As quick as the door opens, it's shut back ferociously, prompting the ground underneath us to shake. Gray and I pause, staring in silence at each other. Just one look at him and I could tell we both had the same thoughts. If that was my dad, then we were screwed. Gray, more than me.

The silence from the other end only makes my anxiety grow. "Shit," I mutter, kicking Gray away with the sole of my shoe and slamming him into one of the lower cabinets. He grunts in response, too stunned to speak.

"Mr. Kelch! Sheila! What are you doing home so early?" Aaron's loud voice echoes through the house from outside.

Gray rolls his eyes and lets out a small relived sigh. "He's just messing with us."

"Get off my porch," My dad responds, followed by the sounds of keys jingling.

Widening my eyes, I jump off the counter and adjust my clothes. As soon as the door opens, Gray and I stand still next to each other, grinning widely like madmen. Well, I was smiling, Gray, on the other hand, had a straight face.

My dad walks in with Aaron and Shelia behind him, while Chloe runs into the house with Harry on her chase. Chloe is holding an apple watch, raising it upwards, while yelling loudly, "I won it. And I'm not giving Harry." Harry could have easily gotten the watch from her, but he decided to go along with her. He skipped on his feet while she ran with all her strength.

"Give it to your brother, Chloe. I'll buy you a new one," Dad replies, walking after them.

"You're lying!"

"I promise"

"You can just get Harry a new one instead."

Dad ignores Gray and me as he had his hands full with Chloe and Harry. But Shelia stops, eyeing us suspiciously.

"What's going on here?" Sheila asks, gesturing towards the awkward space between Gray and me.

She doesn't even give us a chance to respond before raising her hand to stop us. "You know what, I don't care. The less I know, the better," She nods her head.

"I agree," Gray says, mimicking her head gestures and I nudge him with my elbow. Sheila glares at him before following my dad upstairs.

After our parents are out of ear's reach, Aaron leans over the counter to whisper to us. "In the kitchen? Really?" he raises an irritated brow.

He stares at us in a demeaning manner, his eyes staring us down. "You might wanna let that load off," he nods towards Gray's bulge.

I feel myself heating up from embarrassment. We were this close to getting caught by our parents.

"Why are you here?" Gray rolls his eyes, adjusting his trousers.

"I wanted to check up on you, but it seems like you were getting a real treat. I don't even know why I bothered," Aaron snorts, reaching for an apple. He stops midway, retracting his hands. He eyes us once again.

Thankfully, my phone rings, preventing me from having to put up with Aaron's drama.

"It's just an apple, dude," Gray shakes his head.

Aaron crinkles his nose and shakes his head. "You'd be surprised how nasty people can be."

"I'm not on your level yet."

"In the fucking kitchen, bro," Aaron responds dryly.

"Hey, Ash," I speak into the phone, turning away from the guys. They were just going to keep on arguing about who was nastier and pretending they didn't wish it was the other.

"Hey, how is Gray? Did you guys find him?"

I smile as I spin my head to Gray as he pretends to punch Aaron, stopping his arms in the air.

"Yeah, he's fine. And Zyair?" I frown. I instantly felt guilty about what I had been doing with Gray a few minutes earlier, knowing fully well of Zyair's dilemma.

"Still the same," she sniffs. "Can you please get me some clean clothes tomorrow?"

I nod my head even though I knew she couldn't see me. "Definitely."

She ends the call without saying a word. I turn my attention to the bickering boys.

"We are going to see Zyair tomorrow, " I say, but it was more of a command.

"But I have this meeting with Kayden," Gray objects.

"It can wait."

"But it's-"

"You can't keep refusing to visit Zyair just because you feel bad. If you feel bad, you're supposed to stay there every day till he wakes up, not run away. Now, I don't care what you have going on tomorrow. Cancel it," I say firmly. The dismissal was so evident in my voice that Gray didn't try to object again.

"I'm staying over at Elliott's house, so I will meet you guys there," Aaron replies, and I nod my head.

