Ticking Time Bomb

Listening to his laugh was something I always enjoyed. Raiden wasn’t a person, who completed that action very often, but when he did, it was mesmerizing. Every time we hung at the park, we were met with our safe-haven, and that meant being ourselves no matter what. His laugh was one of his best features, and he got shy every chance I reminded him of it.

“Stop it, Chris!” Raiden laughed as I kept tickling him.

“You know you love it, so stop pretending,” I replied, smiling. Not letting go, he kept laughing as he tried to get away from my sudden playful attack.

“I’ll do anything you want, but please stop!” he continued to laugh, shaking his head.

I stopped, staring at his eyes as my smile turned to a small playful smirk. “Anything?” I asked, looking at his beautiful orbs. I noticed the gulp in his throat, and his voice became shaky, when he responded, “Yes.”

I placed my hands on each side of his cheeks and stared at his eyes. Moving forward, I closed my eyes. Then…

“Mr. Tyler?” a sweet voice called out, waking me up from my deep sleep. Opening my eyes slowly, I realized that I was sitting in a chair next to Raiden’s hospital bed. Still in the ICU and not wanting to leave his side, I stayed the whole time he needed me to.
He hadn’t woken up yet, but the doctors had hope for his case, which made me very positive on his condition. I wanted him to wake up. I needed to tell him face to face how much I loved him, and that with me, he was always going to be safe.

Suddenly, the smell of coffee hit my nostrils as I turned around to see the face of the woman who was calling my name. Nurse Sandy had been very caring towards Raiden. According to her, he reminded her of her little brother, and it was the reason why she had taken a little preference to him besides her other patients.

“Mr. Tyler, I brought you a coffee. You have been here for hours. I haven’t seen you eat or drink anything, and since you don’t want to leave Mr. Johnson’s side, I decided to bring you this. It will help. I am sorry if I woke you up,” she explained, extending the small container of caffeine.

Nodding my head, I smiled and replied, “Thank you so much, Sandy. Please, call me Chris.”
She smiled, and checked on Raiden’s vitals as I took a sip of the warm drink.

“His vitals are showing sign of improvement. Don’t lose hope,” she said before she left the hospital room. Putting the cup of coffee in a small table, I stood up from the chair and walked towards the small bathroom situated in the room.

I opened the faucet and as the water dripped in the deep sink, I stared at my reflection in the mirror. I didn’t like the person that stared back at me. He looked lost like he had given up.

“Don’t give up, Chris. Raiden is going to be fine. Don’t lose hope,” I repeated in front of the mirror, convincing myself that everything was in fact going to be alright.

Shaking my head, and not wanting to stare back at my reflection, I washed my face. After I dried it with paper towels, I went back to Raiden’s side. I lied next to him, trying to avoid any discomfort with his tubes and needles.

Moving the hair that fell on his face, I kissed the top of his head. Thinking that he was listening, I started to whisper in his ear, “Raiden, I need you to fight. I need you to wake up, because I need you. I love you so much, that I don’t know how my life will go on if you are not in it. Please baby, fight for me. I am begging you.”

Not even realizing it, I drifted to sleep, holding him as tight as I could in my arms.

Feeling movement, let me come back from my somber. Looking around, I noticed that Raiden had his eyes open.

“Raiden?” I questioned, getting up from his side. Grabbing his hand, I smiled as I felt the small grab he tried to do with his own. “You are awake!” I rejoiced, smiling. Knowing that he couldn’t speak because of the breathing tubes, I called out for help, letting the staff know that Raiden was awake.

In one minute the doctor and nurses were all over him, helping him and in the next he was staring at me.

“Hi,” I greeted, grabbing his hand. “Chris? Andy…” he said before I cut him off.

“I know. Please, don’t say anything right now. You need to rest and get better. Just know that I am here. I am not going anywhere. I love you, baby. With all my heart, alright?” I expressed.

“I love you,” was all he managed to say before the sedative kicked in. Even though he was in a coma, he needed to recover fully.

I took the opportunity to walked outside the room. Grabbing my phone, I went to a corner, not wanting to have the staff I couldn’t use it in the hospital. I dialed Micah’s number. Going straight to voicemail gave me a sense of dreadfulness, because I knew he was going to speak to Jonas about everything that happened.

I didn’t know what to expect, so I left a voice message. “Micah. Raiden is awake. He is recovering. I thought you should know. Please get back to me ASAP.”

I walked back to the room and sat in the chair. Holding Raiden’s hand, I waited for him to wake up again. I made a promise to not leave his side, which I did not intent to break.