehead and then just stares. I haven't seen so much sadness on his face before.
He grabs my hand into his own and I see the tears forming in his eyes. "I'm so glad you woke up." He chokes on his words and holds his head down. I let him cry before I speak. I have never seen Brandon this emotional. Never in my life did I think I would see a demon cry, either. The tears can barely make it down his face before evaporating because of his hot skin, but he still cries. I only hope he hasn't been suffering all this time since I have been out.
"Hey... I'm here. I get through everything." I grin. I have got through a lot more than he knows. From the death of my mom to my father's abandonment. I went through the awful portal that brought me here. I even went through a wolf attack and each time I have made it through. "Nine lives, am I right?" I add to try and get a bigger smile out of Brandon. I get it.
He stands up and kisses me.
After a few tests and long, lovely hours of waiting for results, I am able to go home. I get to go back to my much more comfortable bed and sleep again as if I wasn't for two weeks.
The next day, thankfully the weekend, Melody can stay with me. She catches me up on any news I may have missed, but we haven't touched any of my school work. The news isn't interesting either. Only a few excited students for the finals and some creature fight that broke out in one of the hallways.
Melody did, however, inform me that Pois was technically disqualified from the match after she admitted to poisoning me. Had Brandon not won the fight, he would have won due to her disqualification. She also has a trial coming up and possibly prison time for endangering a student's life that wasn't participating in the Fantasy Games.
When entering the Fantasy Games, you are volunteering and know there is a possibility of being injured. However, the school always has medics prepared on the side for everyone involved. They were caught off guard when I was the poisoned one. An innocent student on the sidelines.
Harmony still struts the halls like she owns them, but less and less people are giving her attention. She even tried to comfort Brandon but was met with fire or he ignored her.
Lastly, Brandon was rarely showing up to class. His anger was too much. Anything could set him off that he just started skipping some days. He refuses to let others see him get emotional, so it was hard for him to show up to his classes.
I haven't heard from Brandon this morning. I texted him like I always do, but he hasn't responded. I think he is just finally getting to sleep in without feeling worried.
"They even had to extend the finals match. It was supposed to be today, but they allowed Brandon to take some time off for you. The finals are in two weeks from now." Melody explains while reorganizing her shelves. "It was nice of them. Usually, they give the contestants a few weeks to prepare. They wanted Brandon to still have time to prepare but also be able to check in on you."
Who knew a school would care so much. High school could never be like that. Not that any high school would have a fighting ring in their basements.
"Here." Melody hands me one of the small jars the doctor sent home with me. For the next week, I have to drink one every morning. It's like taking a shot but with a potion rather than alcohol, but just as strong. I put the odd lid off and took it exactly like a shot. The liquid stings the back of my throat for a second and then it is done.
My phone rings and Brandons name pops up on the screen. I show Melody the screen and she nods. "Hey Brandon!" I picked up the phone and set it on speaker.
"Hey, listen, do you want to grab lunch?" His tone doesn't match my excitement to finally hear from him. In Fact he doesn't sound happy at all.
"Yeah, I'd love to." Even Melody is looking at the phone funny. We have learned to communicate with facial expressions. She can hear something wrong in Brandon's voice as well. Brandon doesn't reply to my answer about lunch. "Is everything okay?"
I hear the soft sigh he tries to hide. "Yeah. I just want to talk to you. I'll meet you at the cafe on the corner." Then the call ends.
"You could hear that too, right?"
I quickly stand up and throw my bag over my shoulder. "Yeah, I did. I'm going to figure out what is going on."
On my way out Melody calls out, "Be careful!" Which I will.
The cafe is an easy walk on a normal day, but now it may take me a few extra minutes. When you lay in bed for two weeks, your legs forget that moving is their job.
On my way there, the temperature is brisk, and the wind is energetic. In the distance, I can see dark, black clouds heading our way. I could turn around and grab an umbrella, but I just want to get to Brandon.
The cafe is busy like any other Saturday. People are in line placing their orders and a few people are sitting in the booths that line the walls. It always smells like fresh croissants with a mix of sweets and, of course, strong coffee.
