"Floyd?" Lily spoke up softly.
"Yeah?" He replied.
They sat in the dining room, him at the head of the table and her at his right side, whilst the other chairs were empty. The oakwood table was circular and slightly chipped in places but the table cloth hid that from sight. At the moment, the couple were having supper in their empty house, their children's rooms all vacant.
"Sarah woke up today," Lily said," The smile on Anna's face, I swear my heart sighed like a leaf blower. Goodness knows what would have become of her if something happened to that girl, I know I would be just as hurt."
"Hmm, alright." Floyd answered disinterestedly and Lily frowned.
"That's all you're going to say?" Lily put her fork and spoon down and wiped her mouth," Just a hmm and an 'alright'?"
"Well what do you want me to say? Good for her, I guess." Floyd scooped up a spoon of mashed potatoes with gravy and ate.
Lily looked at him with a tense mouth, her eyes tired and weary," Floyd, the kids have been in a coma for a week and one of them just woke up and you barely react, like it don't matter."
"Well it ain't my kid, so what, should I be dancing?" Floyd scowled," Lucas still under and I still gotta pay the bill for him and Will's girl."
"Is money all you're thinking about right now? All you've been thinking of, not coming to see your own son." Lily spat out with venom," You talking about bills and whining about being a cash cow but ain't nobody told you to cover the bill. Not Anna and not me."
"Oh, so me being human and volunteering to pay means I can't complain? Do I look like I'm made of hundred dollar bills? Do I?" He hissed," You baking your cakes ain't ever gonna cover the mortgage or things we need."
"Oh now you're being crazy and stupid." She retorted and Floyd threw his utensils onto the table, making her flinche.
"What you say? What just passed out your mouth?" He demanded.
"Nothing, nevermind. I was just talking." Lily said fearfully.
"Yeah, that's what I thought. All you ever do is talk." Floyd picked up his fork and pierced his chicken leg," No respect for your husband, just like your son in that hospital. Devil's dancing in his head and you wonder why he's in there."
"Lucas's a good boy, you know that." Lily spoke up in a low voice, her eyes downcast.
"Good boy? Who's good boy? Satan's?" Floyd chuckled without mirth," You remember the magazines we found him reading when he was younger? Oh you do. Call that good? Boy looking at men. Disgusting."
"He went to the preacher and he's fine now." She clenched her fingers under the table and bit her lip," The boy made a mistake, but we agreed to move past it."
"Oh yeah, move past it, hmmm. I'm going to bed." He got up and tossed his utensils on the table and she winced as the fork struck her left shoulder," Clean up this mess, do that one good thing instead of talking nonsense."
Lily's eyes remained downcast until his loud footsteps reached upstairs, and only then did she get up and start to clean the table. Her hands quivered slightly but she moved methodically, actions born from years of experience;
Pick the fork and spoon, place them in the plate, finally drop them in the sink. Take your plate and put it in the fridge so he can have 'leftovers'. Go to the stove, put up a second helping, which counts as your real supper. Eat your food slowly, don't rush it, savour the flavour and give him time to get to sleep. Afterwards, clean the plates, leave the rest for tommorow.
Walk up stairs slowly so your steps don't creek, pass by each door and tap each one gently, softly say each name and then head to the bedroom. Listen in and if you hear snoring, enter and go into your night dress. Take your own sheet and lay on the bed, look at the roof and say the last name;
"Goodnight Lucas." She whispered softly and closed her eyes.
...
The wind slithered into the room from the ajar window, crawling upon my skin and sending a shiver up my spine.
"Ughhh." I groggily woke up and looked around, not knowing where I was.
With mild discomfort I realised I was still on my bed in the hospital room, the smell of disinfectant and wilting flowers in the air punched my nostrils. It must have probably been a few hours after Mom and Mrs Johnson left and I'd plunged into dreamless sleep.
My head turned to the side where Lucas lay still, his chest rising up and down, a sign that he was medically alive.
"Lucas?" I called out softly," You awake?"
I got no reply.
My fingers curled into my palms as I bit my lip, feeling a pit of loneliness that I hadn't felt in a long while. The quiet hum of the people outside the room, in the corridors, did little to make me feel not alone. They were strangers, wanderers with their own things, not my best friend.
