Playing with Fire

e p i s o d e | t h i r t y - o n e (pt. 1)

Where am I?

There's light filtering in through my eyes, though I can't see anything. I hold up a hand to my face to block the bright rays from my vision, but to no avail. I can't move. I can't speak.

Am I dead, or am I dreaming? I rarely dream, but when I do, it's always about the day my mother died. So I can't be in a dream.

So, I'm dead.

Or maybe I'm in some kind of limbo, between life and death, and that's why I can't feel anything right now.

But ... I don't want to die. Not yet.

A heavy pain shoots all throughout my body as my eyes slowly lift open. The white ceiling is unfamiliar, but it tells me that I'm in a room somewhere. I didn't die, after all.

The relief I feel quickly comes crashing down when I attempt to sit up. I glance over at my left arm and realize that it's in a cast. So is my left leg. It's painful to even move.

I turn my head to my right side, curious as to whether I've damaged anything there, when my attention is caught by someone sitting beside my bedside. Her arms are folded on the edge of the bed, while her head rests gently on top of them.

Anna.

For the first time, I finally take a look around the room. I'm inside of a hospital. Light pours in through an open window. Everything is silent.

My attention returns to Anna's sleeping form, and I slowly reach out my hand towards her – just to make sure that I'm not hallucinating.

Before I can even touch her, however, the door to my room swings open, breaking the silence. A woman in a white coat – probably the doctor – walks inside, glances at my awakened state with a satisfied nod, and heads over towards me, her heels clicking against the tile floors. Anna stirs in her sleep and lightly opens her eyes. When she sees me, the drowsiness immediately fades, and she jumps up, before the doctor grabs her shoulders.

"Ah, ah," the doctor says. "Let's remain calm for the patient, please." She looks at me with a clipboard in hand. "It looks like you've finally come to your senses, Mr. Hawthorne. How are you feeling?"

I blink around myself and reply honestly, "Not bad."

"Well, that certainly should be the case, considering how close you came to death." The doctor scribbles something down, and then smiles. "You're very lucky. The tornado narrowly missed destroying your car, thanks to the fact that you landed in a ditch."

Oh, that's right. The last thing I remember is swerving off the road and away from that giant twister.

"From the state your car was in, however, I would have expected you to have passed away, in all honesty." The doctor taps her pen against her chin. "It was as though something was protecting you. You came out of there with a sprained leg and a fractured arm, but other than that ... just minor injuries."

I glance at the casts again. I don't believe in superstitions, but I can't help but thinking that my mom – or perhaps the simple memory of her – was responsible. This suddenly brings back my recollections of Kane, and my heart nearly stops. "What about the other person in the car?" I quickly ask.

The doctor frowns. "I was hoping you'd wait until you were in a more suitable state for asking that question." She lets out a sigh. "Unfortunately, by the time we got to the scene, he had already passed away. He was reported to have flown out of the car and been killed on contact with the ground."

My eyes go down to the floor. I'm not sure what it is that I feel – not remorse, not happiness ... just peace?

"It's all over the news, in fact," the doctor continues. "He was supposedly a criminal on the run. Naturally, the police wanted to question you as to why you were in his car. However, I told them to wait until you were in a more stable condition." She motions to the door. "The injuries you sustained were not extraordinary major, considering your accident, so I'm sure you will be discharged from the hospital within the next day, now that you're awake."

Good. I don't want to stay in here for much longer. My eyes quickly swing over at Anna, who's listening intently to the doctor as though she's my guardian.

"Well, I'll return later with your paperwork," the doctor says dismissively. "For now, stay rested." She heads to the door, before pausing in front of it. "Oh, and just reflect on how lucky you are to have survived."

When she's gone, there's a long silence in the room as Anna just stares at me. I can't meet her gaze, because I can still recall her face when I'd decided to go off with Kane. I'm afraid I'm going to see that same anguish in her eyes again.

To my surprise, however, she asks me, "Are you okay?"

I hesitantly face her. "What?"

Her eyes are brimming with tears, though it's not out of sadness. "I asked if you were okay, you idiot."

I nod tentatively. "Yeah. I'm alive."

Anna hastily wipes her eyes and glares at me. "I can't believe you did that," she says. "I can't believe you just ran off with him because of me. Did you think that I'd appreciate it?"

I just turn away and stare across the room blankly, biting the inside of my lip. "Sorry," is all I can say.

Her eyes soften, and she looks down at the ground. "I thought I'd never see you again."

I finally find the strength to smile, and stroke the top of her head affectionately. "I told you I'd have to put myself in danger to get you to forgive me. Is this always how I'm going to wake up from now on? Because I could get used to it."

"Looks like you're all better from the way you're joking around," Anna snaps, smacking me on the right leg.

I pretend to be in pain. "Ow! What was that for?"

Her eyes widen as she puts a hand on my shoulder. "I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"

I grab her arm and pull her closer towards me, startling her. "Thank you," I say in a hushed voice. "Thank you for always being here."

Anna embarrassedly twists her arm out of my grip and scoots away from me, her eyes shifting around. "Someone could walk in at any time," she grumbles. "That would be embarrassing."

"Oh, so now I'm the one who's humiliating?"

She shrugs. "I'm just being bitter because you left me."

I raise an eyebrow. "Oh, really? And what about that other time that you decided to leave me?"

Her shoulders tense for a minute before she finally lets out a resigned sigh. "So, we're even?"

I give her a mischievous smile. "For now."