Chapter 132: Echoes of you
**OLIVER WEST**
The dream made my head foggy. We were complete again. Kieran and his sister were playing on their lawn while I made sketches of them.
The sound of our laughter echoed in the air and Ginny walked towards me.
"You always make beautiful sketches of Kieran but mine are always ugly! You like Kieran don’t you?" She accused while I felt heat crawling into my neck.
Was it that obvious?
I loved drawing but I enjoyed it more when I drew Kieran, well, he was just too perfect, I couldn’t help it. Something about him also pulled me, which made him very compelling to draw.
"I think Kieran likes you too, because instead of playing with me, he keeps staring at you!"
"No, Ginny, I really like playing with you, what do you want to do today? I’ll do it all!" I reached out to grab her hand but she smiled, and it felt like the rising sunlight.
"Actually, I don’t mind. Besides, Kieran needs you more, go to him!"
She pushed me forward. I stumbled and the next thing I saw was black.
White.
Black. And white again.
My eyes pricked with a blurred stinging sensation, the odd dream fading into nothing.
I didn’t remember the bulbs in Kieran’s bedroom being this bright.
For a moment, I couldn’t make out anything in front of me. The unmistakable smell of antiseptics flooded my nostrils.
Was I in a hospital?
My eyes widened completely so I could see more clearly. It indeed was a hospital. How did I get here?
I tried to sit up and hissed at the splitting pain in the back of my head. What in the heavens’ name happened to me? I raised a trembling finger to my head to find it bandaged.
The last thing I remembered was...
"You’re awake. How do you feel?" A soothing feminine voice cut into my thoughts.
I stared at the nurse mutely for a moment. I wanted to ask what happened to me and where Kieran was, but it came out raspy. My throat felt dry and scratchy.
She helped me to a sitting position and produced a glass of water. I accepted it gratefully while she urged me to drink slowly. I closed my eyes as a wave of dizziness and pain struck my head.
"It h-hurts. I feel tired," I managed to say.
"You only just regained consciousness after over a week. It’s okay to feel dizzy. I’ll get you something for the pain. You also need to undergo some more tests, just to be sure everything is fine."
More than a week? I’ve been here for that long?
She shot me a brief smile and left before I could utter another word.
I remembered Kieran had left to get water and snacks, then the sound of footsteps. I had thought it was Kieran behind me... The next thing was that splitting pain in my head that made me lose my balance... I remembered nothing else.
What exactly had happened? Had someone hit me? Like tried to assassinate me?!!!
I inhaled deeply and closed my eyes. Even thinking about what happened made my head hurt.
Mom. Pumpkin. All of them would have been so worried for a whole week.
Kieran... I wished he could be right here with me, I wanted nothing more at this moment than to feel their familiar embrace.
I heard the sound of the door pushing open. My eyes flickered open, and I expected to see the nurse who had promised to return.
It wasn’t.
My heart gave a tight jump at the sight before me, it was as if he appeared straight out of my thoughts. He was like a wish come true.
Kieran stood in the doorway, and for a moment neither of us moved. He looked like he’d seen a ghost.
Then, the tears I didn’t realize were coming started streaming down my face.
Dark circles shadowed his eyes, making them look sunken. His hair was a mess, his clothes wrinkled like he’d been sleeping in them. It made me wonder how long he had probably been waiting outside for me.
But my heart still jumped from just looking at him, he was that beautiful and not even grief could take that away. And he was the most welcoming sight ever.
"Kieran..." I tried to smile but my voice broke completely.
He crossed the room in three quick strides. When he sat on the edge of the bed, his movements were careful, like I were made of shell.
His arm wrapped around my shoulders so gently and his other hand came up to my face, his fingers ghosting over my cheek.
"You woke up," he whispered, his voice smaller than I had heard it in years. "How do you feel?"
I couldn’t stop staring at him and the tears were coming again.
I should be reassuring him, yet here I was behaving like a complete fool.
"I’m sorry," I whispered, reaching up to cover his hand with mine. "I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to slip and fall."
Something cracked in his expression. His jaw clenched tight, and I swore I saw a flicker of anger in his eyes, but it quickly disappeared.
"Don’t apologize. Just... tell me you’re okay. Tell me you’re really here."
"See? I’m fine," I wanted to be strong, to joke and lighten the mood like I always did. "What could possibly happen to me? Nothing could ever get rid of me."
Kieran’s face crumpled, and suddenly he was pulling me closer, burying his face in my neck. His whole body was shaking.
"Do you know how much you scared me?" The words came out muffled against my skin. "I didn’t know when you would wake up. I had nightmares that you wouldn’t. That I’d lost you."
I felt wetness against my neck and realized he was crying. Kieran Morrison was crying, and it was because of me.
My own tears came harder then. I wrapped my arms around him as tightly as I could, feeling how fragile he felt.
We held each other in silence for a long time. There were no words for what we’d both been through - me in the darkness, him in a waking nightmare of waiting.
He pulled back just enough to look at me, his hands framing my face like I was the most precious thing in the world.
"This is real, right?" he whispered. "You’re really awake? This isn’t another dream?"
"I’m here," I said, pressing my forehead against his. "I’m awake. I’m not going anywhere."
"Promise me," he said urgently. "Promise me you won’t do that again. Promise me you won’t leave me."
"I won’t. It’s a promise, okay?" I tried to smile, but it felt wobbly. "I couldn’t leave you for too long anyway. You know you can’t breathe without me, I can’t leave you starving for air can I?" I joked and the ghost of a smile appeared on his face, but I could tell that it was forced.
"Why are you suddenly such a big adorable baby? Can I have my big bad wolf back already? Please? " I spoke, and almost instantly a scowl spread across his face which made me laugh.
"No. This is what you get for scaring the shit out of me, Ollie. Do you know I felt as if the whole world was coming to an end when I found you lying there bleeding? Do you know that it’s been more than a whole week since you fell unconscious? "
I started to nod but winced aloud at the sudden burst of pain, why do I keep forgetting that I couldn’t shake my head?
Kieran was supporting my head in the next instant.
" Is it hurting a lot ?" He spoke, glancing momentarily in the direction of the door as though contemplating calling a doctor.
I shook my head and hissed in pain, louder this time, clutching my head with both my palms.
"Will you stop shaking your head? The doctor will soon be here, okay? "
I started to nod again but this time I caught myself in time.
"What happened to me? I only remember slipping and the pain, How did it happen?"
Should I tell him that I also suspected that someone pushed me. . . And hit as well?
A flicker of hardness flashed across his gaze and at the same time, the door pushed open.
"Sweetie! " It was Mom and Pumpkin, along with a middle-aged man dressed in a white lab coat and the nurse I recognized from earlier.
"My baby," Mom whispered, her hands shaking as she cupped my face. I caught a whiff of her familiar comforting fragrance.
"I’m okay, Mom. I’m here." I reached up to wipe her tears.
As the doctor assessed me, Pumpkin stood there just staring at me. I managed a smile, this might as well be the first time that she was being so quiet around me. Honestly, it felt weird. I almost felt like a revered ghost.