25. THE IN-BETWEEN

I hear the door close shut and feel someone squeezing my hand gently, in my sleep, and open my eyes to see Ezra sitting on the chair beside my bed with his eyes.

I blink thrice to clear my vision and look to the other side to find it empty. Where did Liza go?

"You're awake." I hear Ezra's voice making my head snap in his direction.

"Hey." I smile at him.

His eyes tear up and he holds a fist to his mouth to stop himself from sobbing, "You fucking idiot! You scared the shit out of us." He says in a chocked voice.

"I'm sorry for putting you all through this." I say in an apologetic manner.

"You're plain stupid, you fuckface." He says and leans down for a hug, careful as to not hurt me.

"Love you, bro." I say as soon as he pulls away.

"Love you, more, asshole." He replies shaking his head.

I roll my eyes at him and ask, "Where did Liza go?"

"Home." He informs.

"Oh." I frown.

"Don't frown, bitch. She's been by your side whenever she could." He says in distaste.

"Jealous?" I tease as my heart warms at the thought of her being with me.

"In your dreams. At least, I was able to talk to her unlike mister semi dead here."

I narrow my eyes at him and scoff, "That's mean, bro. I woke up from a coma."

He immediately sobers up and takes my hand in his, "I missed you, little bro." he whispers quietly.

"I missed you, too. Don't worry, I am fine now." I tell him and he nods his head.

There was a knock on the door before it was opened and my parents came in view. A smile tugs at my lips upon seeing them but they look so distressed and tired that I cannot help but wonder that I really put everyone in so much trouble.

"I really got you all worried, huh?" I asked.

Mom bursts into tears and she finally makes her way towards me, "I don't want to see any of my family in this God forsaken place ever again."

"Can't promise but we'll try." Ezra supplies on our behalf and I give look at mom who then envelops me in a hug followed by dad.

"Hey, dad."

"Hey, son. How are you feeling?"

"Apart from a little pain here and there, I am fine." I tell him truthfully.

He squeezes my shoulder lightly and nods his head, "Okay, I will talk to the doctors and ask about your discharge."

"Please do." I say and he chuckles.

As soon as he goes out, I turn to mom, "How have you been?"

"Fine. I missed my son a lot. Both of you actually since Ezra never let us stay." She tells.

I smile at Ezra who still had a bit of tears in his eyes, "Hey, stop crying, you guys. I am okay, now." I huff.

"You're stronger than I perceived you to be. I am so proud of you." Ezra says to me.

"I feel like a warrior. I survived an accident, not a war." I try to joke but they both give me blank stares in return.

"Your vitals weren't stable, Nick. I don't even know how you're up. All I know is that your little Eliza played a part in it." He states.

"I think she did. I heard her talking to me."

"She's an angel." Mom sniffs.

"She is." I nod my head.

"Mom, I am hungry." I say and she looks at me in shock.

"Really? Okay, I'll get you something to eat really quickly." Ezra says while standing up from the chair.

"I can't believe you're actually hungry. Most patients don't wanna eat when they wake up." Mom states.

"Well, I am not most patients." I say cheekily causing her to chuckle.

Ezra leaves to grab me something from the café on the first floor and I turn to mom, "How's Fayre?"

"Not good. She's currently at school but she's missing you terribly. I will bring her here to see you tonight." She informs.

"Mom, I-I didn't even have the time to process how it all happened. One moment, I was fine and the next there was this car that rammed straight into mine out of nowhere. My brain just...froze." I admit to her.

Her eyebrows furrow and she sighs, "I know, the driver was drunk out of his wits and he was high as a kite. He lost control of the car."

"Liza told me that he died on spot." I whisper.

Mom cups my face with tears in her eyes, "I am just glad you're here with us now. We need you, and it's good to finally have you back."

I smile and wipe a few tears that were running down her cheeks and just then dad and Ezra come back.

"What are you? The Flash? You just left less than five minutes ago." I joke.

