'Make it stop,
Make this end,
All these years pushed to the ledge,
It's come to this,
A weightless step,
On the way down singin,
Woahhhhhh'
-Rise Against
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Chapter 4: Quiet Storms
*|Steel's POV|*
I haven't visited him in a while. I feel horrible about that fact. He is my little brother after all. Everything has just been so busy. With moving and school and life. There never seems to be enough time in the day for me to do everything I want to do.
When I see him laying in that god forsaken hospital bed, the same as always, my heart breaks. Every time I come to visit him, he's alway like this. Cold hands, pale skin, almost blue lips. Always the same. The room smelt like strong perfume from all the flowers and disinfectant. The window was open, allowing a small breeze to circulate the room.
I walked over to him slowly before taking a seat in the uncomfortable little chair beside his bed. I took Tristan's hand in mine. I could feel the sting of tears building behind my eyes. I tried so hard to keep it in. I couldn't show any weakness. I had to be strong for him. Always for him. I lowered my head onto the edge of the bed. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply, pushing back the pain and tears. I would make it through this, and so would Tristan. He would wake up. I believed in him. He was strong, and he would make it through this.
I heard a hesitant knock at the door. I lifted my head, while letting go of his hand. I wiped my eyes incase any tears had accidentally escaped. I looked towards the door and saw a nurse standing there with a small smile on her face. I gestured for her to come in and do what ever she had to do. As she fluttered around, checking all the machines and surveying Tristan, I stood up and bent over, leaving a small peck on his forehead and whispering for him to wake up soon.
I made my way towards the door, turning one last time to say goodbye for now. Turning back, I walked out the door, quietly closing it behind me with a soft Click.
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*| Sky's POV |*
Everything felt fuzzy. It was the best word I could think to describe my physical and mental state at the moment. I could here a slight beeping in the background, it sounded so distant though. Like it was coming from a far away city. I slowly opened my eyes, only to shut them again quickly. It was so bright. So white and shiny.
After waiting several minutes, I forced my eyes to flutter open, this time much slower to allow them to adjust to the blinding light. I let my eyes wander around the room and took everything in, it became apparent quite quickly that I was laying in a hospital room.
I looked down at myself only to see my leg is covered in bruises, and a wrap is around my chest, covering what I assume to be many bruises and cuts, maybe even broken ribs. I saw my left hand was also covered in a wrap and there's black, blue and purple wherever my skin was visible.
I decided it wouldn't be the best idea to panic, so I forced myself to calm down and tried to take a deep breath. I chocked immediately, only then noticing the plastic tube going down my throat. Now was the time I started panicking.
I attempted to reach up frantically to remove the tube but couldn't move my arm in the slightest. The panicking was getting worse to the point that tears started streaming down my face. It felt like a coil of wire in my chest tightening. I couldn't breath and my vision was blurring. Everything was slowing down and my senses were shutting down. I couldn't feel anything but the wet trails down my cheek. I couldn't see anything through the blur of tears. I couldn't taste anything but plastic and desperation. The only thing I could here was the click of a door in the distance and my name being shouted before I passed out.
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*| Steel's POV |*
I took one last look at the hospital room holding my baby brother before turning around completely and making my way back to the waiting room.
Once I got there, I glanced around quickly looking for an empty chair. I spotted one in the back corner, but just as I was about to make my way over to it I hear Skylar's name being called. My head snapped up and I turned around so quick I almost tripped myself. I walked over to the doctor who called his name and stopped in front of him.
"Hi, I'm here with Skylar, is he okay?" I asked anxiously. My hands were fidgeting at my sides and my whole body was on alert.
"Well, he seems to be recovering alright. In simple terms, he has fractures in his left hand, 3 broken ribs, one of which pierced his lung, so he has been on oxygen since the quick surgery to fix it and severe bruising covering his body. He's in room 127, he should be sleeping now, but you are more than welcome to visit him until he wakes up." The doctor said, before turning around and leaving, without even waiting for my response.
I ignored his rudeness and started jogging down the hallway in an attempt to find Sky's room quicker. I came to an abrupt stop in front of his room when I finally found it. The door was closed so I grabbed the door knob and twisted slightly, pushing the door open with a loud click.
When it opened fully what I saw made my breath constrict in my throat. Skylar was thrashing around on the bed with tears streaming down his face and his eyes squeezed shut.
