If I Stay✔️

73

trigger warning: mild violence, mentions of sa & eating disorder

L E O

7:45AM, Saturday March 18th-

My eyes flutter open, booming, frantic voices disrupting the first peaceful sleep I've had in weeks. I groan groggily, burying my face in Zac's pillow, hoping the soft cotton would some how drain out the world around me and magically lull me back to the abyss I've not long left.

"Where the fuck is he!" Someone screams. Too tired to fully decipher their words, I choose to ignore them instead.

I groan louder as Zac jolts awake. For the love of God, couldn't I have just ten more fucking minutes? Pulling myself from the pillow, I sit up and rest my back against the velvet headboard, balling my hands into firsts as I rub the sleep from my eyes.

When my vision starts to awaken, I turn my eyes to Zac. He's frowning, head tilted to the left as he tries to pick up the conversation from the hallway. "I think somethings wrong." He mumbles, tiredly.

I glance at him, nose scrunching. "No shit."

He rolls his eyes, burying himself deeper under the blankets. "It's Saturday," he sighs, throwing his arm over his eyes. "I shouldn't have to deal with anything this early on a Saturday."

"I feel you," I tilt my head back, closing my eyes as my neck rests comfortably against the velvet fabric. "But if you don't deal with it, then I'm gonna have to listen to it."

"You deal with it then," he suggests, lips barely moving with each jumbled word. I glance at him as more shouts come from the hall. Zac peeks one eye at me from under his arm. "I feel like it's you that they're looking for."

"Beth's going to kill me!"

"It's like seven in the morning. If she doesn't kill you, I fucking will."

We both lock eyes hearing Ace's enraged voice. "I think you're right," I tell him. "They're definitely looking for me." I finish, my eyes falling shut again.

"Leoooo," Zac whines, literally whines. "Please, I'm so tired. I don't want to deal with Ace."

"What makes you think I do?" I mutter out, eyes remaining shut.

I'm too busy grieving the fact that if they hadn't woken me up, I could've slept till the late afternoon, easily. As much as I feel more rested than I have for weeks — maybe even months, dealing with my siblings so early would annoy me to the point of exhaustion.

A point of exhaustion that I don't even think a coma could fix.

Zac's door opens with a slam before either of us can even open our eyes. I feel Zac shift on the bed, snapping into a sitting position; as if he hadn't been trying to drown out their voices with a pillow merely seconds ago.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me." I hear Ace huff, his voice burning with rage. As usual.

"Knock knock." I respond, voice light. My head feels like it's floating between awareness and unconsciousness, my eyes slowly taking me deeper into the drool worthy sleep I'd not long left. Bliss, pure bliss.