"Doctor! Doctor—soone call the doctor!"
Naomi’s voice rang sharply through the white corridors, panic and disbelief crashing together in her chest. Her baby boy stirred in her arms, startled by the sudden sound.
Inside the quiet hospital room, the monitors beeped steadily. For 363 days, that sound had beco background noise, a cruel trono marking each second of stillness.
But today, sothing had changed.
Naomi took a half step closer, her eyes wide and unblinking. "Eryx?" she whispered, her voice barely a breath. Her gaze locked onto his face,his eyes no longer shut in unnatural peace, but fluttering weakly, adjusting to light. His eyelashes twitched again.
He was waking up.
The boy in her arms cooed, not understanding the weight of this mont, not knowing the man in that bed had slept through a world of grief, guilt, and quiet waiting.
Naomi swallowed hard. "Eryx, can you hear ?" She crouched beside him, careful not to wake her son. "It’s okay. You’re safe."
Eryx’s brows twitched slightly, his lips parting just enough for a hoarse breath to escape. His throat worked like he was trying to speak but the sound was too dry and faint. Still, it was enough.
Footsteps thundered behind her, nurses rushing in, the doctor not far behind.
"I saw his eyes," Naomi said, standing quickly, holding her baby tighter. "He opened them. He’s waking up!"
The doctor moved to the bed calmly, but even she couldn’t hide the flicker of surprise in her expression. "Get vitals. Notify his primary neurologist. 1And soone—" she glanced at Naomi, "please call his wife."
Naomi exhaled, one trembling hand pressed to her heart as she looked at Eryx again.
After 363 days of silence...
He was finally coming back.
====
A few hours later, the hospital room had finally cald. Machines humd softly, and sunlight crept lazily through the window blinds.
Eryx sat propped up, still pale, but conscious—fully. His eyes darted toward the door for the third ti in ten minutes.
She still wasn’t there.
"Where is Lunara?" he asked, his voice low and rough.
No one spoke at first.
Lucas shifted in his seat at the corner of the room, rubbing the back of his neck. Naomi, standing beside the bed with her baby resting against her shoulder, glanced at their mother.
Regina finally cleared her throat, her voice softer than usual. "We haven’t been able to reach her. Lunara’s been... gone for two days."
Eryx’s brow furrowed. "Gone?"
"She left the city," Lucas said reluctantly. "Didn’t say where. She’s not picking up her phone."
Eryx’s lips parted slightly, disbelief creeping in. "Why would she leave without saying anything?"
This ti, Regina closed her eyes for a brief second, guilt flickering across her face.
"She overheard ," she admitted. "I was talking to Lucas. About Lily."
Naomi glanced toward her mother, but said nothing.
"I didn’t an for her to hear it," Regina continued. "I ntioned... how your grandmother forced Lily and your father to break up. That it was who ended up marrying him after... after everything collapsed. I didn’t realize Lunara was in the hallway behind us."
Eryx’s face hardened. "You knew how I felt about it. I asked you not to talk about it."
"I—I really didn’t an to," Regina said, voice cracking. "I never thought—"
"She might think I kept it from her. That I lied," Eryx muttered, leaning his head back against the pillow. "She was already fragile when I—" His voice faltered.
Naomi stepped forward, adjusting the baby in her arms. "She stayed for you, Eryx. For a year. She never missed a day. But maybe she thought... She needs ti to digest everything."
Eryx stared at the ceiling, his throat tightening. "Ti," he echoed, barely audible. "I’ve been asleep for a year, and I wake up only to lose her."
Naomi looked down at her son, whose small fingers had curled around the edge of her collar. "You didn’t lose her," she said gently. "She left because she didn’t know how to face what she just found out. But she loves you, Eryx. Anyone with eyes could see that. Just give her a few more days."
Lucas exhaled sharply, finally stepping forward. "She was here every single day, man. Talking to you, reading you the newspaper, even playing that godawful playlist of yours—"
"I don’t have a godawful playlist," Eryx said automatically.
Lucas raised a brow. "Dude. You had Coldplay on a loop."
"That’s not mine," Eryx frowned, shifting against the pillows. "Callum!"
Everyone in the room burst into laughter despite the tension lingering in the air. For a brief mont, the weight lifted—just a little.
But the laughter faded quickly, replaced by a quiet heaviness.
"I don’t think I can wait or give her ti," Eryx muttered, his voice taut with worry. "I’m scared sothing happened."
He pushed himself upright and tried to swing his legs over the edge of the bed. But the mont his weight shifted, his legs buckled beneath him. He crumpled to the floor with a hard thud before anyone could stop him.
"Eryx!" Naomi gasped, nearly dropping her baby as Lucas darted forward.
But Eryx, stubborn and panicked, was already trying to push himself back up.
"Stop, you’ll hurt yourself," Lucas said, crouching beside him and gripping his arm.
"I am hurting!" Eryx snapped, frustration breaking through the fog. "What if she went to see Matilda? What if that woman did sothing to her?"
The room went completely still.
But not because they believed the sa thing.
It was sothing else.
Eryx’s gaze flicked upward, scanning their faces. Naomi’s lips parted slightly. Lucas’s brows had drawn together. Regina looked down at the floor, visibly shaken.
"What?" Eryx demanded. "Why are you all looking at like that?"
No one spoke at first.
Then Regina slowly stepped forward, her voice soft and uncertain. "Eryx... during the coma... there were... things."
His breath hitched. "What things?"
But when the tension hung in the air, the door suddenly opened, shifting all their attention towards the door.
He being unconcious for a year was related to psychological things.
Reviews
All reviews (0)