"Lucas," I continued anyway," Alot of crazy stuff happened. The cards did something, but I'm not sure if it was a dream or if... I don't know. It was so scary. I met people, strange people, actually I'm not sure if they were people either.
"These people were really crazy and scary. One guy had no eyes and this other one, his face was... he had cool eyes. But they were mean, just so mean to me."
I sniffled as tears gathered in my eyes," They talked to me, and I thought it was okay, but then... I almost died... just like Dad. Why? I don't want to see it again. I just want it gone. Crazy. I just... I don't..."
I sobbed softly and hugged my shoulders, feeling the pain and fear from dying all over again. Whether what happened had been real or a dream didn't matter, I'd had crazy dreams already. I'd had them before those cards, scary ones, horrific ones that made me scream.
I was still scared, couldn't I just be scared?
"Oh dear, I heard crying and who'd have thought it was you Missy." A mild and sunny voice spoke up and I raised my head.
A middle aged nurse walked into the room, her green eyes gently looking at me with pity," Oh, you must be crying about your boyfriend right?"
She was indicating Lucas.
"No. He's just my best friend." I corrected her as I wiped the tears from my eyes," I wish he'd woken up too."
"Don't we all, dear." She checked Lucas and my IV," Now don't you worry. You both came to us with complications but if you, fading away, could jostle yourself awake, I'm sure your friend there will too."
"Okay. Thank you." I appreciated her kind words alot.
"That reminds me, tommorow the doctor will check up on you and see if you're feeling better." She smiled," If you're lucky you'll get to sleep in your bed soon."
"I can visit Lucas right?" I asked her pointing at Lucas and she nodded her head.
"Of course deary, visit him all you want during visiting hours," Her index finger rose up," But, you look like a lass who is still at school. Where are you schooling Missy?"
"I go to Oakwoods High, I'm a senior." The nurse's smile widened.
"That's good, a nice place I'm sure. Never got a great education myself, but I made do " She looked at me deep in my eyes," I trust you make it far in your life my dear Missy. Good night."
"Oh, Thank you. Good night to you too." I gave a wave as she chuckled softly and left.
I rested my head on my pillow and closed my eyes, but flashes of the horrid things echoed in my mind. I heard Antoinette's voice right by my ear, I felt Mistress's grip on my wrist and I remembered the Pariah's gaze piercing my soul.
Cold.
Alone.
Dead.
I gasped and squeezed my blankets tightly, sleep fleeing from me like the plague. My eyes looked at the ceiling, my mind clawing at the reasons why all of it couldn't have happened, how all of it must have been a dream. My rapid breath slowed down and I felt calmer, not calm but calmer.
My head turned and I gazed at my best friend, just as a chill blew from what I believed to be the window and slathered my skin in cold. I shivered uneasily as I regretted not asking the nurse to close the window, it was almost freezing.
Kind to think about it, I wondered, how had she not noticed herself? She'd seemed totally fine in here, where as I was feeling like autumn strutted into the room with winter on it's arm.
I reached for the button to call a nurse but my fingers stopped before I could click it.
I stared at it, my eyes unreadable and thoughts illegible, before I got out of the bed and walked to Lucas bed.
He looked thinner than I remembered, then again so did I apparently, my set of skinny jeans would probably just be jeans right now. I brushed his hair with a finger and gave a distasteful frown, the cut look did not fit him at all or his Emo-ness.
It was hard finding a spot that didn't interfere with the machines but I found it and lay next to him, my head on his shoulder, feeling his warmth like a hot water bottle.
Glob he was smoking, I thought feeling drowsy, when he woke up I would make up tons of jokes about hotness. I could not pass up a chance if it presented itself, and that was the last thought I had before Lucas's comforting presence allowed me to sleep.
Had I stayed awake, I might have noticed as a a pair of green eyes appeared on the roof above us, their pristine irises sparkling like jade under the evening sun. The eyes looked at me and then Lucas, growing hard as they gazed at him.
Then just like stars, they blinked out of existence and the room was silent, the door and the window were both closed.