~Gajeel~
I was out the door before mom could even finish speaking. “Levy’s in the hospital!” was all the more answer I gave Natsu and Lucy as they ran after me, asking what had happened. Knowing it was reckless, but not having time to care, I jumped into my car and sped towards the hospital.
“Mom!” I shouted, running through the lobby and into the emergency waiting room as soon as I threw my car into park in front of the emergency room doors.
“Gajeel!” She cried, breaking down as I wrapped my arms around her.
“What happened?” I asked, fearing the worst. “Where’s Levy?”
“They just took her back for surgery,” she answered, her tears adding to the wetness on my shirt from the rain. “They—they said something about internal bleeding. I got here right after they took her back, and they wouldn’t let me see her.”
“She’s gonna be fine,” I tried to reassure her. “Levy’s gonna be fine, Mom.”
“But what if she isn’t?” She clutched my shirt as her cries turned to sobs. “What if this is punishment for all those years ago?”
“Listen to me,” I snapped, meeting the woman’s bloodshot eyes, “Levy is not going to die, ya hear me? No one is being punished, because Levy is going to be fine!”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, nodding as she reached up to cup my face in her hands. “I should be the one being strong for you right now, not the other way around.”
I wasn’t aware of the tears stinging my eyes until she wiped one away and sat me down on a chair beside of her. Her arms barely went around half of me, but she pulled me against her side and held onto me tightly while we waited for the doctors to tell us Levy’s condition.
It was several hours later before anyone in a doctor’s coat came into the waiting room. By the time one finally did, nearly everyone had arrived and was waiting with Diane and me.
“Mrs. McGarden?” The doctor asked, looking around the room. Both Diane and myself stood and went to her, anxiously waiting for the news. She looked at me, frowning slightly before turning back to Diane. “Is this—”
“Next of kin,” she said, waving off the doctor’s concerns, “how is Levy?”
“She pulled through the surgery,” the doctor said, “but she slipped into a coma while in recovery. We were on our way here to tell you about her successful surgery about thirty minutes ago when it happened. We stabilized her for now, but I can’t say whether or not she’ll wake up from this.”
“What room is she in?” I asked.
“132,” she answered. “We’re limiting her visitors to just her immediate family for now, until we know if she will remain stable.”
I rushed off in the direction of Levy’s room, not caring what else the doctor had left to say. I needed to see her. Levy, please be alright! You have to wake up!
I stopped dead in my tracks when I reached her room. The urge to vomit was growing steadily as I stared at the sleeping form on the bed. It was hard to believe it was Levy. If it hadn’t been for the unmistakable blue curls spread over her pillow, I would have gone back to the doctor and asked her if she was sure this was Levy’s room.
Bandages covered nearly her entire face, and the parts that weren’t covered were a deep purple color from the bruises that must have extended underneath the bandages. Her left arm was in a cast, as well as her left foot, and I could see a thick gauze over her left eye that was held in place by even more bandages.
Convincing my damned legs to work, I made my way over to her bed and collapsed into the chair beside it. I gently held her right hand with both of mine, feeling a sense of desperation and panic beginning to swell up inside of me.
“Levy,” I pleaded, searching for any signs on her face that she could hear me. “Levy, please wake up.”
~Levy~
Where am I? I could hear a loud beeping coming from somewhere close, but I couldn’t figure out where. Everything was dark, too. Am I asleep? No, that couldn’t be it. If I had been asleep, I wouldn’t have been able to hear that annoying beeping, right?
Something warm around my right hand drew my attention away from the noise, along with a familiar scent. Gajeel. The thought kept repeating in my head. But why is he here? Where am I? I couldn’t make myself move, no matter how hard I tried. My eyes wouldn’t open, either.
“Levy,” Gajeel’s voice broke through the darkness, and I immediately wanted to go to him. He sounds so sad. Why? That was when everything rushed back. The rain covering the road so that the lines were barely visible, the light that turned from green to red in an instant, and the sound of squealing tires.
