Done For

Chapter Thirteen | But

"Nick, please!"

That was the first thing he heard as he slowly gained consciousness. God, his head was pounding.

"Goddamn it Nick. Wake up."

He heard sobbing. Who was it?

"Please...."

As the voice softened, he recognized it as Addie. His eyes slowly opened as he groaned.

"God fucking damn it, you scared me so much," The younger said as she grabbed his hand. "You've been out for a couple days."

He only panicked at her words. A couple days?

"It couldn't..." Nick muttered.

"You suffered a nasty blow to the head. Sal and Tommy dragged you down the path. It freaked Ashlie out," Addie told him. "It freaks me out.."

Nick's face fell. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I've been able to watch over you. The person had left a note while I was sleeping last night that he would at me stay here for another week or so and would give you a couple days after you woke up," Addie explained as absentmindedly rubbed the back of his hand.

"They need to give you more than that. What if you're hung again?" Nick muttered.

Addie only shushed him. "You need real sleep." She told him. "We've got some painkillers. Here." She grabbed the water bottle and bottle of pills before giving him the water and putting his usual dose in his hand. "It should help you sleep as well."

Nick was silent as he took the medicine and water, quickly swallowing them with a full of water. "Thanks."

Addie gave him a soft smile. "Get some sleep." She pat his shoulder before standing with a small grunt of pain. "I'll be back later with some food. The others should be back."

She exited the room, shutting off the lights as she stepped out. She only let out a sigh before slowly making her way down, quietly grunting with each step.

As she reached the bottom, the familiar sound of the door opening was heard. "Thank God, you're back." She smiled as she looked up and saw everyone, all seemingly alright. "Nick's woke up, but I put him back to bed. I'm glad everyone's-"

"Adeline, stop for a second," Ashlie softly said. Her words made Addie nervous. Ashlie never used her real name. "Get some water." Addie did so without question.

As she walked into the kitchen, she heard soft whispers from Ashlie and Cory. What happened? Only a moment later, she returned to the living room. She was thrown off at the sight of Cory sitting beside Uni. She handed the bottle to Ashlie either way.

"Uni, I'm okay," Cory murmured softly. "I swear I am. Squeeze my hand, my face, my arm. It's me."

"Cory, I saw you," Uni's voice was quiet and shaky. "You were-" He choked on his words.

"Uni please," Cory's voice was near begging. "It's me." He softly took his friend's hand before placing it in his. "This is real. I swear."

"It can't."

"Uni, it is. I'm Cory. You're best friend since second grade."

"But you were dead."