Claim My Heart

Chapter 3

I had seen and experienced the sudden death of a family member before, but it had been distant enough for me that I still hadn't fully confronted the idea of mortality. Never even thought that I would have to. At least not so soon. 

I hadn't meant to turn into a person who felt invincible, but here I was completely blindsided by the fact that someone I loved, someone who was too young to be close to death, was barely clinging to life. 

I was pacing around the waiting area like a caged animal when Avi walked in. I could tell from his red-rimmed, puffy eyes that he had been crying. I felt my own eyes burn when I saw him walking towards me, looking shocked and defeated. Don't cry, I chanted in my head. Don't cry, don't cry, don't—

Avi held out his arms for a hug, and I happily obliged by closing the distance between us and wrapping my arms around him. I gritted my teeth and willed myself to not break down. 

"This can't be happening, " Avi mumbled, his voice wobbling. "Not to him." 

"I can't believe it either," I mumbled, pulling away. 

"How are you handling all of this?" I heard Ash ask from beside me, her hand rubbing comforting circles on my back. "You've been comforting us, but you've hardly said anything." 

"I'm fi–" 

"Don't say that you're fine, " Ash interrupted me. "I swear to God, I'll smack you." 

I blinked at her and took a moment to process the question, realizing with a start that I honestly didn't know. How the hell was I feeling? My mind didn't give me much of an answer in reply. The truth was, I was still in shock. I just couldn't feel anything else. 

"Somehow it doesn't feel real. I'm here, in this hospital and looking at him hooked up to all those machines and yet I–" I broke off a wave of emotion taking over me. I shook my head. "It doesn't feel real." 

Avi nodded, his brows knit together in concern. "How bad is it?" 

I took a moment to explain the damage, feeling my chest constrict every time their faces fell a little bit more with each injury listed off. 

"They have him heavily sedated for now, but they will ease up on it once the brain swelling goes down to see if we're dealing with any sort of permanent damage. All the scans look okay, but we won't know for sure until they can get him awake and talking." 

"Not to sound rude, but why are they letting you make the decisions for him?" Avi asked. 

"I told them I was his only blood relative in town, and since his parents aren't here, they've deffered to me. They've essentially let me decide who can or cannot see him." 

"Just like that!?"

"I guess...but also last night, Neil's dad transferred some funds to my account, to cover all the expenses until they got here and spoke to the doctors about it. So I think that helped my case too."