2. Magnitude
The first thing she noticed was that the room was dim instead of blinding white when she cracked her eyes open. Her relief upon discovering that fact diminished as she realized that she wasn't in her room. Suddenly, breathing was an impossible task.
"Shh, Eru baby. Shh, don't cry."
She let herself be calmed by a voice so familiar to her. When she had finally come to her senses once again, she recognized him beside her and smiled softly.
"Welcome back to the living, Eru," he spoke. The second thing she noticed was that he looked dead. His face was pale and ashen, and she could see his bones poking out of strange places, as if he hadn't eaten in years. His eyes were bloodshot, as if he had been crying, too, and she noticed that his once youthful expression was haggard, aged by an unknown force. She almost laughed; who was he to welcome her to life?
"Kenny, hey." She glanced at the clock. "It's three in the morning?"
He chuckled weakly. "You bet it is."
"I'm in the hospital."
"It appears so, yes." The third thing she noticed was that, despite his playfulness, the twinkle in his eyes was no longer present.
She was having trouble remembering how she got there, and his snarky remarks weren't helping.
"You were knocked out during the earthquake, and they couldn't figure out how to wake you up." He leaned forward and placed a kiss on her forehead. His lips were cold. "You look beautiful, my princess."
"You're such a dork," she replied reflexively.
"I'm your dork."
"And I really doubt I do."
"Nay, my princess, doubt your beauty not." They probably both looked like corpses, but she didn't feel like mentioning it to him.
She glanced back at the clock, still processing everything. "What are you doing here, Kenny?"
"I'm visiting you, obviously."
"At this time? Are you even allowed in here?"
"I'm special. They don't know I'm here." He gave her a cheeky grin, which faded in a moment. She knew he was forcing himself to appear joyful. Oh, how she hated it.
"You? Sneaking into a hospital?" she snorted in an unladylike manner. "Bet it's probably just because you're my emergency contact."
He held a fist to his chest. "You wound me, my princess."
"And you exasperate me, my dork." She smiled again, wincing slightly in pain. "Not gonna lie; my head hurts."
"Like you got slammed by a dump truck?"
"Worse."
He laughed, though his mirth died quickly. "Oh, you poor child. Why don't you call the nurse, then?"
"Why don't you do it?" she countered.
He gestured with trembling hands to the button on the other side of the bed. "It's easier for you."
She rolled her eyes at him. "Yeah, yeah. Be that way, then. I'll push the button."
"By all means."
As soon as she pushed the button, she could hear the thundering of footsteps coming down the corridor. He stood up, jamming his hands into his pockets.
"That's my cue, then."
She sat up, startled. "What? Why can't you stay?"
He shrugged. "I'm not really supposed to be here, you know. Plus, I gotta get going."
"Where are you going?"
"I won't be around anymore, Eru. I don't think I'll be coming back."
She tried to get out of the bed but fell back immediately, clutching her head. "No, you can't! I need you, Kenny!"
"I'm sorry, Eru."
She tried and failed to get up again. "Will you at least tell me why?"
"Love you, Eru."
"And I love you, Kenny, but I refuse to let this be goodbye. Get back here!"
He just offered her a melancholy smile that didn't quite reach his eyes and walked out of the room.
The doctor and nurses swarmed around her, trying to calm her down, oblivious to the fact that the only person who could do that just walked out of the room and out of her life.
All but she were oblivious to the fact that he was the only one who was capable of saving her.
Author's Note:
And that's the start of Eru's story arc and point of view. That also means that there will be new formatting, which is as follows:
Eru: plain
Ken: italics
Leo: bold
Any others: bold and italics
Hope you're enjoying the story still! Also, I've started posting Tremble, which is this story formatted regularly. If you like Tremors, please do check it out. Thanks for reading!
