Song of the chapter: When You're Gone by Avril Lavigne
Austin's POV
"Austin, wake up!" I heard someone exclaim.
"What the-!" My eyes shot open and I saw Alex and Jesse staring down at me.
"Are you okay, dude? You were freaking out in your sleep," Alex said worriedly.
"Emily, she-" I jumped up and ran down the hall, ignoring Jesse's "Austin!"
I practically threw myself into Emily's room just as the guys caught up to me.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Alex asked.
"I had a nightmare. Emily...awake... didn't remember me..." I was gasping for air. I was about to collapse, but Jesse grabbed my arm to steady me.
"Austin, it's okay, she's still in bed. She hasn't changed," Jesse said. "Come on, we aren't supposed to be in here right now."
My friends steered me back out towards the waiting room and sat me down on a chair. "I'll go get you a bottle of water from the cafeteria," Alex said before running off.
Jesse turned to me when he was gone. "What happened?"
"Taylor, Alex, Lucy and I were sitting in Emily's room and then she woke up and said 'Who are you?' to me," I told him. I ran my hands down my face. "Oh my god, it was so real."
"Well, you're okay, it was just a bad dream," he said.
I nodded, trying to catch my breath. "Where's Lucy?"
"Taylor has her in the cafeteria; she's trying to get her to eat something. The others went home a couple of hours ago."
"I don't even remember falling asleep," I said.
"You're probably exhausted. I don't blame you." He hesitated. "So, we haven't really gotten a chance to talk about the whole brother-sister thing. I mean, I was supposed to have breakfast with Emily and talk about it, but...you know."
"Look, man, it's cool with me," I told him. "Weird, but cool."
"You sure?"
I nodded. "Yeah. Now I don't have to worry about being jealous." I stopped. "Did I just admit that out loud? To you, of all people?"
"Uh...yeah."
"Whoops."
"Look, Austin, you had nothing to worry about before. Emily and I were just friends. Still are, obviously, but now we found out we're related and it's kind of a repulsive thought now," he said.
"Hey, watch it," I warned. "That's my girlfriend you're talking about."
"No offence," he said, putting his hands up. "But she's my sister."
"Emily's mom hasn't talked to either of you since that day?"
Jesse shook his head. "Nope. And I don't want to talk to her right now. She knew I was her son the whole time and she gave me the cold shoulder half the time she saw me. Some mother."
"Hey now, she was just doing what she thought was best for you. You and Emily," I told him.
"Still, she could have told us. Especially when she knew we had met each other and were hanging out."
I shrugged. "Isn't it at least good that you know the truth now? That she didn't continue hiding it from you and told you herself?"
"I guess," he muttered. "I'm still mad, and so is Emily."
"You two are going to have to figure it out when she wakes up. This isn't my problem."
Alec came back with the water bottle. "Who knew hospital cafeteria lines were so big." He handed me the bottle. "Here you go."
"Thanks," I said gratefully, downing half of it. "I needed that."
"Clearly. You're still sweating. Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine."
"Maybe you should go home and get some rest. Taylor and I can watch Lucy, instead of us going to get your clothes all the time," Alex offered. "Not that that's a problem or anything. It's just that you look exhausted."
I shook my head. "No way. I'm not leaving Emily."
"Suit yourself," he sighed. "By the way, Taylor is feeding Lucy cake."
"As long as it's not a lot," I said. "Then she can have it."
He wiggled his hand from side to side like people do when they're saying something is iffy, or not quite good enough. "Meh."
"Alex."
"I'm kidding," he said. "It wasn't a lot. We aren't stupid."
"Meh," I mocked him.
He punched me in the arm, causing me to laugh. "Thanks."
A nurse came into the room, shaking out her hand. I noticed it was Emily's nurse.
"Cara? What's wrong with your hand?" I asked.
"Well, I came here to tell you that Emily's awake. And apparently she doesn't like when someone is trying to fix her IV; she punched my hand."
I jumped up, along with Alex and Jesse. "She's awake?" I asked as I looked at her and smiled.
"Yeah. She might be a little hazy. But you're free to go in."
"I'll wait," Jesse said.
"Thanks man," I said before following Cara.