❝ Give me ten days. Until Christmas, to give you ten reasons to not die, ten reasons to show you that life is worth living. ❞
They first met in a dark alleyway.
The catch? The gun in his hand, pointed at himself.
Ten days until Christmas; ten days...
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???
Black. All she could see was black.
Nothing felt quite real. She knew was upset about something, but all she felt was emptiness. Like there was a deep, dark abyss within her. Something was missing from her heart. Something important.
If only she could remember.
Her surroundings were nothing more than barren darkness all around. Her feet found nothing solid beneath, as if she was floating in an inky black ocean, extending infinitely in every direction.
She couldn't tell if her eyes were open or closed, she couldn't remember who she was; she couldn't do anything. She felt like she was underwater. Everything was murky and muffled, and she felt completely immobile.
Then, suddenly...
A light.
Shining white and cutting through the darkness in all its sparkling splendor, so bright, it blinded her. She could feel a pair of hands holding onto her arms and she braced herself.
And in a movement too fast to even comprehend, she was being pulled up by someone. Up and up she went, until the light was almost close enough to touch, and she broke the surface of the water with a gasp.
1:19 pm
Azura jolted awake with a gasp. Panting, she sat up, the bright lights piercing her vision. She squinted, trying to take in her surroundings which, at the moment, were nothing more than shapeless blurs.
She heard a loud gasp, and a small shriek of elation come from her left. With a little difficulty, she managed to make out the blurry silhouette of her best friend standing next to her, a concerned expression on her face.
"What happened?" Azura croaked, her voice dry and raspy. She groaned, and clutched her pounding head in her hands.
"Oh, Azura," Jess sighed, her hands flying to her forehead. She looked as if she hadn't seen a wink of sleep in days.
Azura's eyebrows furrowed with distress and confusion. "What's wrong? Wait, am in a hospital bed?! Oh my God, wha-"
Suddenly, the memories of last night came flooding in. They swirled around too fast for Azura to even comprehend, and her head pounded ceaselessly, trying to make sense of everything. She started piecing them together, all the good ones, the bad ones, until...
"Jordan!" she gasped, her eyes widening in alarm. "Is he alright? Where is he?!"
She was growing desperate now, needing to know that he was alive and safe. She longed to hear some happy news; it was Christmas after all. Was it too much to ask for just one miracle this year?
Azura glanced over at Jess. She was standing frozen, fidgeting slightly with the hem of her sweater. Her expression was... worried?
"Jess..." Azura bit out, fisting the sheets in frustration. "What. Happened." Her worry was turning into anger, her desperation into pain. Her head was throbbing, and she was ready to puke her guts out, but she didn't care.
