Ending Innocence (boyxboy)

Chapter Sixteen

If you're on your own in this life

The days and nights are long

When you think you've had too much of this life to hang on

Luca’s POV.

I don’t know why it’s so difficult to breathe. Maybe it’s because seeing my beautiful, strong sister lying on the floor after falling down the stairs is more than I can handle. Maybe it’s because in the back of my head, I think it should be me lying there. Not her. Either way, I don’t know how I manage to pull out my cell phone and call for an ambulance, but I manage to do so without tearing my eyes away from her. It only takes a few seconds for someone to answer, but to me, it feels like decades.

“911 what is your emergency?” The voice on the other end says.

I don’t know how I manage to speak, but within a few short minutes I’m hanging up the phone and waiting for an ambulance. I don’t move Aria – the operator told me not to – but I do hold her hand and talk to her. Trying, and failing, to make her wake up. But she doesn’t shift at all. In fact, if I were a doctor, I would say she looks tense. Almost as if she’s actually conscious but unable to wake. Her skin is warm to the touch and she’s sweating, her face displays the discomfort she’s in.

After a few more minutes of waiting, I remember to leave the door open. With everything that’s going on around me, I don’t suppose people would blame me for forgetting the door. But it would be my fault if the ambulance missed up because I still had the door closed. It’s already my fault that she’s like this on the floor; people would have noticed if it weren’t for me. I need a babysitter according to most people, and because of that, people fail to notice when others around me are sick. Aria being one of them. I should have said something different or called across the street when I noticed her looking pale.

“Luca? Angel, what’s going on?” Caden asks.

I look around and see his eyes going to Aria. At the same time, the paramedic’s arrive and push their way inside. Caden grabs me and pulls me away from them. I’m not able to speak. They ask me questions, but it’s too much of a blur for me to answer them. Guilt gnaws at me. I want to break down and cry. Why is everyone putting me before everything else? This is the result of that and no one is to blame but me.

“Shh… Angel, listen to me a minute.”

My whole body trembles when the lift her onto the stretcher and remove her from the house. Not even thinking about it, I break free from Caden’s arms and follow them. Neither paramedic seems to care about it, so I hop up into the ambulance with Caden following behind me. I hear him speak to someone. But the voices are dulled out of my head. Nothing is doing what it should be doing. I’m just trying to concentrate on my sister and I’m not too worried about the rest of the world. My voice finds me again when it’s time to start talking to Aria. I don’t want others to do it, she’s want me to be the one talking to her.

“I’m here, Ari. I’m sorry, so, so sorry.”

“Shh, angel. It’s not your fault,” Caden’s soft voice whispers in my ear. “She won’t blame you, calm down now.”

I allow him to wrap his arms around my waist and pull me in closer to his hard body. “I’m so sorry this happened, Ari. Please don’t die. Please.” I can’t stop myself from chanting it over and over again. I just need to know she’ll be okay and nothing bad is going to happen to her. Is that too much to ask for? Why can’t they do that to me instead? I’m the one who’s always wanted to die. Aria never mentioned death the way I did before. Now she’s the one who’s sick, maybe dying, and I can’t do anything to stop it. If there is a God, he doesn’t mind playing cruel games with people. He’s hurting people who, normally, would never intentionally hurt another living person.