"So, then who's that?" I say, pointing to a boy holding Amber's hand in a photo on their wall.
"His name's Vincent Evinger, most people call him Vince though, only Amber is allowed to call him Vinny. He's her boyfriend." Neil says, drawing out the "o" in the word.
"Neil, aren't we a bit too old for teasing like that?" Amber says as she peeks into the living room from the kitchen.
"Nope, I'm only twenty, so if I can't drink I'm still young enough to tease you about Vince." he leans over to me, "I don't trust him, though, in all honesty. Anyways, want to see the girl I've been chasing since I was fifteen?" My cousin smiles at me with his emerald orbs glittering in excitement, and before I can even nod my head, he's gone. Amber only shakes her head and smiles as I sit there quietly, waiting for Neil to come back.
When he comes back minutes later, he's holding three slates of glass in his arms, and sets them down with a few inches between each one on the white carpeting between us. He picks up the first one and slides his hand across it from the bottom left corner to the top right, and more of that smoky light starts to float around it. Then, it begins to form an inverted pyramid above the device, as the blond boy sets it on the ground.
After getting all three of the tablets ready, he says: "Computer, search Camille Bastyr."
Above us, the light above each computer forms into three dots while it searches for the person named, and soon three different forms appear. The form that appears is quite obviously a girl, and a she is beautiful at that. In what looks like the first scan, she is younger, probably about fifteen, and wears horn rimmed glasses with her hair up. Her outfit is simple, and her smile is shy. By the third image, her glasses are gone, and her hair is in messy waves. She wears heels, with more mature clothing, and she radiates confidence, even from a hologram.
As I look over at Neil, I see his eyes sparkling, while his face rests against his palm. I want to ask what happened with her, but something behind his eyes tells me that he isn't ready to share that yet, especially not with someone who he just met. So, I let him sit there for a while, just admiring the girl of his dreams, before I snap him out of it.
"So, you and Amber's types are similar." I say, looking at the girl, but then reconsider, "Well, used to be more so." He sits up and looks at me, blinking as if he was in a daze before answering.
"Oh, I guess you could say that. It's just the hair, skin, and eyes though... If Vince were a girl, Camille would be the more beautiful of the two."
"Oh, what ever. Quit it before you start an argument, Monkey, and let Brielle go to bed."
"Monkey?" I bust up laughing, as Neil turns cherry red.
"It's a childhood nickname. Now, stop laughing and get some rest. Your brain needs to go lock all this away and rest some." She pauses before speaking again, "And don't forget your medication."
The thought of going back to sleep startles me. My laughs cease, and I sit there with a blank look on my face, before Neil hugs me and wishes me goodnight to send me off to my room on the second floor. I don't even remember changing, or walking upstairs for that matter, as I lie in the bed that has sat here for well over a year, waiting for my arrival.
Don't close your eyes, something inside of me says, you don't want to risk not waking up again. I want to say it's irrational, but what if it's not. What if I don't wake up? What if I go into another coma, or worse, cease to be a living creature? It's not impossible. I could have some sort of hemorrhage in my brain, pressure could be building up inside of my skull, just waiting for me to fall asleep before it takes me under. What if my brain just reverts back to permanent sleep mode? Or, for all I know, I could have no short-term memory, and I wouldn't remember this day at all.
Medication, it tells me. Right, medication. Those pills should keep me from not waking up, and didn't he say something about it restoring brain matter? Whatever, it'll make everything alright, so I'll take them.
I feel the smooth, round thing slide down my throat, into my stomach, and stare at the ceiling. The only fear I feel is for myself so far, the only sentiment is for my own life. Maybe it will be different tomorrow. Hopefully. Hopefully, I won't feel like a terrible excuse for a human being tomorrow, either. Soon enough, my eyelids grow heavy, and my muscles relax for the first time in twelve hours.