"Skylar!" I shouted in desperation. Quickly running back into the hallway, I yelled for a nurse before running back inside, straight to Skylar's bedside.
Once I reached him, I noticed his breathing had slowed down and the tears had stopped flowing. It seems that he had passed out and was now unconscious. Leaning over him, I placed my hand on his cheek and wiped away most of his tears.
A nurse arrived in that moment, rushing over to Skylar's bedside to stand next to me. Gazing down at him while panting, out of breath, she asked what was wrong. I said it was no matter now but I was wondering when I could take him home.
"Since we've finished up with the wrap on his wrist and his breathing seems to be a lot easier, even after I removed his oxygen tube, you should be able to take him home in the morning. We only need to keep him the night for observation. If that's all, I'll leave you here with him." She answered with a slight smile before slowly exiting the room and closing the door softly behind her.
I sighed before grabbing the uncomfortable chair from against the wall and pulling it over beside his bed. I sat down and leaned over the side of his bed, folding my arms under my head on the edge of his mattress and closed my eyes. Thinking that this was going to be a long night.
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*| Sky's POV |*
I could feel myself slipping. Feel myself falling away from who I really was. Could I hold on? Could I remain me? Could I truly brave this quiet storm and come out on top?
His evil smile and calculating stare bore into my flesh, along with the cold, metal dagger He held. The only warmth I felt in this hell was my own warm blood flowing down my flesh. How much longer would this continue? How much longer could my small, 5 year old body hold out? His cruel laugh sounded off the walls, chilling me to the bone. This was hell. This was pure torture. This... was the end.
•••
I woke with a start. My eyes peeled open, and I forced my breathing to slow as I gazed up at the ceiling. Whiteness hovered above me, a blank slate, just like me. This is now. This is not in the past anymore. I do not belong to the past, but I do belong to Him.
I felt a slight movement beside me and with a small gasp I realized there was someone asleep on the edge of my bed. I soon noticed that the tube that had been shoved down my throat was now gone and I could breath a lot easier.
The person, who I had now guessed to be male because of the extremely short hair and buff arms supporting it, slowly lifted their head. Steel's curious, electric blue eyes stared into my own, wide, pale green ones. My eyes were wide because of how surprised I was that this beautiful boy was in my hospital room. Here... For me..? It seems like it, I looked quickly around my room but saw no other that he could be here to visit.
Steel lifted his head up completely before stretching his arms above his head, cracking his neck and yawning quietly. His tired eyes met my own once again before he smiled softly and offered me an apology.
"Hey... sorry about this, didn't mean to startle you. I just wanted to stay with you the night to make sure you were okay. Are you?" he asked quietly, as if scared to break this comfortable silence between us.
I nodded my head slightly to assure him I was alright before looking down at myself and taking in all my injuries for a second time. He saw me looking and decided to explain.
"I was trying to chase after you once you ran out of the class room on me." He paused quickly to shoot me an amused look. "I thought I had lost you but caught a glimpse of you running down the hall until I noticed you were being chased. I ran after you and caught up finally, but by that time they had already ganged up on you and were beating you badly in the locker room after they had dragged you in there." He looked down sadly after saying that. I nodded for him to continue, wanting to hear the rest.
"After that, I was so shocked and infuriated that all I could do was call your name, and hope you were still okay. When no response came and I saw you just laying there I freaked out. I'm ashamed to say that I kind of went a little crazy and beat them all up but that's what I had to do to save you and make sure you got here, so I'm not guilty about it in the least." He finished his story with a sigh and looked up to gauge my reaction.
I simply nodded my thanks and looked away. On the outside I was calm and collected but on the inside I was freaking out. He did all that just to save me? Was I really that important? No. I wasn't. He just saw a freak who needed help and decided he felt like being nice that day. But... could that really be true? He didn't just save me, he brought me here and stayed with me all night. He made sure I was okay, and he remembered my name. Nobody even really knows my name, it's not like I can tell them.
Maybe he really did care about me. I don't know why he would, but if he did, then why would I be upset about it? If he really does care, then I'm going to hold onto him and hope he doesn't let me fall. I don't know why he would care, considering he just met me but I hope he does and I know he's barely done anything but it's way more than anybody else has ever done.