"As long as you're there."

~~~~~~~~~~

When Gray and I get to the hospital, Ashley is the only one in the room. She's lying on the sofa, face-up with her arms around her chest, snoring. Although the dissonant beeps from the machines- connected to Zyair- nullifies her light snores, one could still hear them during the split second the machine takes to make another peep.

I wondered if she had gone home at all since I left. This was the first time I've seen her sleeping so peacefully since the accident.

"Shhh," I turn to Gray, raising my hands to my lips.

"I didn't even say anything."

"Shhh," I cautioned at his loud voice.

"I wasn't even loud."

Shaking my head, I ignore him and walk towards Zyair. Gray dawdles behind me, hiding. I shift to the left to allow him to see Zyair, but he follows my movement instead. It was like I was dropping a baby off at preschool for the first time.

"Are you still too scared to look at him?" I spin around, resting my hands on the cold metal of the bed handle.

Gray shakes his head, closes his eyes, and takes a deep breath.

"It's not your fault, Gray. You didn't hit him with the car," I place my palms on both his cheeks, forcing him to look at me.

"You say that, but I don't know if I can believe it."

"I could leave the room if you need some privacy," I offered.

Gray shakes his head. He takes a deep breath and steps away from my shadows. As Gray stands in silence, my eyes trail over Zyair's face for the first time. His lids were closed. His body was as still as stone, yet warm. And he looked peaceful, like a baby resting.

"Hey, buddy," Gray struggles to speak, nudging Zyair's shoulder with the back of his hand. "Tomorrow's Wednesday...uh.. Nachos!....It's nachos day at the cafeteria.....Your favorite..." He stops and stares down at the ground, jamming his hands in his pockets. "I think... Or is it Pizza? It kinda seems like everything is your favorite. Oh! And.."

"Uh...Ashley hasn't taken a bath in a while... So uh... If you'd wake up and scold her... That would be nice too," He laughs bitterly, his pain seeping through the laugh. He just keeps on rambling about things randomly.

He squeezes his hands tightly, taking in a ravaged breath when he's finally done. He runs his finger through his hair, pulling at it. "I'm sorry, man" His voice breaks at the end.

"I'm really. Really sorry. You...," He cuts himself off. Trying to suppress his tears, he lets out a frustrated grunt from the back of his throat, raising his head upwards. "You don't deserve any of this."

A solemn tear falls down my cheeks, and I look away, wiping my tears with my palm. The fear of Zyair not waking up was becoming a reality quicker than I expected. I couldn't imagine how our lives would be without him. I didn't want to. Zyair was like the colors in the rainbow, you know. Without him, there would be no rainbow.

We can't have Aaron or Gray as the funny ones. That would be a shit show. But most importantly, we needed him alive to live his life for himself. He hasn't even gone through a quarter of his years yet. It can't be over.

Gray is clutching onto the sheets of Zyair's bed, constantly sniffing like he is trying to suppress his tears. "I'm sorry," he mumbles incoherently, choking on his sobs, repeating the same utterances over and over again.

My attempt at keeping the room quiet goes down the drain as Fawn burst through the door with a loud bang.

Gray's head shoots up, and he rubs his swollen, red eyes vigorously with his palms. "I'll.... I'll be outside."

He doesn't look back and walks past Fawn.

"Did I come at a bad time?" Fawn stops in her tracks, her eyes darting from me to Ashley on the sofa.

Ashley slowly sits up, her cheeks wet with tears. She swipes at her chin and pats her face dry.

"Why are you here?" She turns to Fawn, a dead tone to her voice.

"I brought you guys some practice question. Exams are coming up," Fawn mumbles, raising a paperback note.

Her words spark a flame in Ashley, who stands up, clenching her fist as she strides towards Fawn. Ashley grabs the book from Fawn and slams it on the ground. She proceeds to step on it with her shoes.

"How dare you? Zyair's in a coma, and you're here talking about exams? How the fuck does that help anybody," Ashley yells, an icy glare to her stare.

"I was just trying to help," Fawn's voice is low, clearly intimated by Ashley.

"Don't do anything! Don't come in here pretending to care!"

"I do care!" Fawn yells back. I was a bit taken aback by her outburst. It was the first time I had seen her shout. You know what they say about quiet people.

"But I'm not going to keep my life on hold just because he's in a coma. You staying here doesn't change anything! It won't bring him back!"

Ashley clenches her jaw further, pressing her lips into a tighter line. "He's going to wake up soon."

"Do you even see yourself right now?" Fawn scoffs. "He treated you like shit, but here you are, dropping everything for him. It's pathetic and sad! You're pathetic and sad!"

