Shards of Memory [English - Under Revision]

Chapter 15: Aftermath

Blaise's Point of View

Voices first. A blur of noise. Laughing, mocking, trading insults across the room. Twelve tones, overlapping and alive. My crew. My brothers. And the newer ones—Ryder, Harice, Chase, Tim, Dalyn—blended in like they'd always been there.

I lay still, listening. I wanted to move, to prove I wasn't a corpse, but every muscle screamed. My body was lead, stitched with fire. Even the air hurt.

Sky.

Her name cut through everything else.

Sky.

The monitor at my side sped up, beeping like it knew.

My hand twitched. My eyes cracked open.

"F**k—he's awake!" Sacha's voice cracked. Panic filled the room, chairs scraping, bodies rushing.

I tore the cables off, each one burning my skin. My chest heaved.

"Blaise, stop!" Harice shouted.

I shoved off the bed, staggered to my feet. The floor swayed, the walls spun, but I gritted my teeth and pushed forward.

"Sky," I whispered.

Brent's hand clamped my wrist. The others blocked the door.

"Let go! I need to see her!" My roar broke, raw and desperate. "Damn you—let me out!"

The door burst open. A nurse with a syringe. The sting of a needle. Black swallowed me whole.

⸻

When I woke again, the storm had dulled. The drugs made me heavy, but my head was clear enough.

Across the room, Chase hunched on the couch with his phone. Dalyn sat near the window, his shoulders tense. Limetheo was in a wheelchair, his neck braced, scars still fresh across his face. He picked at a tray of food, smirking faintly despite everything, like only he could.

They turned when I spoke. "Where are the others?"

Silence. Their eyes widened like I'd come back from the dead. Limetheo froze mid-bite, Chase straightened, Dalyn's laugh cut off.

Then they scrambled toward me, too slow for my liking.

"You okay?" Limetheo asked, smirk tugging at his swollen face.

"Don't act dramatic. That's gay," I muttered flatly.

He smirked wider. "Yup. You're fine. That's the Blaise I know."

I exhaled, annoyed. "Answer the question."

"They're in Sky's room," Chase said.

I shifted to stand, but Dalyn cut in. "Don't tell me you're gonna repeat the stunt from earlier?"

I smirked. "No. I just want to see her."

Chase slid under my arm to steady me. Dalyn wheeled Limetheo after us. We stopped at the fourth door down the hall.

Dalyn's hand tightened on the chair. "No hard feelings," Limetheo muttered.

I pushed the door open.

The boys were gathered in a circle around the bed. My crew. The new ones. Together. They'd been visiting every day—bringing food, games, noise to drown out the silence of hospital walls. It was weird at first, seeing Ryder sitting next to Brent, or Tim laughing at one of Sacha's dumb jokes. But after a week of shared halls and sleepless nights, it didn't look forced anymore. It looked real.

Brent turned. "Finally. You've been out a week, sleeping beauty."

I ignored him. My eyes locked on her.