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The doctor had made the announcement earlier that morning. He had reported a sudden drop in Lucky’s brain patterns, a sure sign that he was sliding into a deeper coma. Liz had remained silent during the doctor’s speech, and only broke down after the doctor, Luke and Laura had left, ensuring her absolute privacy.
She grasped Lucky’s hand, struggling with the tears that once again threatened to overwhelm her. She watched his chest rise and fall slowly with the rhythm of his breathing, and prayed that he at least had the power within himself to do this. Just the thought of her friend—her wonderful, brave, strong, friend—tethered to an oxygen tank brought tears to her eyes. She clenched Lucky’s hand tighter as she hoped silently that his strength would hold out enough to prevent his condition from ever deteriorating to that point.
A single tear slid down her chin and splashed lightly against Lucky’s cheek. Liz, startled, moved her hand to wipe it away. As her hand brushed against Lucky’s face, her heart skipped a beat. She pulled her hand away, and clutched it to her chest. Finally, after a long struggle with her overly exhausted mind, she forced herself to touch him again. He was cold. “Of course he is,” Liz murmured, then covered her mouth when she realized she had spoken aloud. She stroked his cheek gently, and leaned over the cold steel bars on the bed. With tears now flowing freely down her cheeks, Elizabeth placed a gentle kiss on Lucky’s cool cheek.
She sobbed at the lack of response from her friend, even though she knew none would be elicited. Clenching the metal that she leaned over, she broke down. She placed kiss after kiss on Lucky’s face, willing him to wake and join her again. She prayed for him to open his eyes, pull her into an embrace, and take away her pain. She continued to sob, and after a moment, cupped Lucky’ chin in her hand. She stared into his face for a long moment, then kissed him fully on the mouth. Still no response.
Liz pulled away from the bed, shaking uncontrollably. “Wake up,” she begged. “Please, Lucky, I can’t bear it. Not this. No. I love you, Lucky, I can’t lose you!” Of course, only the steady beeping of the monitors reached her ears. “Wake up!” she hissed, and hit the bar on the bed when she was met again with silence. “Wake up!” Liz shrieked.
She flew to her feet, suddenly enraged. “Wake up!” she screamed. “WAKE UP!” She screamed in anger as strong hands grabbed her around the waist.
“Liz!” Nikolas yelled, holding on to the struggling girl. “Liz! Calm down! It’s only me—it’s Nikolas.”
“Let me go,” Liz snarled, and was more than a little shocked when he did. She glanced at Nikolas’ face, and understood.
His eyes were fixed on his brother. Lucky remained perfectly still, his brain and heart patterns unchanged since Nikolas had entered the room. For the first time since the day after the accident, Nikolas saw his younger brother. Although the immediate shock of seeing him had already occurred the first time he’d seen him, he could not shake the horrified feeling in his stomach as he walked toward the bed.
Lucky was, somehow, even paler than he had been before, and thinner. He looked twice as weak, and twice as exhausted than before as well. Nikolas could not believe that someone getting as much rest as Lucky could possibly look so exhausted, but he did. Long, silent moments dragged by, but there was no movement from Lucky. Not even his eyelids fluttered. With the exception of the steady rise and fall of his chest, the boy remained completely still.
Liz watched tearfully as Nikolas collapsed in the chair beside the bed. His face, unrelenting and firm only a moment ago, bore the look of defeat. He sat, shoulders slumped and eyes cast down, beside his brother, beyond words.
“He never moves,” Liz said in a trembling voice. “He lies there, and he never moves. He doesn’t shift, he doesn’t smile, he doesn’t blink. He may as well be dead Nikolas. He’s not living when he’s like this.” Her voice trailed off as she dissolved in tears. Nikolas rose, crossed the short distance to her, and wrapped his arms around Liz. “And neither am I,” Liz said through her tears.
She pulled away from Nikolas, and shoved him away from her. She looked back to Lucky and fought to keep her voice steady as she spoke to Nikolas. “I see him every day. Every day after school I sit here with him until Gram comes and tells me I have to go home. Sometimes Luke or Laura sits with me, but most of the time, I’m alone. They know I don’t want them in here with me, and I think deep down they’re afraid that Lucky doesn’t want them to be either. I sit with him Nikolas. And watch. And wait. And he never wakes up. I ask him to wake up, I tell him to wake up, I beg him to wake up, but he never does. Now—“
She cut off again, struggling with her tears. Nikolas patted her reassuringly on the shoulder, then waited for her to continue. Finally, Liz found the strength to speak again. “Now the doctor says that the coma is deeper—that Lucky is even further from waking up. I can’t handle it anymore!” she cried, and let out a blood-curdling scream.
Nikolas bounded to his feet, unsure of what to do. At last he realized that he had to get Liz out of the room and proceeded to do so. He started to pull her toward the door, but after a few steps, realized he was not having much luck there. He had begun to give up hope when Bobbie ran in.
“Elizabeth?” she asked, looking into the room. Her eyes fell on Nikolas and Liz, and her mouth dropped open in shock. “What happened?” she asked swiftly, hurrying over to them. She realized after a quick look that the hysterical girl was not approachable, so directed her words at Nikolas instead. “I heard Elizabeth scream,” she said quietly. “What happened?”
“She’s upset,” Nikolas responded. “I think she broke down, Bobbie. It’s just too much—Lucky, I mean—for her to handle right now.” He paused, glancing at his brother. “Did you hear?” he asked. “About the progress of Lucky’s condition?”
“Progress?” Bobbie asked. “It wasn’t progress, from what I heard. He’s slipped further into the coma.”
Nikolas nodded. “That’s what I meant.”
“Yes, I heard,” Bobbie said slowly. “I take it Liz did too.” She stopped, and looked to Liz, who had quieted down somewhat. The girl looked exhausted. “I think I’d better take her home,” she said. “She needs to be away from here for a while.” Nikolas nodded and watched as the nurse gently guided Liz out into the hospital corridor.
After they’d left, Nikolas stared at the floor beneath him, lost in thought. He closed his eyes as he remembered the expression on Liz’s face, and her rage, when he entered the room. He wondered briefly how difficult it must be for her to watch the steady deterioration of someone she cared so deeply about. The thought drifted to Laura as he realized she must be feeling the same level or pain or more, having to watch her son slip away from her. His thoughts were interrupted by a sharp beeping behind him.
Nikolas whirled, panic rising him at the familiarity of the sound. His eyes widened in absolute horror as they took in his brother, looking more crumpled and weak than ever, and the machines around him. They swept over the deathly white face, the still body, and the hastening speed of his chest movements, and stopped on the heart monitor. It was racing.
Shaking his head in disbelief and terror, Nikolas ran out of the room,
and hollered down the corridor for a doctor as, inside the hospital room,
his brother started to convulse.
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