~Sokeefe Forever (Part 1)~

~Chapter Eight~

(Happy Easter by the way, guys. Sorry, I just wanted to lighten the mood...)

(Keefe's POV)

"No. She has to come back." Keefe whispered. "I can't..." His voice cracked and he cleared his throat. "I can't live without her." Thankfully, Grady and Edaline didn't seem to hear, but Biana definitely did.

"Does she know that you...?" Biana's question trailed off when Keefe shook his head. "Oh."

Suddenly, a nurse came rushing into the waiting room with a clipboard. She smiled at Grady and Edaline. Their expressions completely changed when the nurse said, "We got her heart to start again. You'll be able to see her in a couple of minutes. But she's still in her coma, so just make sure you're careful around all of the equipment."

"Oh, thank you." Edaline whispered, hugging the nurse. She looked shocked for a moment before gently hugging her back. 

"No problem. You can go into room 218 in about three minutes. The doctors just need to clean up." The nurse added.

"Thank you." Grady said this time. She smiled and nodded, and then retreated back to the room to check on Sophie again.

"Can I go see her, too?" Keefe whispered.

"Of course, honey." Edaline replied, pulling Keefe into a hug. "I know today is very rough, but we would never deprive you of seeing your best friend." She glanced at her husband. "Right, Grady?" Grady sighed.

"Right."

"Good." Edaline looked proud. "Now, come on, I think it's been three minutes, don't you?"

"Yeah." Biana agreed. They all went down the hallway slowly, searching for the right room number. It didn't take long, though, and the second Keefe touched the door, he pushed it open and found...

Sophie.

Her face looked so peaceful, and yet... She was covered in bandages. If she were awake, she probably wouldn't be able to move at all. And he was silently grateful that she couldn't feel the pain at the moment.

"She really... She really does have a death wish." Biana mumbled. Edaline rubbed Biana's back to comfort her.

"Yeah." There was an awkward silence. Then Grady and Edaline knelt beside their daughter, whispering things in her ears. She didn't stir, like Keefe had hoped. She just...

She stayed lifeless.

Not the Foster he knew.

A lifeless one.

And that was enough for his knees to give out.

Thankfully, Biana caught him, but the feeling in his stomach couldn't be helped.

And now a gaping hole was opening up inside of him. And he couldn't close it.

Not until Foster gazed up at him with those beautiful golden brown eyes and whispered the words he'd always wanted to hear: "I love you."

"You okay, Keefe?" Grady asked, helping him stand up fully. Keefe blinked and cleared his throat.

"Um, not really, but... It's nothing to worry about." Keefe muttered. Grady sighed, glancing at Sophie and his wife before pulling Keefe out into the hall.

"I know this is a very hard time for you," Grady whispered. "It's a hard time for me, too. But I can tell that Sophie wouldn't want you to worry about her too much. So... Can we try doing that? For her?" Keefe swallowed hard.

"I guess. I just... I wish she would come back. I have so many things I need to tell her. And... If I lost my chance..." Keefe explained. Grady nodded.

"Well, let's go back in there and support her." Grady decided. They both walked into the room again. This time, Edaline was helping the doctor with something over in the corner that he didn't want to know about. He was already super naseous.

Keefe sat down in one of the chairs next to Sophie's bed. And when Grady, Edaline, Biana, and the doctor were looking away, Keefe took a deep breath and prepared himself before he said:

"I love you, Foster. I always will." And then he kissed her cheek and stepped away, running out of the hospital as fast as he could.

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(Sophie's POV)

I didn't know where I was.

I didn't know who I was.

And I didn't know what was happening to me.

"Hello?" Sophie asked in the emptiness of her mind. She couldn't return back to consciousness. It was impossible. She had already tried. But maybe something inside her consciousness would help her get out. "Hello?" She repeated. The words echoed off the sides of her mind. She glanced down at herself.

She was shaped like a Moonlark. Not a Black Swan, like before.

Was something different this time?

"Anyone there?" Sophie asked as she wandered around her consciousness. Suddenly, there was a flash of light below her.

The Moonlark sank down, and Sophie realized, she wasn't the Moonlark. She was riding it.

"Down!" Sophie commanded. The Moonlark followed the light, into a nook of her mind where all of her memories sat.

"Woah." Sophie breathed. She stared at each and every single memory, watching them play out in front of her. But one of them caught her eye, and she stared at that one for several repeats.

Then she realized...

That was the memory of her and Keefe in the janitor's closet in middle school. Keefe had saved her that day, and she hadn't really thought about it.

The next memory that caught her eye was when she had made the bet with Biana about finding a boyfriend. But she never noticed, that in the corner of her eye, Keefe had looked pretty upset.

But why?

Sophie glanced at the other memories with Keefe.

When they were toddlers, when they were teenagers, and then now. Their relationship had always stayed strong. They were always there for the other person. But Sophie had been too blind to see it.

So when she heard those words, "I love you, Foster. I always will." she fought hard to get to the top of her consciousness, and...

She opened her eyes.