I peaked over at him from under my hair and saw him gazing at me with a strange look in his eyes. He was looking at me as if I meant something to him. That couldn't be true though. He's him and I'm just me.
His glanced away quickly before standing up and stretching his arms over his head with a quiet yawn. My eyes followed the curves of his defined muscles, but I caught what I was doing, and felt my cheeks redden in an instant. I shook my head to rid my mind of such ludicrous thoughts about love at first sight and muscled men. It was getting dark outside and I was wondering when I could be free of this confined, white room.
Just as I thought this, a young blond nurse with bouncing curls and a friendly smile knocked on the door slightly. Even though it was already ajar, she thought it decent to inform us of her presence. Steel nodded for her to come in and she simply informed us that I could be released at any time now. Steel was given permission from the hospital to legally sign my forms since they could not get ahold of my parents and he was the one who brought me in.
Once she had handed him the forms and made her way out of our room, Steel sat down beside my bed once again and began filling out my release forms.
He finished quickly and placed the package of forms neatly on the table beside my bed. He leaned over and pressed the button on my bed to call the nurse back in. She simply took the forms from him with another smile and told him that my clothes could be found in a plastic bag in the drawer of the bedside table.
She left again quickly, this time shutting the door and separating Steel and I from the rest of the world. The room had gone silent and no movement was made. Neither of us wanted to break the tranquility of the atmosphere. It was still and calm. Steel made the first move by walking over, and opening the drawer. He pulled out the plastic bag containing my clothing and set it down in my lap softly.
I looked up at him from beneath my hair and watched him smile slightly and sit down once more, waiting for me to make the next move. I looked down at the bag in my lap with disdain before opening it and peaking in, only to shake my head at the soiled and bloody clothing.
Steel seemed to catch on quickly and took the bag from me, looking in it himself and pulling out my jeans since they weren't as badly destroyed. He handed them to me carefully and I took them from him before attempting to stand up. Thankfully, the first time the nurse came in to check on everything, she detached all of the machines and needles from me since I had already been deemed alright, and they were only still keeping me for observation.
Steel automatically reached out a hand and grasped mine, helping me out of the bed. As I rested my feet on the ground and tried standing up, slowly adding more of my body weight on my legs, I lost my balance quite quickly. Steel helped steady me and walked me over to the bathroom so I could change.
Once we reached the door, he opened it and helped me inside as well before both of us realized at the same time that I still didn't have a sufficient shirt. Steel just smiled and shook his head with a slight chuckle before taking off his leather jacket and starting to take off his shirt as well. My eyes widened in surprised horror because I didn't know what was happening. Steel quickly noticed my reaction and simply said, "You don't really have a shirt to wear, so I was going to give you mine and just wear my jacket instead. The weather isn't too bad and I'm perfectly fine like this."
I nodded hesitantly, since this was all so strange to me but nonetheless, realizing this was the best solution. I accepted his now removed long sleeved, grey shirt with a timid hand, quickly pulling it close to my body. Telling myself to avoid as much human contact as possible.
He walked out the door and closed it softly behind himself. Now that I was alone, I let out the breath I had been holding. Being this close to someone else was nerve wracking and abnormal. I still wasn't sure if I liked this change or not. I mentally shook my head and decided to forget about that for now. I need to get changed and get out of this hell. Only to return to my own personal hell.
I changed into the clothing quickly and looked at myself in the mirror. The person starring back at me was a stranger. He had shaggy, midnight black hair. He had pale green eyes. He was skinny and pale. His skin was littered with spots of blue, purple and red. He wore a shirt too large for himself, the sleeves reaching past his finger tips. He wore old ripped skinny jeans and tattered black Convers. He was me, yet he wasn't. I don't know this person starring back at me, and I hope I never do. I wish he would just disappear. Gone from existence.
I looked away after some time. I needed to stop starting and get back to Steel so we could leave. I walked away from the mirror. Away from that disgrace of a human being.
Once I was back in the hospital room, I caught sight of Steel leaning up against the doorway, looking ready to leave. He wore his dark blue jeans and his leather jacket, open. His chest was on full view and his six pack made my eyes widen slightly. I made my way towards him and stopped a few feet away. Not too close. Never too close. He looked down when he felt my presence and smiled softly.
"Are you ready to go?" He asked calmly. I nodded my head in response.
We both walked out of room 127, and didn't look back.
Never look back.
.......
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