Page 75 of Accidentally Forever
“I am your twin, and though we don’t have that psychic twin thing that people always say we should have, I know you’re in pain.”
“I always thought it was weird that Dara and Gus got that so-called psychic thing and we didn’t.”
“They were just messing with us.”
“Were they? Maybe. I can’t leave his side, Sebastian. What if I leave him, and he’s afraid he can’t open his eyes again? Because he opened his eyes that one time. I wasn’t making it up.”
There was a rustle of fabric, the sound of a chair squeaking. “I know you weren’t. He’s going to wake up.”
“They keep telling me it’s going to happen. But they also say the longer it takes, the worse it could be. And I don’t want it to be worst case scenario. But if it is, I’ll be there. Right by his side. I don’t want to let him go.”There was a shuddering sigh and another squeak of the chair. “I’m sorry. I know being in this hospital probably isn’t the best place for you.”
“We already talked about that. I’m always here for you. But you need to shower. You really stink.”
I wanted to growl. How dare Sebastian be so mean to Aria when she was clearly not feeling well. But I couldn’t get the energy to move. Aria wanted me to open my eyes, and I was going to do it. I just couldn’t.
I sank back into the quicksand, but perhaps not as deeply as I had the first time.
The next time sounds echoed through me, it was a deeper voice at my bedside.
“You’re really starting to scare us. You’re not one for dramatics. But then again, I didn’t realize my best friend was going to jump from the bridge. I know you loved that one show from back in the day, but you didn’t have to reenact that teenybopper crap. And don’t tell me you didn’t love it. Because you knew exactly who the characters were when Aria was talking about it with Daisy. So instead of reenacting it, wake up and tell me I’m an idiot. Just wake up, please.”
“Did Aria really jump into the river?” I croaked, and immediately regretted saying the words. It felt as if fire licked up my throat, and my parched lips parted.
“Holy hell,” Lexington barked before he scrambled up, and I realized my eyes were opened.
The lights were dimmed thankfully, so I didn’t feel as if I were being blinded, but from what I could tell, Lexington hadn’t slept for shit, and Aria wasn’t there. My best friend had dark circles under his eyes, his clothes rumpled. He looked like he had spent hours running his hands through his hair so it stood on end. I could only imagine what I looked like.
“Did she?” I asked, wondering exactly what I was talking about.
Lexington just smiled at me, his eyes filling with tears. “Aria did. Haley was wearing that wedding dress, remember? She would have sunk. But Aria jumped into the damn thing after you. Don’t scare me like that again, Crew. I should go to the doctors. The nurses. The National Guard. Hell, the Montgomerys. I will go tell the Montgomerys you are awake, and they will handle it.”
I had never seen Lex so discombobulated, that I just lay there, my limbs still too heavy, and tried to get into the present.
“I will be right back.”
I tried to reach out for him, but my hand was too slow, and my fingers nearly brushed his skin.
Lex froze before turning to me. “You are going to beokay, Crew. They’re going to explain everything. But Aria is going to kick my ass because I was here, and she wasn’t.”
“Water?” I rasped.
Lex cursed under his breath before he scrambled to a plastic cup and pitcher next to the bed. That’s when I realized I was in a private hospital room, with oxygen filling my nostrils and an IV in one arm. There was a pulse ox meter on my finger, and probably a dozen other things that I couldn’t quite figure out. There were also flowers, a couple of bags, a makeshift bed on the couch underneath the window, and photos that had to be from Aria. Still a little dizzy, I couldn’t quite make them out, but I knew I would one day trace my fingers over all of them. Because those were Aria’s. What she saw. What she wanted me to see.
Below them were hand drawn colorful pictures I knew had to have come from the kids. All of the Montgomery children who were starting to multiply.
My damn family had left their mark on this room, and I had no idea how long I had been here. I didn’t even know if my blood family had visited me. But they didn’t matter.
It had taken me a long time to realize that—almost too long—but in the end, my family was here. Including the man who was practically my brother in a twistedway. Lex stood over me, plastic cup of water in his hand.
“It hasn’t been that long, really. We just threw the photos and things up an hour ago or so because we needed something to do with our hands. Okay, I’m going to get you some more water, and then I’m going to get the others. Because if I don’t, I’m going to have to deal with all of the Montgomerys. And they may be my family, but I’m frightened of them.”
A tear fell down his cheek, and I smiled before nearly dropping the cup. Lex took it away from me and shook his head.
“I think I saw in one of those TV shows if you have too much you could throw it up. I’m not sure. This is why I need a professional.”
“Who the hell are you talking to?” Sebastian asked as he walked into the room. He froze as he looked down at me, before a wide smile covered his face, and he clicked his tongue ring against his teeth. “Well damn. You’re a sight for sore eyes. I’m going to go get my sister before she escapes our parents’ clutches. They’re trying to feed her right now after we hosed her down in the shower that the hospital let us borrow after she checked out. That girl would not leave your side. Not that I blame her. If Raven was the one in that bed, hell, I would have done the same.” Sebastian shuddered, and Iknew exactly what he was thinking of. Marley. The woman that he had loved and who had died in childbirth. No wonder Aria had been so worried about Sebastian being there. Aria’s twin tilted his head. “So, you were awake for that.”
I hadn’t even realized I’d said that out loud. I clearly wasn’t all here yet. I shook my head and immediately regretted the action. “Not really. But I thought I heard voices.”