"Yes, here's your food." He says showing me a brown bag.

"And here are your discharge papers. You can go home the day after tomorrow." Dad informs.

"Finally." I huff.

"Also, here's your girlfriend who brought you food." Ezra says moving out of the way to let Liza in.

She stops at the doorstep and leans into dad's side who wrapped an arm around her shoulder. She looked so beautiful in a blush pink oversized tee-shirt and jean shorts with white converse.

I pout looking at her and she giggles, "I come bearing gifts."

"If you consider yourself one, sure." I say.

"Nope." She shakes her head and looks over her shoulder.

A moment later, I see Anwyll's head pop up followed by Finn, Isaac, and Lily. I light up instantly as they all enter the room with a solemn look on their faces.

"I am just waiting for you to get better so I can punch you." Anwyll says.

"I'll gladly help him." Finn adds and Isaac nods his head in agreement.

My eyes move to Lily in amusement and she was crying quietly, "I swear if you ever pull that again on us. I'll crush you with my own car."

"That's a very warm welcome. I absolutely love it." I say with fake enthusiasm.

They all roll their eyes and come to stand at the foot of the bed. I try to sit up and Anwyll rushes to help me, "Thanks." I say and groan.

"Is it bad?" Isaac asks in concern.

"A bit." I grit out.

"Good." He smirks.

"We'll leave you guys be for now and come back tonight again." Dad announces and bids goodbye before leaving with mom and Ezra.

"What did I miss?" I ask.

"Nothing much, honestly. Liza has been making notes for you and submitting your assignments on your behalf. The school obviously knows you're hospitalized so you won't have to take extra classes for credits." Finn tells.

"There's a new addition, however. In the middle of the school year." Isaac tells appearing displeased.

"Who?" I inquire.

"Isaac, for fuck's sake, he just woke up." Anwyll glared at him.

"What? He'd find out eventually. Better sooner than later. This way, at least he will be prepared." Isaac responds with a shrug.

"What's going on?"

Liza walks up to me and sits down on the side of the bed as I rest my hand on her knee, "Who's Daniel Rogers?"

My jaw clenches and I look at the boys who have a grave look plastered on their faces, "How does she know about him?"

"He's the new student." Lily supplies.

Liza places a hand on my jaw and tilts my head towards her, "It's alright."

I sigh and give her a small smile, "Yeah."

She starts taking out a plastic container from the brown bag along with a fork and places it on her lap.

"I brought you pasta. Your doctors said you're allowed to eat it." She informs.

"No pasta for us, princess?" Anwyll asks and Liza looks up with a frown.

"No."

"Why not?" Finn whines.

"Because the last I checked, you guys ate the pasta I made for lunch before coming here."

I chuckle and shake my head, "You guys picked her up?"

"We have been doing that ever since you were stuck in the in-between." Isaac chimes.

"Rude." I remark.

"As if." He says while rolling his eyes.

Liza brings the fork to my mouth, "You don't have to, bambi. I'll eat it." I offer.

"Yeah, I don't have to. It's not like my boyfriend woke up from a coma." She retorts.

My eyes widen as I look at her, "Are you mad at me?"

"Yes, I'd like to put the blame somewhere and you just happen to be in the way."

"Who are you? And what have you done to our princess?" Finn asks.

"Princess got her period this morning." Lily tells.

"Oops." I whisper and open my mouth to take the bite.

"I'll get you doughnuts." Anwyll says and Liza instantly lights up and gives him the biggest grin.

"You're my favorite." She says in excitement.

"Ouch." I place a hand over my heart.

"Eat." She commands and shoves the fork in my mouth.

"Did you know that I have completed Stranger Things?" She asks.

"I am not hurt at all, bambi. We were gonna watch that show together." I complain.

"I couldn't wait. It was so interesting." She says sheepishly.

"I was in the hospital, Liza."

"Are you tryna guilt trip me?"

"Is it working?"

"No. Now eat up."