Page 57 of The Prizes We Win
Because if I die, then a piece of the people I love will die with me.
39
Enzo
I’m not cold.
It’s the first thing I notice when I wake up from the deep sleep I was just in.
I’m not lying on the floor either. It almost feels like…
My bed.
I’m in my bed.
I’m not cold.
They found me.
I’m alive.
I faintly recognize a hand holding mine. Their skin is smooth and soft.
Josephine.
But then, the only thing I notice is pain. It’s everywhere. My face. My head. My ribs. My stomach. And when I try to open my eyes even that hurts too.
“Ow…” I groan.
“Enzo?” she gasps as her hand tightens around mine.
“Owwww…”
She let’s go of my hand and gently holds my face in her hands, stroking my swollen cheeks with the pads of her thumbs. “Enz, Honey, can you hear me?”
“Sweetheart, I can hear you, but please stop yelling.”
I know she isn’t but with the way my head is pounding it feels like shes talking through a megaphone.
A choked sob leaves her lips and she plants her lips on mine. “Ouchhhhh,” I moan against her.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers before kissing me again. “I’m sorry.” And again. “I’m sorry.” And again.
And despite how much it hurts, I let her. I let her kiss me because right before everything went dark, I was afraid I’d never get to feel her lips on mine again.
I want to touch her, but when I go to move my arms it sends a shock of pain all the way to my damn toes. She sits up, her tear-stained cheeks the perfect shade of pink, and looks me over. “Don’t move, okay?”No problem.“I’m going to get them.” She stands from the bed and as soon as she does I close my eyes, getting a slight reprieve from the light streaming through the window.
She barely makes it through the door when she yells, “Guys! He’s awake!”
“Josephine,” I whine.
“Shit, sorry,” she whispers as she runs back over to me. A second later I hear three sets of footsteps sprinting toward my room.
My eyes are still closed, but I feel them the moment they walk into the room. They’re here.
They’re all here.
My family.
