Taking Chances

It has been a week since Micah was admitted to hospital, but his condition hadn't changed. He had gotten fuller, since they had been force feeding him the nutrients he needed, but he was still scarily thin. He was in a stable condition, and I found myself staring at the heart beat that beeped on the heart monitor, the sound at a steady rhythm.

I had been visiting him every single day, staying in his room from eight in the morning, only taking a break when his mother, Belle and Eleanor visited, but once they left I was always back in his room, sitting right beside him on that god damn uncomfortable plastic chair. If he could hear me, he was probably getting terribly sick of hearing me apologise over and over, but I hoped that every time the word "sorry' came out of my mouth that he'd be one tiny step closer to forgiving me.

Well, forgiving me for something I had no clue of doing.

There was a knock on the door, the familiar knock of Declan, and I softly invited him in. He smiled at me, and I gave him a weak on back, and he walked over, pulling up a chair next to me. He had been visiting Micah quite frequently too, and I was grateful. He really cared about Micah, and for some reason he cared about me as well, despite May's blind distaste for me.

"Has anything changed?" he asked gently, looking at Micah's peaceful face glumly.

"No," I replied, and he sighed, leaning back in his chair, stretching out his limbs. "But you know that feeling when you think something's gonna happen? I feel like that every time I come in. I don't know. I guess I'm hoping for him to wake up."

"I know what you mean," Declan replied thoughtfully, giving me a look. "And you look like shit, by the way."

"Lay off it," I laughed, shoving him slightly, careful not to damage his rapidly healing arm any further. He feigned hurt and gave me arm a tiny punch. "How's May?"

"She's good," he said, smiling like a love-struck boy. I snickered a little at his expression, which made him roll his eyes. "She's getting better. She's been planning my surprise birthday party, so that has taken some of this shit off her mind."

"Surprise party?" I asked, and he nodded. "Well, I didn't get an invite."

"Did you expect one from her?" Declan teased, and I shrugged. "I wasn't supposed to find out, but I did. And since it's my party, technically speaking, I'm inviting you."

"Aw, I'm flattered," I gasped, faking a swoon, but sobered up quickly, frowning. "But I can't go."

"Why not?" Declan asked, but then glanced at Micah's beautiful sleeping form. "Oh."

"Yeah. I... want to be with him, you know. Just in case he wakes up."

"That's cool," Declan said, hopping up. He clapped my shoulder once, before making his way to the door. "Call me if sleeping beauty wakes up,'kay? Oh, and the invitation still stands." He winked, before exiting, leaving me alone with Micah and my thoughts.

I nudged my chair forward so my knees were pressed up against Micah's bed, and took his hand, exactly the same way I did every day. I pressed a kiss to his palm and smiled a little. He was gorgeous, even when in a coma. He was always gorgeous.

"Hey, Micah," I said softly, my voice ringing around the silent room. "How are you?"

I imagined him replying, and kissed every one of his fingers before continuing.

"It's Saturday today, and the weather's really nice outside. Too bad we're not outside," I said, laughing dryly. "I wish we could go outside."

I peered at his face, lips slightly parted as he breathed, his chest rising and falling at a steady pace. I grimaced when my eyes hit he tubing that had been stabbed into his skin, like some drug addict. He wasn't meant to look like this. He wasn't meant to be in a coma. He was meant to me laughing, smiling, happy.

"What did I do, Micah?" I asked, brushing my fingers across his skin. "Wake up and tell me what I did wrong. I swear I'll change it. I promise you that. I'll bet everything I have on it." I kissed his cheek gently, peeling back as I heard a knock on the door again, the warning signal form Declan. His mother, Belle and Ellie were coming. Damn.

"The people who also love you are here, Micah. I'll be back soon. I love you, so, so much, so wake up, okay sweetheart? I miss you," I whispered, before kissing his forehead once more, flying out of the room and into my own before his family caught me.

Oh, imagine if they caught me. Shit would go down.

***

I blinked dumbly at the two people in front of me. They were both puffed out of their brains, matching shades of blonde hair mussed at odd angles form the wind, frantic looks on their faces as they burst through Micah's door.

They were the last people I had expected to see.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" I hissed at Nikolas, who looked troubled and genuinely freaked out. My eyes flicked to Byron, who looked like he was about to have a heart attack, but swallowed a gulp of air before gasping out some words.

"Is it true? Is Micah..."

"You can see for yourself," I said, pointing at Micah's still body on the bed. They both rushed over simultaneously, eyes widening into saucers at the sight.

"Oh my god, Micah," Byron whispered, his eyes glistening with unshed tears. Nikolas was frozen in his place, his breath caught in his through as he stared down at the broken boy who was currently locked away in his mind.

"I... I..." Nikolas choked, running his fingers through his hair. Byron turned to him, pulling him into a hug as Nikolas swore under his breath. "I didn't think that this would happen."

His words dug into me, making me stand up suddenly, regretting it greatly when I toppled over, grabbing onto the metal railing of Micah's bed to stop me from crumpling ground in a broken-boned mess. Ow, that kind of moved my ribs. Damn it.

"What did you just say?" I seethed, pushing the words through my locked jaw as Nikolas' eyes darkened, turning his gaze away from mine as he flinched, panicking. "What did you do to Micah, you bastard?

"I'm sorry," he murmured, collapsing into the seat that I was occupying just a moment ago. "I honestly didn't mean for him to..."

"Nikolas, tell me what you did to him," I said, calming myself down as Byron grabbed onto my arm, shaking his head.

"I... I was trying to break you two up, okay?" he admitted, and I scoffed.

"Yeah, I know," I said, and he frowned, confused. "Byron told me."

Nikolas' eyes went to Byron, who shrugged, staring at Micah with a lost expression on his face. Nick then spoke again, regaining my absolute attention.

"You know Lisa, right?" he said softly, as if he was afraid I was going to snap at him and break all of his bones. Little did he know that I was in no shape to do that, and even if I tried to go over to him to smash his face in I'd only end up injuring myself even more. So he was safe- for now.

"I am acquainted with her," I said, mentally gagging her the image of the slutty, self-obsessed girl who had flung herself at me.

"Well, she kissed you, right?" Nick asked, and I frowned, but nodded slowly. Oh...

"No way. Did Micah find out..." I gasped, and Nick nodded, showing me an A4 photo that had been folded and refolded over and over again. It was of me and that Lisa girl, engaged in a pretty convincing lip-lock. But I knew what really went down. It was me, caught off guard, and her practically shoving her tongue down my throat as I gagged and pushed her away. How someone got a photo of that split-second that she had her mouth on mine was incomprehensible, unless someone knew what was going to go down...

"You mother fucking dick," I growled, and he bit his lip. "WHY?! WHY MICAH?! WHY HIM?!" I screamed as he shrunk in the seat, looking like he wanted to disappear.

"It's complicated," Byron cut in, and I turned to him, meeting his forlorn look. "But what matters right now is the truth."

"He's in a fucking coma, Byron," I said, my voice cold. "He's not going to hear me even if I tell him."

"Um, yeah, I don't think you really have to tell him..." Byron said, his lips quirking up a little in a sly grin.

"That is a cruel joke, Byron. There is no way he's awake," I said, and he shrugged, jerking a finger to Micah. My eyes followed his gesture, and I felt my heart pop out of my chest.

"Morning, Jay."