Ghost Guardian

Chapter 21

Aaron's POV

I woke up to the sound of his voice. Not Severin's, but Emery's voice. And I didn't know how to feel about that. Part of me has had its closing, feels as if I can move on. The other part of me wishes to hear that heart monitor stop beeping just so that I could see him again.

I will never forget seeing him. Seeing his face, his loving eyes again. Never.

But then I heard Emery's voice, speaking to me from outside the darkness that consumes my conscious. He was talking to me, as if I were awake and aware. As if I could respond.

"Please don't scare me like that again," I could hear his somber voice whisper. And I wondered if he was injured too or if he made it out safely.

"I know you can't hear me right now-" he continued. Think again, I thought. "-and I know we weren't to the point of being in love or anything. Not like you were with Severin, at least. But-" he sighed shakily- "You technically saved my life. You did save my life. And I love you for that, Aaron...So, please don't die."

I could feel my body now. I could hear what he was saying, and I tried to respond, but I wasn't there yet. I couldn't even open my eyes.

"When you wake up, we have to talk. There's- There's so many things that I want to tell you and want to do with you. That is, if you want to stay with me once you wake up. I almost got you killed, and all I did was sit there. I would understand if you didn't want to be with someone you can't depend on," he said, choking on what I assumed to be tears, and I wanted so badly to tell him that it was not his fault. It was Silas's.

Then I felt them- those dry, chapped lips that I have only kissed once. I felt them brush against my forehead.

"Just in case," he mumbled.

Do something, I urged my body. Let him know you heard.

I focused on every muscle. What is the lightest thing I can move?  I wondered. Giving my strength to every corner of my body, I hoped to get at least one twitch out of something. Then, I felt my eyelids flicker. I got a small glimpse of a blurry, bright room. Then they closed.

"Aaron?" I heard him whisper in shock. Do it again, I focused on my eyelids. Giving it all the physical strength I had after dying. I could feel my body awaking from being in use.

They flickered once more, but I didn't get to see anything this time. They didn't open wide enough, but it sparked a movement in my body.

My fingers twitched. And Emery must have seen because he placed his hand into mine.

"Aaron?" he asked again, still not reassured, and squeezed my hand. I pushed with all of my gaining strength to do something, anything else.

Suddenly, my body got a kickstart. I gasped as my lungs inhaled so much air, I thought they were going to burst. My body shook from restarting, coming back into its full conscious state. My mind felt as if someone re-wired it. I could finally feel the pain of my GSW shoot up my torso, like all of the physical control I didn't have before was coming back to me.

I could hear Emery calling for a doctor when my eyelids finally got the strength to shoot open.

"Aaron!" Emery gasped. The world was still blurry, but I could see the silhouette of his head- the purple of his hoodie that he always wore. I felt his hands, like vises, on my shoulder. We both were a bit panicky. Me because I had just basically come back from being dead- him because, well, because I had basically just come back from the dead.