42. CHAPTER 42

42

KAI

Am I dead? Or am I dreaming? It’s so peaceful here, my body is weightless like it’s floating in the clouds. A warm fuzzy sensation spreads from my head all the way to my toes. I’m so tired. I can’t open my eyes, the weight keeping them closed is frustrating, because I want to open them. Distant noises echo around me. Voices, I think, and a beeping noise. Why can’t I open my eyes? I feel like I’m on the outside of life looking in. I want to come back. My body starts to tingle as the warmth increases, nerve endings twitch as if I’m being recharged back to life.

“I’m so scared, Tim. What if he gets worse?” an angelic voice sings, and a spark of recognition hits me. That’s my mom. Open your eyes, Kai. Fuck.

“He’ll make it through, I promise.”

Is that Tim? Why are they talking like that? Where am I and what is that beeping noise? A searing pain in my stomach hits me, and I want to cry out.

Pain. Stabbed. Zac. Jules.

I was stabbed. The beeping sounds in the room intensify and hands cover my arms. I’m shaking, I can’t stop it. Panic ensues as memories of what happened flood back. The blood. The horrific pain and fear.

“Kai, can you hear me?” a voice I don’t recognize says, over and over. I know I‘m making noises, but why won’t my eyes open?

“I need you to calm down before you hurt yourself, Kai.”

Jules. Where is Jules’s voice? Ah, he’s not here is he? I left him.

Jules, Jules, Jules .

I want Jules. Only he can make me better, only he can make me feel safe. But I left him.

“Kai, we’re going to increase your sedative, as you need to rest,” another voice says. Something cold trails through the veins in my arm, instantly calming my mind. I start to float again, sailing off to a world of peace, with Jules’s face the last thing to cross my mind as I black out.