Brandon isn't hard to spot. I can spot those horns from anywhere. I quickly made my way to him. "Hey baby!" I lean for a kiss but I only end up getting to kiss his cheek... I slide into the booth seat in front of him without thinking too much into it.
His hands are cuffed around his coffee cup, and there is an empty plate with a few crumbs. In front of me is a coffee as well as a sandwich. "I ordered your usual hazelnut coffee and just a BLT in case you were hungry."
Brandon and I have come here quite a lot, and every time I get a hazelnut coffee. I am glad he still remembers. I wrap my hands around the cup and feel the warmth. "Thank you."
He nods, and I notice he is avoiding eye contact. I can feel his leg bouncing under the table. Something is going on in his crazy mind. I am just waiting for him to spill it out.
"How are you feeling?" He asks casually while watching workers run back and forth in their area, making coffees.
I finish my bite from my sandwich before speaking. "Better. It was nice to get out, though. I feel like I have been trapped in small rooms for too long." First the hospital room and then my dorm room. Small spaces and small windows. The weather may not be the best, but it was nice to get some air and walk here. "How are you?" I am hesitant to ask the question but hopefully it will get him to tell me what he is so fidgety about.
Outside, thunder rumbles and shakes the walls. The rain comes down seconds later. I watch the rain slide down the window next to us, waiting for Brandon to say something.
Finally, Brandon looks at me. "I have been doing a lot of thinking, Rei. It's been a rough few weeks for me, for everybody, but it has given me some time to figure a few things out." I watch him tap his fingers on his coffee cup as my heart beat increases. "With that being said, Rei, you and I need to separate."
"Brandon..." I reach for his hand across the table, but he pulls away quickly.
"I don't think it is good for either of us to be together anymore." I hear the crack in his voice. He won't show his emotions. With me he would, but now he is holding it all back. Brandon flicks his napkin onto the table and gets up.
The rain has started to come down harder but all I can hear is his loud footsteps walking out of the building. "Brandon!" I call out and earn the stares. He continues out the door and I follow him. I hesitate to go out into the rain, but all I want is Brandon.
The raindrops are large and cold on my body. In an instant, I am soaked. "Brandon, stop! Why? Why are you doing this? I thought we were fine!" My questions get his attention and he turns around.
His hair has fallen forward onto his forehead, making it look much longer. "Because Rei!" His sudden anger makes me take a step back. "I have enemies in school. That's what I get for being a yearly champion. Enemies look for weakness, and they finally found one! You. You, Rei, are my weakness!"
"That's not true!" Even though he is yelling, I take a step back towards him. He wouldn't hurt me and I think the rain helps him keep his cool.
Brandon runs his hands through his hair. "How is it not! Look at yourself Rei! You were poisoned because my opponent wanted to get in my head. Those wolves attacked you because of me! Hell, a shapeshifter even used your form to try to distract me! All you do is get hurt when you're with me! It's become dangerous, Rei! I refuse to be the reason you get hurt, or worse, killed. This is to protect you." He takes a deep breath, "We're done Rei."
I watch him turn his back on me again. My tears mix with the rain on my face. It is like mother nature knew before I did and decided to cry with me. "Brandon!" I scream his name, but he won't turn around.
"I love you!" There, I say it. Not just because I am losing him. Not just because it is my last resort, but because it is a hundred percent true. I realized it on the last day of our Halloween break together. He and I walked that trail. His perfect smile when he looked at me. The way he always held me for no other reason but to be close. He's the person I have been waiting to have in my life, and now he is walking away. I refuse to let another person I love abandon me.
My words cause him to stop in his tracks. The rain has caused his light gray shirt to turn dark and stick to his skin. I can see his tensed back muscles because of it. Brandon turns around and speed walks to me. He grabs both sides of my face and pulls me into a passionate kiss. Our lips are soft and cold against each other. The droplets on our skin connect because of how close we are. The air is cold and crisp but it is just him and I right now. I don't care about the rain. I don't care about the many people who could see us right now. I only care about us and this kiss...
Because I have a feeling it is going to be our last.
Brandon pulls away first. He keeps his eyes closed to turn away from me. I stand in the awful rain that soaks my clothes and watch him leave. I have read and seen many love stories where couples find love in the rain.
Not in my story...