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ARROW

*

I had fucked up. I had fucked up so bad. I had pushed Raine so far away that I had absolutely no chance of winning her back. The coffee she had splashed at me- I deserved every single liquid ounce of it.

She was right. I was a dick. That night, I hadn't slept. Not even a wink.

There wasn't anything I could do to occupy my mind. Merrick had suggested I get out but I had cut the call- I couldn't even listen to him. My head spun with every step I took from the lack of sleep and everything hurt.

A few days after our spat, I visited the hospital again after finishing my classes and homework. I probably shouldn't be driving- not with the black spots sporadically appearing in and out of my vision repeatedly. I had been gearing on ten cups of coffee a day and I still felt like someone was sucking out all the energy in my body with a vacuum.

I made it up to my mother a few moments later. She looked up from her computer and turned to me, her eyes widening. Mom walked up to me and reached up to brush my hair out of my eyes. "What happened, mi hijo?" When was the last time you slept?"

I stepped away from her hold. "I'm fine, Mom." I moved around her and as I walked into Prim's room, I heard her sigh and mutter something under her breath.

Prim looked unusually pale- more pale than she usually was. Her hair was tied into a curly bun at the top of her head. She was reading something.

"Hey," I murmured, taking a seat at the edge of the bed. "What are you reading?"

She looked up as if she had just realized I was there. "Wuthering Heights. Call me classic, but Emily Brontë is just mwah."

I smiled halfheartedly. "We need to get you some new books. You've read that book one too many times."

Prim looked at me strangely. "What?" I asked, but I knew what was coming.

"You haven't slept in days. You look like a pirate."

I cursed. She could read me better than Wuthering Heights. "I've slept just fine."

Prim raised an eyebrow. "C'mon, tell me. Is it a girl?"

I sighed. "Yeah, actually, it is."

Genuine curiosity skated across her face. She set her book down and rested her chin on her hand. "What happened?"

"Nothing," I mumbled, standing up to stretch. "Is there anything you need?"

She eyed me warily before nodding. "Yeah. Can you get me some of that sugar free apple juice from down below? Oh, and the chocolate pudding cups." My eyes flitted to the three discarded cups in the trash can. Snickering, I kissed her head before leaving the room.

When I got back ten minutes later, the book was across her lap, turned to page further from where Prim was reading. It would piss her off. Her eyes were closed, her arm dangling off the cramped hospital bed. Sometimes, I would lie next to her and wake up with aches in places I didn't know existed.

Sighing, I set down her snacks on the nightstand before gently pulling the book away. I stared at her for a second before sliding my shoes off and softly pulling off her blanket to slip under. Instinctively, she curled against my side and I smiled slightly.

I fell asleep seconds later.

*

Someone was shaking me. My eyes shot open, and the dim light of the room came to view. My mother was standing above me. "Ma?"