Apartment Mayhem

The End of Darkness

         I feel the air flow into me before I cough. Warm water floods out of my mouth. Sounds are slowly coming back in as I hear muffled yelling and sobbing. I force my eyes open and the first thing I see is light. Then I start to focus on the person above me.
         Roman. I drag my hand over to his knee and he looks to me, not focusing on whoever he was yelling at. His face changes from anger to hope to happiness. He speaks to me and I cough again. I get pulled up to a seated position and cough out more water.
         "-it out, let it out," Roman says, patting my back softly again.
        My hearing comes back and I hear car doors slam shut and speed off. I glance up and notice it was Roman's friend's car. I cough some more and look to them all. "We should get him to the hospital," Logan whispers into Roman's ear as he holds Patton close.
       I shake my head in disagreement. I hate hospitals. Roman looks to me then to Logan, "It seems like he doesn't want to."
      "We have to be sure, though," Logan turns to face Roman, "He could have respiratory problems for the rest of his life."
      Roman sighs and wraps a towel around my shoulders, walking me to the car. I climb into the passenger seat and close my eyes. Logan snaps and I open my eyes to scowl at him. "Keep your eyes open," He says worriedly.
       Roman hops in and looks to me, "What would you like to listen to Virgil?"
       I feel for my phone and Patton hands it to me. I hold it out to Roman and he takes it from me with a smile. He plugs it into the aux cord and presses the next song on the playlist. Friend, Please by Twenty One Pilots.
       I feel the awkward tension build. It's a song about a guy trying to save his friend from committing suicide. "Princey get this chariot moving," I say and start coughing.
        He starts driving as I switch the song to something better. I turn and grab Patton's hand. His eyes are puffy and his nose is red as he continues to sniffle. "I'm all good, Patt," I try to console him, but I don't know how well I am actually doing.
        He nods and squeezes my hand back gently. "So, What happened when I was out?" I look to Roman and he looks upset.
        "I'll explain. I was closest...

       Roman was chatting up a storm when he heard Virgil yell. He looked over to the donut floatie to see there was no passenger. His eyes widened and saw bubbles rise to the surface as his friends arose from the water. Scowling at them, he yelled at them before swimming to the bubbles.
         'He should've told us he couldn't swim,' Roman thought as he viciously swam over to the dark aura.
        He took a deep breath before diving into the water where the bubbles stopped appearing. Opening his eyes, he looked for his pale skin while he dove. Frustrated, he forced himself to dive deep until he saw him.
       He would of sighed in relief if he wasn't underwater. He grabbed his hand and dragged him up. Returning to the surface, he pulled Virgil's arms around his neck and swam to the beach. He walked up the sandy terrain and laid Virgil on his red towel.
       Hesitating slightly as the others rushed to the beach, he started performing CPR. Being a ex-lifeguard helped him out with all of this. He heard Logan yelling at his friends as Patton cried on the other side of Virgil.

       "-then I yelled at my friends and that's when you woke up," Roman tells us as he pulls up to the hospital.
       "Great, you kissed me, again." I gripe and hop out, coughing into my towel.
       "Wait-" Logan looks highly confused as I leave the car.
       Roman and Patton lead me into the Hospital as Logan walks in quickly, walking up to the front counter. We sit down and Patton continues to hold my hand. I guess me almost dying shook everyone up. Seems like they all care about me.
       I smile faintly to myself and pat Patton's hand gently. Roman is staring off with his brows knitted together. I guess he's still pissed at his friends. "Give me your phone, Princey," I hold out my free hand to him and he looks to me, confused.
       "Just, let me see it. I need to text someone." He pulls out his phone and hands it to me after unlocking it.
       I open up his messages and look for his friends that came to the beach. I snap a picture of me flipping off the camera and send it with a caption 'I lived, bitch'. I close the app then his phone before handing it back.
       He does seem to be bothered by any of this and slips it away. Logan walks over to us and looks between Roman and I. "Yes, we've kissed. Now shut up." I let him know, looking out a window.
       I hate hospitals. They make me anxious every time I walk into one. I tap my feet against the aluminum flooring as we wait. "We have a few minutes out here," Logan warns me and I nod.
        "I honestly feel fine, Logan. We didn't have to come here." I tell him and he sighs.
        "We just need to make sure you don't have water in your lungs." I get up, walking up to the front desk.
        "Yes sir?" The nurse asks, looking up from the computer.
        "Can you cancel my appointment?"
        "And you are?"
        "Virgil Zander."
        She types a bit then smiles up to me, "your appointment is canceled."
        "Thanks," I head straight out and hop in the car.
        I hop into the passenger seat and watch them walk out. Logan looks furious as he heads to the car, followed by the other two. I roll my eyes and look out of the window. I take my phone and pull on my headphones. I blast the rest of the song and other twenty one pilot songs as Roman hops in to drive us home.

       We get home and I instantly change into pajamas to get comfortable. Roman retreated to his room, same goes for Logan, so it's Patton and I hanging out in the living room. "Everyone seems upset," Patton says, starting up a conversation.
        "Yeah, my fault," I spat and rub my face.
        "No it isn't! Stop looking down on yourself, Virge. Everyone is just worried about you and Logan can be...easily angered."
        "Uhuh, okay," I continue to type on my laptop, quickly finishing up my presentation.
       He walks over to me and I look up to him. "What?" I ask, looking confused.
       "I'm really glad you survived," He sits on the arm of the chair and looks to me, "I don't think we'd all be mentally okay if you had died. Logan would be torn. You're the newest friend he's met. He doesn't know how to deal with his feelings and it would come out as anger. Roman would doubt himself and become quiet. He had someone drown on him before and that's what happened.
        "I would have to be their rock. I'd have to get them back in ship shape. Yet, you're alive! Roman might be distant for a while since it was his friends who almost killed you. Logan isn't angry, he's worried. And I'm glad you're still alive and with us." He smiles and pats my hand.
         Tears fall from my eyes and stream down my cheeks. I set my computer aside, shakily, before hugging Patton tightly. He hugs back, rubbing my back, and I just ball into his shoulder. I'm smiling softly but I'm crying.
         I'm not worthless or a nuisance. I'm a friend and I have purpose. It's to be friends with these three nut-jobs.