Her words sting Ashley like a bee, and one could tell from how her body shook with anger. I raise my hand, standing between Ashley and Fawn before things got out of hand.

"That's going too far, Fawn. You guys aren't making things better for Zyair."

"You're taking her side?" Fawn tenses her facial muscles. "She started this!"

"I'm not taking sides. I just don't think you guys should be fighting here."

"I was just trying to be nice," Fawn furrows her brows.

"Who asked you to act nice? No one asked for your fucking help," Ashley rages, widening her eyes.

"Ashley, enough" I warn.

"I'm not here for you. You don't have the right to talk to me that way!"

"I'll talk to you however I want to talk to you, " Ashley argues back, stepping up into Fawn's face.

They both have a go at each other, exchanging words. I raise my hands to cover my ears from their screams, but their voices get interjected by Zyair's machine, beeping at an increasingly alarming rate, rendering everyone silent.

I look to Zyair. He was still lying peacefully on the bed, but the noise from his machine was anything but peaceful.

The doctors come running into the room, pushing past us, gathering at Zyair's bed.

"Oh my God," Ashley raises her hands to her mouth and eyes widen. She runs towards Zyair, but a doctor blocks her path and tries to keep her away.

"Take them out," the doctor next to Zyair commands, and they start pushing us out of the room.

I watch as the nurse hands the doctor a defibrillator and pours some gel on it. "150 joules, charge!" the doctor commands, his tone authoritative. He places the machine on Zyair's chest, resulting in a jolt from his body.

The nurse looks at the monitor and shakes her head. "Inject epinephrine. Charge, 150 joules," the doctor's voice is louder, resonating through the room.

"Zyair!" Ashley screams, tears racing down her cheeks. I wrap my arms around her, preventing her from running again. She stomps her feet on the ground, trying to escape my grasp.

Zyair's mum comes running into the room but immediately faints at the scenery before she could get a word out.

"Someone get them out of here!" a female yells, a frustrated tone to her voice. Some nurses rush in with a bed to carry Zyair's mum out of the room. Ashley's eyes were still focused on Zyair as the doctors struggle to stabilize his vitals. The doctor drops the defibrillator and climbs on Zyair. He proceeds to put his hands on his chest, administering CPR, sweat trickling down his face.

Gray runs into the room and freezes at the door, his face turning a pale white shade. While Fawn just stares in shock.

Ashley was the only one crying out loud, gut-wrenching sobs tearing through her chest.

I barely prayed. I barely went to church. Heck, sometimes I don't believe God exists. But at that moment, I prayed. I made promises to go to church. I said the words I know you exist.

Mid prayers, that when I heard the words.

He's back.

Ashley falls to the floor in a vicious lump, her grief pouring out in a series of tears. I follow suit, feeling the weight being lifted from my chest. Closing my eyes, I wipe my wet cheeks.

"Zyair, can you hear me?" the doctor questions, flashing a torch in Zyair's eyes.

"He's awake?" Fawn asks, rushing towards the bed.

Slowly, I stand and walk towards Zyair. His eyes were dropping, but they were open. He was awake, yet it still felt like he was in a coma.

"What's wrong with him?" Gray asks the doctor.

"I suspect that he's in a vegetative state," the doctor replies, pulling a pen out of his pocket.

"What does that mean?" Ashley asks, still seated on the ground, too tired to move.

"He's awake but can't move," Fawn responds.

"Zyair, please blink twice if you can hear me," the doctor speaks softly.

Zyair blinks twice.

Relieved, I sigh loudly. Maybe, God wasn't that bad.

The doctor runs his pen along Zyair's palm in a synchronized manner. "Blink twice if you can feel this."

We all anxiously wait for Zyair to respond. Fawn squeezes my hands so tightly, almost stopping my blood flow. But I didn't care. I was too happy to feel pain.

Zyair blinks twice.

My insides are pumping with joy at this point, ignoring the harsh way Fawn's nails were digging into my skin.

The doctor moves to Zyair's feet and trails the pen over the sole of his feet, going back and forth. "Blink twice if you can feel this."

Zyair takes his time once again, this time longer than before. When he doesn't respond, the doctor moves to the other foot. "Blink twice if you feel this and take your time."

I squeeze Fawn's hands in anticipation while the doctor kept with the pen on Zyair's feet.

Zyair opens his mouth and struggles to speak, but no words come out of his mouth. His eyes get blurry, laced with frustration.

"Blink once if you can't feel it." The doctor keeps the end of the pen at tracing Zyair's sole outline. Fawn's grip on my hands only gets tighter.

And finally, he blinks. Once.

••••••••••••••

A/n: I hope you guys like this chapter.

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