I eventually awoke to find myself in a hospital bed. Definitely the kind of thing I can’t afford.

I got up, and walked out of the room, to find a doctor.

“S- Sir, y- you’re awake?”

“Yes. And?”

“It- It’s just so surprising for such a quick recovery. You can even walk… But we strongly advise you not to-”

“Do you happen to know where Lucy is?”

“L- Lucy? Oh, th- the girl from the same building as you… She- she’s in the room a couple rooms down, 207.

I looked back at the number on the door, it said 203.

“Thank you.”

I had to hold myself back from sprinting straight to my destination at the speed of sound.

Although I did just open the door immediately instead of knocking, I was still surprised when Lucy was asleep.

sat by in a chair right by the hospital bed. As long as I could. Until a doctor came in.

“Wh- What are you doing in here? This girl isn’t supposed to see visitors.”

I stared with all my might directly at the floor. I didn’t want to think about the repercussions of what I’ve done.

“Sir you-” As the Doctor spoke, she pulled up my shoulder in a way that made my face visible. She made out that it was me. “Ah. I see. You may have 5 minutes.”

“Thank you.”

I used about 2 minutes in the best way I could. Staring from the floor, to the hospital bed. Until the doctor once again said something.

“It’s surprising that you woke up so soon. You were expected to be asleep just as or longer than the girl right here.”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh. Yes. Yesterday, you were both taken to the hospital, both of you struggled to move by yourselves, and eventually fell. Both of you were recognized to be in a coma. While the girl had underlying health issues that would surely make it a harder recovery.”

“What kind of health issues?”

“Even if I could do that legally, I think it’s better that you hear it for yourself.”

“I understand.”

“Your 5 minutes are up. I’m sorry to say this, but I’m going to have to have you leave the room.”

“Where should I go?”

“You can probably go to the front desk. Explain and they’ll let you go home.”

“Alright. Thanks.”

I eventually arrived home. The door was opened by none other than my mother. She says,

“Apollo! You’re back…” As she slowly lets the tears roll down her cheeks.

“Yeah Mom, I’m back.” I responded calmly, trying to inspire Mom to do the same. But it was never-ending.

“Why did you do that?” She asked, although I was unable to respond. Why did I do that? Right after I saved Lucy, I remember feeling something. Some true reason. But, it seems that has all but vanished. And even at that, why did I immediately rush to Lucy’s room, rather than look after my own health?

So I just stood there, kind of blank faced, and felt my Mother’s arms wrapped around me.

Eventually, I was let in. I ate dinner, although the quiet dinner I was hoping for wasn’t there. Rather replaced by a bombardment of questions.

“Did you know that girl?” or “Was the media all over you?” or even, “Why did you wake up so quickly?”

“Slow down,” I said, “Let’s start with the easy questions. Yes, the media was on me the entire time. It’s now difficult to walk down the street without people clapping randomly. I have no clue why I woke up ‘early’ or even how long I was supposed to be asleep.”

“The doctors said 3 months at best.”

“Thank you! I finally got a concrete number. I woke up much before I was supposed to-” I paused, I thought about what this might mean for another person. One with an underlying condition. How long would it take before I could see her awake?

“Apollo?” Mom said,

“Yeah?”

“I’ve been saying your name for 2 minutes.”

“Really? Sorry, I was staring into space.” Mom looked quite confused, trying to put her mind to work.

I finished my dinner, and said to Mom,

“Thanks for dinner. You’ll find me in my room.”

When I got into my room, I layed down on my bed, pulled out my phone, and started playing music. I put on some lofi, to try to let my mind think, while not prohibiting it.

I knew that I had school the next day, but oddly instead of doing my usual routine to try to get ready for school the next day, I was instead just thinking about going to see Lucy tomorrow.

Why did I accept that offer?

No, I should stop thinking about that and just go to bed.

I got under my covers, and started to drift into a deep sleep that even my alarm clock the next day couldn’t wake me from.