~FLASHBACK~
I poked my head into the living room, taking a wary breath as I prepared myself for an argument. “Gajeel.” He grunted in response. “I need to make a quick run to the store—”
"It can wait til tomorrow,” he answered, just as I knew he would.
I frowned and walked over to him. "Gajeel we are out of everything, including cat food. I won't be gone long, and I'll be careful." Gajeel glared up at me, but it didn't affect me. "I'll be back, ok?" He huffed but nodded and I smiled before grabbing my keys.
I rushed to my car to avoid getting anymore soaked than I had to, and made my way to the store. “Gajeel acts like I’m not careful,” I grumbled to myself. I knew it wasn’t fair to blame him for worrying, considering this kind of weather was what had caused the accident that killed his father.
“It’s getting late,” I noted, looking down at the clock on my radio. I sped up a little, keeping my eyes on the road as the rain increased and the lines became harder to see. “Of course it would rain harder,” I sighed.
I was nearly to the store when the rain came down even harder. “Seriously?!” I snapped, glancing down at my clock again. When I looked back up, the light ahead of me that had just been green was now red. I slammed on my brakes, praying I still had time to stop—or that there weren’t any cars coming. Thankfully, no one else was foolish enough to be out as late as I was in this kind of weather. Unfortunately, my car didn’t stop, even as I pressed the brake pedal to the floor.
~END OF FLASHBACK~
I must have gone off the road, I thought, unable to remember much after that. If that was the case, I was most definitely in the hospital. The beeping was probably a heart monitor. And that would explain why I feel so heavy all over. I wasn’t exactly in pain—most likely attributed to whatever pain meds the hospital had me on—but I felt as though something was laying on top of me, making it difficult to breathe.
“Come on, Shrimp, I know you’re still in there,” Gajeel said, squeezing my hand.
“You should go home, Gajeel. I’ll stay here with her tonight.” Mom? If she was there too I must have been in pretty bad shape.
“I’m not goin’ anywhere,” Gajeel told her. “I can’t leave her. Not like this.”
“I’ll go get us some fresh blankets then,” mom sighed. I felt her touch my face briefly before she left the room.
“Shrimp, it’s been three days, you have to wake up.” Something wet hit my hand, and I realized he must have been crying. I was so shocked that I forgot for a moment what he had said. Gajeel’s crying?! Damn, I must be in bad shape. His words slowly sank in, and I knew that I probably was. If I had been asleep for three days, and if Gajeel was actually crying, I must have come close to dying.
Gajeel, I’m right here! I tried to open my eyes, but my body wouldn’t listen to me. I felt so heavy, and so tired, that I couldn’t move.Gajeel!
~Gajeel~
“Shrimp, it’s been three days, you have to wake up,” I pleaded, never releasing her hand. The doctors told us just a few moments before that things didn’t look good. She hadn’t shown any signs of recovery from the coma, so they weren’t sure she would ever wake up. Despite myself, I felt tears running down my damned cheeks as I sat there. I stared at her bandaged face, praying that she would open her eyes.
“You can’t die yet,” I told her. “Not before I get the chance to man up and tell you that I love you.” I cursed myself for not going with her that night. If I had just gone with her—or stopped her from going all together—none of this would have happened! Levy, I’m so sorry.
“My clock hasn’t moved for as long as I can remember, and I think I’m starting to understand why. It’s because I already met my soulmate. I don’t care if your clock is still ticking, and I don’t care that your soulmate is still out there somewhere. I love you, Levy, and I’ll love you until the day I die.” I swallowed hard against the lump in my throat, hating how much all of this sounded like a damned goodbye.
I watched her for a long time, still searching for a reaction. When she didn’t move, I rested my head on the mattress beside her.Levy, please…I can’t lose you too. A slight twitch against my fingers had my head snapping up. I stared at her tiny bandaged hand, my eyes growing wide when I saw her fingers close just the slightest bit around my own.
“Stu…pid.”