𝐈𝐍𝐊 - JAMIE CAMPBELL BOWER

27

     The seconds seemed to freeze.

The trees withheld their sway, the birds their chirp, the wind its song.

Jamie could not even find the strength in himself to breathe.

How could he when air had lost its value, words had lost meaning, and Jamie had lost his purpose? He placed a trembling hand where his pulse should have been and wondered if he would ever feel alive again.The earth had stopped spinning as sure as his heart had stopped beating.

Fluorescent lights burned down on his pale skin and his feet tapped anxiously against the tile. There was the smell of antiseptics and rubber gloves that lingered through the air. Other families waited in the chairs nearby, and none of them looked exactly happy. This was not a happy place.

Tom and Jamie had been at the hospital for hours. The doctors had not let either of them inside. They sat and waited with their heads in their hands, their hearts in their throats. Jamie found quickly that he hated hospitals.

Tom called your parents shortly after arriving. Right now, they were at your bedside weeping silently to themselves. Your mother watched as you slept, clutching one of your hands with her own. Your father, held the other, hopefully waiting for you to wake.

All it had taken was a second to turn your whole world upside down.

"I should have paid closer attention," Jamie mumbled to himself. "I knew she was stubborn but I didn't think she would actually—"

"Stop." Tom shakes his head, a stern clench in his jaw as he held back tears. "There's no sense in blaming yourself, it wasn't anyone's fault. It was just... bad luck," he said dejectedly.

Jamie frowned. Tom was bouncing his legs nonstop, his eyes were unfocused and absent, and his breathing was shaky. His best friend was in the hospital and there was nothing he could do. There was nothing either of them could do.

Jamie played the situation in his head over and over again. There were millions and millions of outcomes, but of course, he had to wind up with one of the worst. He wonders what could have gone differently, how he could have prevented this.

It didn't help much. He was still in the hospital. You were still apart from him.

Jamie sighs and runs his fingers through his hair. He was running out of time.

"I can't do this any longer," he whispers. "I need to see her, now."

"You will," Tom says. "Just a little while longer."

"How much longer is a little longer?" he asks sourly.

Tom doesn't answer. Tom doesn't know.

It's another day before they see you again

✧ ˚ 　· 　　 .

You wince as you try to sit up in bed. A sore pain ricochets throughout your body and leaves you out of breath. Thankfully, you weren't terribly injured, save for a broken arm and a few scrapes and bruises. There was also a dull ache in your head, but you could not tell if it was from the accident or your overwhelming thoughts.

You still had not told your parents that you had broken up with Xander. With the accident and all, it was hard to find a place to tell them. Your stomach turned at the thought of how they might react.

But, at the same time, you had not done it for them. You had done it for yourself and you needed to keep that in mind. You were living for none other than yourself and if they could not accept that, it was not your problem.