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"I-Why didn't you save me? I thought you would protect me."
And just like that, everything inside me shatters because she's right. I should have saved her...I told her I would protect her. I didn't.
"Eve..." There's nothing I can say. I failed, and the love of my life paid the price. She is dead because of me.
"He said you weren't coming for me, b-but I never gave up hope." Her chin dips to her chest, but what has me stepping forward is the way her cheeks started her pale and how the skin around her eyes began to purple before I lost sight of them.
"Are you really here?" Each word out of my mouth feels like sandpaper. This makes no sense. She's here and talking to me...but what she's talking about makes this all a contradiction.
"I-I fell. I couldn't catch myself that time, and n-nobody was there to help me." Still not looking at me, she takes a step back, making my anxiety fucking grow. I don't care if this isn't real; hearing her...seeing her is all I have ever wanted.
She can't leave me again!
"I thought you loved me." Just like the footage we watched of her in that alleyway from when Kyle kidnapped her, she steps back on the leg she broke when she fell from the cliff.
Lurching forward, I go to catch her before she can hit the ground, but I'm too slow to break the fall. Leg snapping, her body crumples without a sound of pain from her parted lips. Making it to her side, I can't help the horrified gasp that escapes me at her glassy eyes and bruised body beneath me...just like the day she died.
"Eve? Eve! Come back to me! COME BACK TO ME RIGHT FUCKING NOW!" Gagging on a sob, I push past the tremors and trauma beating me from the inside. "EVE! Baby, please, I need you. PLEASE!
"Korren!" The shock in Nolan's voice when I throw myself out of the chair and onto the ground is background noise to the thundering of my heartbeat.
"Eve," my cry is a broken whisper as I double over on my knees. A touch to my back makes me flinch, but the sound of my brother's voice makes me lift my head.
"Hey, it's just me. You were having a nightmare."
A nightmare? Shaking my head, I try to clear out some of the fog confusing my mind. Taking a look around me, I find a row of crappy hospital chairs and white walls surrounding us. Below me is white tile, and the smell that can only be found in hospitals tingles my nose.
Realizing where I am, I ignore the stares of the random people around us and look at my brother. Dirty and tired, Miri crouches in front of me, his dark skin wrinkled from frowning.
"Fuck," I mumble, pushing myself to my feet. "How long was I asleep for?" I avoid eye contact with him, still shaken by the dream.
"About forty-five minutes," Ryan states methodically, all traces of emotion leached from his ashen face. Shooting a look at Nolan, I see he is already looking at Ry, with concern etched into his features.
I swallow hard. "Any updates?"
"No," the one-word answer comes from the one who usually cheers us up and comforts our anxieties.
We landed hours ago on the emergency rooftop of the hospital, and there are still no fucking updates.
Before my brother and I could hop out of the helicopter, Eve was already being rushed away into surgery. The fear and anguish at losing sight of her had me attempting to follow, but Amiri held me tight and wouldn't let me go until I calmed down.
The roar that came out of me when the doors closed behind her gurney almost brought the sky crashing down. It was like everything inside me protested, my heart tried ripping itself from my chest, my mind absolutely crumbled, while my body fought its damnedest to protect her.
I don't know how Amiri has been able to stay so strong, but I couldn't be more grateful for him watching over us. He has forced food and water on us, sought out blankets, wet towels to wipe our nasty faces, and anything else we might have needed. I mean, shit, he managed to find us a couple of pillows to use out here.
"She's still in surgery."
"What?" My raised voice doesn't faze Ryan; he just stares blankly ahead. "How the fuck is she still in surgery? It's been hours!" My chest pounds at the implications of her still in there.
"I don't know."
Now his lack of emotion is starting to piss me off. "What the fuck, Ryan?" I ignore Amiri stepping forward and Nolan's murmur to calm down. "No, I will not calm down. He's just fucking sitting there all stoic and monotone while our woman is dying!"
That finally gets a fucking reaction out of him; he cringes at the idea of Eve dying, but it's quickly shut down, and he's back to absolutely nothing. How can he sit there acting like this isn't the epitome of hell?
"Kor-" I cut Nol off. "How do you sit there acting like nothing is wrong?" My volume rises with each word, completely flabbergasted at his lack of emotion.
Still, he doesn't look at me. The rational side of my brain is screaming at me that I'm wrong and he's feeling just as much as we are. While the emotional side of me that feels completely helpless and broken wants to pull the horrendous emotions out of him just so I can feel less alone.
