28. hospital beds and goodbye kisses

Background color
Font
Font size
Line height

My attention is focused on Axel.

His lips left heat on my cheek like I was burning up with a fever. My mind could go nowhere but to him. He was so close to me yet so far on the other side of the bench, his upper body leaning over so his lips can linger against my skin.

"You're okay, right?" He asks me once again with his eyebrows crinkled inwards just a tad. I don't want to look at him but I do it anyway and I nod.

"I'm okay," I mumble to him and only him. He's still so close and the space between our lips is almost unbearable. I can feel how soft they are without any contact. Thinking about it sends shivers through my skin.

"That's all I want," Axel quietly tells me as his attention is adverted to the juveniles picking up trash across the street.

His hand finds its way into mine and I realize what he's looking at and why he was making sure I was okay.

"I need to tell you something else," I say while studying the pavement and my beat up shoelaces which have turned from off-white to dark brown.

Axel lets his bookbag slide off of his right shoulder and onto the pavement. His legs swing up onto the bench and he sits criss cross to face me. My hand is still in his hand. "You can tell me."

His demeanor is serious and I struggle to match it. My eyes cautiously meet his. "Aspen is in the hospital."

I don't think anybody knows how hard it is for me to remain serious when other people are. I'm so prone to laughter and smiling when it's least appropriate.

"Is she okay?" He asked me again while still intently focused on me.

"I guess so. It happened this morning and I don't want to visit her while my parents are there," I told Axel, taking a deep breath in immediately after my statement.

Axel must notice how uncomfortable this made me, because he squeezed my hand so softly he could have never even done it in the first place.
"How about I go with you? You don't think your parents are there now, do you?"

I just shrug and try to examine my shoelaces again. Axel punches my arm lightly to grab my attention and signals with his fingers that my eyes should be up on him and not on the pavement. "Let's go see your sister."

Eventually we make it to the hospital and I have never wanted to turn around and run the other way more than I do right at this moment. Axel's hand is the only thing that keeps me grounded.

For the first time, it actually felt like we were a couple. I don't know how to explain it, but it was just something about the way he carefully guided me all the way to the hospital without once breaking the contact of our hands.

When we walk inside, the stench of bleach and rubbing alcohol hit my nostrils. The lady at the front desk is sipping an extra large iced coffee and she doesn't even bother to look at us before speaking. "Who are you here for today?"

I'm staring at the ground now because I don't want to make eye contact with anyone. My palms are sweating and I'm hoping Axel doesn't notice or doesn't care.

"We're here for Aspen Greer," Axel tells the woman behind the counter who has finally looked up. Her eyes are the palest blue I've ever seen and it makes me regret taking my eyes off of the ground for that split second.

"She is in room 304, the elevators are directly behind me," the woman says with a small smile that doesn't look fake like I had suspected it to be.

"Thanks," Axel nods while pulling me along his side towards the elevators.

I watch a few lights above the elevators change as they descend down or rise up each floor. I'm really nervous and I can't help but squeeze Axel's hand harder than I alreadywas.

"It's okay, silly goose," he tells me with that stupid little smirk on his lips. I want to smack him for being a smartass but I keep my free hand tucked in my pocket.

When an elevator finally hits our floor, we step inside and I press the "three" so it lights up pale orange.

"I'm really nervous. I never liked hospitals and I don't even know how Aspen is doing or what's going —"

Axel's lips are pressed against mine and I can't breathe anymore. I mean, I can breathe, but I don't want to. I want to use all my energy and all of my breath to kiss him back.

It only lasts a few seconds and we both pull away with our eyes locked on each other.

"I needed to do that," he tells me with a small grin, "because you wouldn't shut the hell up otherwise."

I let out one shaky breath as I realize he's right, and the elevator doors slowly begin to open on the third floor, ending our moment. He leads me down the hallway and towards her room. I don't even mind that he's in control anymore because he's obviously way more composed than I am.

"Aspen?" Axel asks softly, creeping inside the single-bed room. It's nice she doesn't have to share with anyone because she's never really liked sharing to begin with.

"It's me Aspen," I chime in as calmly as I can. Axel's in my way and I can't quite see what she's doing or if she's awake or asleep.

Finally, Axel moves to the side and he lets go of my hand for the first time in probably an hour. I secretly wished we could have held hands forever.

"It's me, Orion," I tell her again once I realize she's awake. I watch her eyes roll in a dramatic way which makes me chuckle.

"I know who you guys are," Aspen tells us. Axel gives me a thumbs up from behind her bed.

"I didn't know what you would be like, what the hell happened?" I asked her as I sat down on the green chair facing her bed. There was one chair directly to the left of me, which made me realize my parents have moved them that way on purpose.

"I overdosed," Aspen said real quiet and innocent.

"On purpose?" I tried to clarify the situation.

"Yup," Aspen replied causally.

"Why?"

"I needed to get away," she explained while fidgeting with the oxygen monitor on her finger.

"But that's no reason to overdose!" I told her without making it seem like I was being stern or yelling or anything.

"Yeah, I know, but I needed to," she said again, adding extra emphasis on some of the words.

Axel just watched us from the back corner of the room, his arms crossed and eyebrows furrowed like he was truly concerned where this argument was going. Or, perhaps, he was waiting for the perfect moment to intervene.

"Needing and wanting are two different things," I reminded Aspen who definitely was not acting herself.

"And I am positive on which one I meant," she says again, confident but quiet.

I realize it's probably useless to argue with her. At the end of the day, Aspen knows what she wants and Aspen will do whatever she wants or needs.

"Don't do it again, though. I don't want you to hurt yourself and I don't want to be stuck at home alone with mom and dad," I explained to her while she repeatedly attached and detached her oxygen monitor. I was pushing my elbows against my thighs now, leaning in close to Aspen.

"You always have Devian," she said without one eye batting a lash.

"Devian is in a garden picking up trash for community service hours," I gently reminded her.

Axel checked the watch on his left wrist, casually walking past the both of us and out the door. I didn't even say anything because I didn't know he was just going to leave like that.

"Axel?" I asked, but he appeared to be out the door already.

What the fuck.

The fact he just left me there made me so uncomfortable I started talking like I was on speed. "Aspen, I love you and I'll come visit you the same time tomorrow unless you get discharged."

Aspen signaled a heart with her hands, blowing me a kiss and whispering "thank you." She must have saw how nervous I was when Axel left and I guess she understood because she didn't seem offended.

"Mom and dad said you saved me," Aspen quickly added, "they told me how smart you were for finding me and calling for help. They said they're so proud of you."

I rolled my eyes a few times and stuck my hands in my pockets.

Were they actually proud of me?

• • •

THE LONG AWAITED FIRST KISS! YES!
Anyway, wow, so I'm aware this chapter is written different from the rest and is longer than usual. I'm just experimenting with my writing so I hope you don't mind that. Make my day and leave a comment or vote down below! An exciting chapter is coming up next!

You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net