Status: Active.
Chasing Forever
oo5.
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
My eyelids slowly fluttered open to be greeted by an unbearably bright light overhead. I closed them again.
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
I inhaled slowly, sharply, to discover the feeling of knives jolting into my ribs every time I did so. My head was throbbing and I felt as though I literally couldn’t lift a finger.
What happened? Where was I?
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
Gently, I turned my head and opened my eyes once more to find Topher, still dressed in his tux from the wedding, sitting hunched over in what looked to be the most uncomfortable chair ever. He was sleeping, snoring so loudly he literally woke himself up. Suddenly, his body jerked and his eyes flew open. He blinked several times, rubbing his eyes before looking over at me. When he did, he jumped forward and kneeled by me, taking my face in his hands and holding it to his chest. I was suddenly aware of exactly where I was.
“Oh, Lor,” he whispered. “You’re okay….you’re okay,”
I looked around the mostly empty room. There were two windows on the wall to my right which let in the darkness that surrounded the outside world and a sink in the far left corner next to a door that appeared to be the entrance of a small bathroom. All around me, I was surrounded by medical equipment, hooked up with wires and beeping machines of all sorts. But how did I get here?
“You’re okay,” Topher whispered again. I could feel his warm breath on my neck, and could soon feel him start to sob, quietly, softly.
And then I remembered.
Driving. In a truck. Swerving off the road and into a ditch. A power line coming down, heading straight for the truck. Greyson’s truck.
Greyson….
Just then, I pushed Topher off me and sat up, trying to untangle myself from the mass of machines I was hooked up to.
“Lorain, no!” he shouted taking hold of my arms and trying to stop me. I pushed him away, still fiddling with the equipment until finally breaking free of it all. Next to me, I could hear the beeping stop.
I threw the covers off me and stood up, practically running for the door. But just as I reached it, Topher stopped me, wrapping his arms around me and holding me so tightly I couldn’t move my arms.
“Let go!” I screamed.
“Lorain. Stop it.” he said in a firm voice as I tried to wriggle free.
“Get off me!”
I managed to free one arm from his grasp and reached toward the door again.
“Lorain! You have to get back in bed. You need to rest!” he said, grabbing my arm once more.
“Where is he?!” I shouted, turning my head to look at him. I wanted the truth, nothing sugar-coated or careful, nothing vague or set aside, just the truth. Now.
I watched as tears started to appear in Topher’s eyes again. His chin quivered, only once, and his face stayed serious.
And that was all I needed. My knees buckled and both of us fell to the floor, his arms still wrapped around me. I let my head fall onto his chest as my breathing and heart rate quickened and my vision became blurred. I lost all sense of where I was, who I was, and what was happening at that moment in time. All I knew was what had just happened, something I wished I’d never found out.
My eyelids slowly fluttered open to be greeted by an unbearably bright light overhead. I closed them again.
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
I inhaled slowly, sharply, to discover the feeling of knives jolting into my ribs every time I did so. My head was throbbing and I felt as though I literally couldn’t lift a finger.
What happened? Where was I?
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
Gently, I turned my head and opened my eyes once more to find Topher, still dressed in his tux from the wedding, sitting hunched over in what looked to be the most uncomfortable chair ever. He was sleeping, snoring so loudly he literally woke himself up. Suddenly, his body jerked and his eyes flew open. He blinked several times, rubbing his eyes before looking over at me. When he did, he jumped forward and kneeled by me, taking my face in his hands and holding it to his chest. I was suddenly aware of exactly where I was.
“Oh, Lor,” he whispered. “You’re okay….you’re okay,”
I looked around the mostly empty room. There were two windows on the wall to my right which let in the darkness that surrounded the outside world and a sink in the far left corner next to a door that appeared to be the entrance of a small bathroom. All around me, I was surrounded by medical equipment, hooked up with wires and beeping machines of all sorts. But how did I get here?
“You’re okay,” Topher whispered again. I could feel his warm breath on my neck, and could soon feel him start to sob, quietly, softly.
And then I remembered.
Driving. In a truck. Swerving off the road and into a ditch. A power line coming down, heading straight for the truck. Greyson’s truck.
Greyson….
Just then, I pushed Topher off me and sat up, trying to untangle myself from the mass of machines I was hooked up to.
“Lorain, no!” he shouted taking hold of my arms and trying to stop me. I pushed him away, still fiddling with the equipment until finally breaking free of it all. Next to me, I could hear the beeping stop.
I threw the covers off me and stood up, practically running for the door. But just as I reached it, Topher stopped me, wrapping his arms around me and holding me so tightly I couldn’t move my arms.
“Let go!” I screamed.
“Lorain. Stop it.” he said in a firm voice as I tried to wriggle free.
“Get off me!”
I managed to free one arm from his grasp and reached toward the door again.
“Lorain! You have to get back in bed. You need to rest!” he said, grabbing my arm once more.
“Where is he?!” I shouted, turning my head to look at him. I wanted the truth, nothing sugar-coated or careful, nothing vague or set aside, just the truth. Now.
I watched as tears started to appear in Topher’s eyes again. His chin quivered, only once, and his face stayed serious.
And that was all I needed. My knees buckled and both of us fell to the floor, his arms still wrapped around me. I let my head fall onto his chest as my breathing and heart rate quickened and my vision became blurred. I lost all sense of where I was, who I was, and what was happening at that moment in time. All I knew was what had just happened, something I wished I’d never found out.
♠ ♠ ♠
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