HEATED // EGD

N I N E

"Naomi," A voice whispered.

My vision blurry, eyes fluttered open as I awoke from my sleep. Ethan's face slowly came into focus. He had been peering over me.

"Thank, God." He muttered. "Nai, I don't know what to do. I'm freaking out!" he spoke rapidly, almost too rushed to understand.

"What happened?" I asked. My voice was groggy from not having had fully awakened yet.

"T-they- They..."

"Hey," I spoke softly as I put my hand on his shoulder, "breathe. There's no rush. What time is it even?"

"T-three in the morning." Three in the morning? Shit. It had to be something serious for him to wake me up in the middle of the night. "N-naomi, I really don't know what to do. This can't be happening. T-they can't do this! It makes it too real, make it stop!"

"Hey." I sat up on the air mattress and held my arms out for him to hug.

Reluctantly, he sat beside me on the air mattress, wrapped his arms around my waist, and rested his head on my lap.

Without hesitation, I placed one hand on his back and with my other stroked his hair.

"They can't do this," he repeated.

"I know, I know," I agreed with him although having zero clue as to what he was talking about.

"If they go through with it, I don't know how I'll make it out alive."

"What happened?" I asked again.

"G-gray's doctors called me. They're giving him six weeks to wake up until they take him off life support. They said after that he'd be considered a lost cause."

"I'm so sorry, Ethan... Why don't you go visit him? I'll be there with you every step of the way. Okay?"

"I can't visit him... The accident was back in Jersey so he is in the hospital in my hometown." He had already become calmer than when he first woke me up. "Besides, seeing him hooked up to all of those machines would be too much for me to handle."

"That's understandable," I nodded, "but wouldn't you like to speak to him? There has been cases where people in comas could hear the people talking to them. There isn't something you wouldn't like to say to him?"

"I couldn't do that, Nai. I'd end up hating myself more than I already do. It would just make everything feel too real."

"It breaks my heart whenever you say that you hate yourself."

He went quiet at that. His arms around my waist were tight but not suffocating. We sat there for awhile just taking in each other's company. I ran the pad of my thumb over the fabric of his black t-shirt and rubbed as a way to comfort him.

I looked down at him and he looked peaceful yet in desperate need of someone all at once as he clung tightly to me.

As much as Ethan and I could relate to each other due to recent events, we were still so different. Our pasts were similar in a sense but, of course, we were different personality wise.

As I looked down at the guy who I've become so close to in the matter of almost a month, I couldn't help but wonder what he was like before the crash. It was no doubt that the crash had taken over his life, but underneath all of the grief and anger... what was he like?

He had this thick wall built up around him and I was curious to know more about him than a recent tragedy of his.

"Nai," he whispered.