What Doesn't Kill You (Sequel to Your Secrets Safe With Me (Brallon))

How It's Going to Be

(a/n: I'm having a little Valentines writing marathon, go check my announcements for more info)

"Brendon he is going to be fine, he is always fine." Pete tried to calm me as I paced back and forth across the waiting room.

Five steps this way. Turn around. Five steps that way. Turn around. Repeat.

I was driving Hannah crazy with my pacing, but it kept me calm. Four and a half hours had gone past since they took Dallon in for an MRI. The bleeding in his head had gotten worse and he had stopped breathing on his own. They were trying to figure out what had caused all of this, they think that the ribs weren't healing properly and were digging into his lungs. They also said the bleeding was common, just usually it wasn't this bad. The nurses had informed me that they were trying to slow the bleeding and get him breathing again, right now they had him on a respirator.

"Brendon, it's nearly midnight, can you just try and get some rest?" Mother Hannah asked calmly.

"I need some fresh air." I mumbled almost inaudibly before b-lining for the door.

It was nice outside at this hour, by now most of the night life had calmed and the street lights dimmed, so if you squinted hard enough you could just make out some of the stars. My mind went back to the night we stopped in a hotel in the middle of Texas, in a town called Waco.

"Brendon grab the sheets off the bed." Dallon yelled at me as he threw mini wine bottles and other small snacks into a pillow case.

"Dallon is this really a good idea." I laughed as I jerked the sheets from the mattress.

"Yes, the stars here are going to be way prettier than the ones back home, even the ones in the field." He said in a smart-alecy tone.

"Okay, but you better have constellations pulled up on your  phone cause if we're doing this, we are doing this right." I giggled, wrapping the sheets around my body like a toga and following the taller man out of the room.

We went to the back staircase and climbed up five flights, laughing like children not afraid of getting caught. When the last door of the staircase opened up to a dark, starlit sky I was at a loss for words. Apart from the man holding the door for me, it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

I laid the sheet down in the middle of the roof and sat down with the love of my life, curling into him while he opened two mini bottles of wine. There were so many stars out, it was like someone had thrown glitter onto black paper. It was then I realized there were practically no street lights, there was no city in the distance, or psycho tourist attractions. Just a necessary amount of stoplights and stars lit the town.

"I you look a little to the left of the moon and look for three stars close together, you will be looking at the belt of the great hunter, Orion. In Greek mythology, Orion was a great hunter that pissed off the Earth goddess, Gaia. Gaia sent a scorpion to defeat Orion, and when the great hunter realized that his weapons were useless against the scorpions armor he fled into the sea. Apollo, the god of the sun, tricked his twin sister, Artemis, the goddess of hunting and my favorite of the greek goddesses, into thinking that Orion was a terrible villain. Artemis, being the great shot she is, killed Orion with her bow and arrow. When the goddess went to retrieve her kill, she realized that it was her friend Orion and demanded he be honored with a painting in the sky. And of course she got what she wanted, because she's badass and scares everyone." Dallon recited the history as if it were a song he were playing.

When I looked over at him to admire the way the stars light up his amazing jawbone, I realized he wasn't looking at his phone. He had just known the entire story behind the hunter in the sky and badass goddess.

"You're such a nerd." I joked, nestling my head into the crook of his neck.

I looked up at the night sky and found the three stars that made up Orion's belt. I couldn't help but feel like we were like Artemis and Orion. It was my fault Dallon was in this situation, in the same way it was Artemis' fault that Orion died. Anxiety and fear were represented by the scorpion that caused the great hunter to flee into the ocean. The only thing different this time was Dallon had a chance to live, it wasn't much, but it was a chance.

The only thing that made me wonder was, if Dallon died would his portrait be painted in the sky? Would he be honored like the great hero he is? I took one more glance at the dim stars of Orion's belt, they weren't nearly as bright as they were back on the rooftop in Texas. Almost as if they were sad. I held tight to the memory of Dallon's star lit face and the happy stars.

"Brendon, they have news." Hannah had appeared in the doorway.

I nodded and followed her back to where a nurse was waiting patiently with a calm, soothing expression. I still didn't understand how a nurse could be under so much pressure, but still always be calm. Taking a deep breath, I nodded to let her know I was ready for the news.

"I must apologize, I come with not the best news. When they gave Dallon the medication to stop the bleeding, he had a reaction to it and now there is swelling in his trachea. His breathing is irregular and it is becoming hard to get the oxygen to his lungs. They are working on getting a different medication , but most of them have similar chemicals that could've caused the reaction. I'm sorry I couldn't bring better news." The nurse kept her voice calm.

Breathe in. Breathe out. I couldn't think. The only thing that went through my mind was the story of Orion and Artemis. I didn't want the story to come to its inevitable end. Not yet, not before I say good bye.