One Day Left: Last Chance

I watched as the paramedics wheeled Jared into the emergency operating room.

“You’re doomed.” I whisper to him.  No response whatsoever.  Then again he was in a coma due to the shock of what he had just been through.  It was worth a shot.

The surgeons spent an hour working on him, trying desperately to stop the external bleeding.  They knew that aside from forcing a blood thickener and platelet producing pill down his throat there was not much they could do about the internal bleeding.

Eventually they moved Jared into the room that Eryn had just cleaned in the last chapter.  Delores had asked Eryn to monitor Jared and report any abnormalities aside from waking up from the coma to her or one of the other nurses.

Eryn watched the lifeless young man from a chair next to his bed.  The steady pulsing of the respirator proved that he was still breathing, which was why doctors were holding out hope.  She wondered what kind of person he would be like if he were awake and active.

She was about to find out.

Jared’s eyes fluttered open and he saw her.

“Are you an angel?”  he asked.

“No.” she said.

“I’m not dead?”  Jared asked Eryn in disbelief.  “I’m in this much pain, and I’m not dead?  You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in my life then.  If I approached you in real life you’d probably run.” Jared stated.  “That’s what all the others do.”

“That’s better than having them go out with you once and leaving you after.” smirked Eryn.

“Neither of us have had much luck with the opposite sex then.  I get this voice in my head that tells me I’m constantly inadequate and it tries to make me not do the things I probably could do.  So much tension and pressure.”

Eryn intensified her gaze on Jared at this point.  “I hear them too.  We both deal with anxiety, Jared.  You are not alone.”

“Soon, I will die a tense young man who never knew what it was like to really love someone else without fear.”

“Jared!” I interrupt.  “That is so cliche.”  He doesn’t seem to care.  If this gets any more sappy, I’m going to have to leave Jared’s brain and head for the hills.

Eryn leaned in.  It was obvious this young man was not going to last much longer, she could tell from the obvious bruising all over his body.  Jared was bleeding out, on the inside.

“What does it feel like to love?” asked Jared.

“It feels like this.” stated Eryn as she hugged him gently.  Jared had never felt anything like this before.  This was no ordinary hug.  Then Eryn threw caution to the wind and kissed him long so he would remember it.

Jared lost all tension in his body.  At this point I had to escape his brain.  I can’t handle this mushy stuff.

On the other hand, Jared had never felt so good in his life.  His heart began to beat fast and hard.

As suddenly as it had all started, the sappy loving was finished.  Jared’s heart gave out from the unexpected loving on top of all the trauma he had endured.

Laura quickly left Jared’s bedside to inform Delores and Jared’s parents of his sudden passing.  If they had gotten there five minutes earlier, they would have been able to see him alive one last time.  Eryn was not charged in any way for Jared’s death.  She never told his parents of their encounter as it would have been a breech in professionalism.  A funeral was hastily arranged.  Nobody really has time to plan these out slowly when the person is that young.

As it turns out, the funeral is tomorrow.  I haven’t decided whether I will attend yet or not.  People may get tense about it, even though they can’t see me.  I’ll take the night and think it over.  I’ve never cared what people thought before, why would it bother me now?

I admit it, I’m bothered by Jared’s passing.  I enjoyed our interactions much more than he did.  He fought and fought me, never once giving up.  He was a worthy opponent.  He was someone I had come to respect.

Perhaps I will got to the funeral after all.  Lots of people will be there and I can find someone to replace Jared.  It’s not a rebound thing.  This is what I do.  Now I’m getting anxious, but what do you expect when my name is Anxiety?

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