[Day 4 Awake From The Coma]
The morning sun filtered through the hospital blinds, casting a grid of light over the stack of schoolbooks that had become a permanent fixture in Room 412.
Ethan was sitting by the bed, his head bowed over a history textbook, his pen scratching rhythmically against a yellow legal pad. He looked different today- clean, alert, but still guarded, like a sentinel who had forgotten how to stand down.
The door swung open, and Ellie marched in with a mischievous glint in her eyes and a small bag from the hospital gift shop. She took one look at Ethan's protective posture- shoulders squared, eyes immediately scanning her for any sign of "Riley-esque" chaos, and she pointed a thumb toward the door.
"Out," she commanded.
Ethan blinked. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me, Ethan Hawethorne. Out," Ellie repeated, dropping her bag onto the rolling tray. "You've been glued to that chair for forty-eight hours straight. Your 'pining protector' energy is starting to take up all the oxygen in the room. Annie and I need 'girl time.' No boys, no brooding, and definitely no history homework."
Ethan looked at Annie, his expression hovering between reluctance and a soft, hidden amusement. Annie gave him a small, encouraging nod. "Go get some actual coffee, Ethan. I think I'll survive twenty minutes with Ellie."
With a dramatic sigh that fooled no one, Ethan stood up, his leather jacket creaking. He paused by the bed, his hand lingering near Annie's for a second before he turned to Ellie. "If Riley shows up, I'm holding you responsible."
"He's at football practice, you paranoid gargoyle. Now go!"
Once the door clicked shut behind him, the room felt lighter, the heavy intensity of Ethan's presence replaced by Ellie's manic, comforting energy. Ellie flopped into the vinyl chair, kicking her feet up.
"Finally," Ellie exhaled. "I love the guy, really, but he's like a high-voltage fence. So, how are you really doing? Is the brain fog lifting, or do I still need to explain who the Kardashians are?"
Annie laughed, but as she looked at Ellie- the way she tilted her head, the specific way she popped a grape into her mouth- a strange, static-like hum started in the back of her mind.
The white walls of the hospital began to dissolve. The smell of antiseptic was replaced by the rich, heavy scent of linseed oil and turpentine.
The sun had set long ago, bathing the sky in a veil of darkness where only the moon shined. Annie was in her bedroom at Dylan's house, her back aching from leaning over a canvas for six hours. She was almost finished with her third and final painting of the week.
Bing! Annie's phone chimed on the bedside table. She wiped a smudge of Prussian Blue onto her leggings and reached for it.
E. 🤍 –
"Seven hours away and I've already decided the scenery inside my home is overrated and it's quiet over here, so I'm sending some of that silence your way in case you need it. No need to reply, just wanted you to have a smile in your inbox."
Annie stared at the screen, her heart doing a slow, heavy roll. She looked toward her window, seeing the golden glow from Ethan's room across the way. He was so close, yet he was giving her the space she hadn't even realized she needed.
The Pebble Target 🎯📖
"Seven hours and you're already bored? I'm flattered I made the 'overrated' list. I think using some of that silence you sent is exactly what I need to finally breathe. Thank you for thinking of me, Ethan. Goodnight. :)"
She was still smiling at the screen when a second notification banner dropped down.
Unknown –
"EMERGENCY. And by emergency, I mean I have snacks and a desperate need to be social. I'm five minutes away- please tell me you're decent and ready!"
Five minutes later, the "silence" was shattered by a sharp, rhythmic knocking at her front door. Annie had barely opened it before Ellie breezed past her, a whirlwind of brown hair and oversized fleece.
"So," Ellie said in the memory, nodding toward the window where Ethan's shadow was visible against the glass. "Has the brooding gargoyle next door checked in? Or is he still playing the 'I'm too cool to admit I'm obsessed with you' game?"
Annie had felt her cheeks heat up. "He's just being thoughtful, Ellie. He knows I'm not ready for... much."
"Annie, honey," Ellie had sighed, leaning back. "That man is barely civil to the rest of the world. He isn't 'thoughtful' by nature- he's thoughtful because it's you. The silence he sent? That was him telling you he's willing to sit in the dark with you until you're ready for the light again."
Suddenly, Ellie's phone had vibrated violently. It was Riley. Ellie answered, and his voice crackled through the speakers, loud and frantic.
"Wait- Annie's? You're with Annie? Put her on! Ethan told me if I so much as breathed in the direction of her house, he'd personally ensure I never used my thumbs again. He said she needs space, El. Real space."
Annie remembered the way she had leaned into the phone, whispering, "I heard you, Riley. Thank you for being... mature."
And she remembered the look Ellie gave her after she hung up. "Ten years, Annie. That's not a history, it's a saga. He's showing you his version of 'gentle.' He's definitely got it bad."
Annie blinked, the memory receding like a tide. She was back in the hospital, her hands clutching the thin white blanket. She looked at Ellie, who was currently mid-sentence about a nurse's haircut.
"Ellie," Annie interrupted, her voice breathless. "The silence."
Ellie stopped, a grape halfway to her mouth. "What?"
"He sent me silence," Annie whispered, a tear of relief pricking her eye. "In a text months ago. I was painting a sunset, and I was covered in blue paint, and you showed up with snacks because Riley was being annoying."
Ellie's jaw dropped. She sat up straight, her eyes wide. "Wait... you remember that? You remember the night I crashed your painting marathon?"
"I remember Riley's voice on the phone," Annie said, the details sharpening. "He called himself a 'respectful turtle' because he was scared Ethan would break his thumbs for bothering me. And you told me... you told me Ethan doesn't make threats he isn't willing to carry out when it comes to me."
Ellie let out a high-pitched squeal of delight, reaching over to grab Annie's hand. "Yes! Oh my god, Annie! That was like, the week after you moved back. It was the night I realized Ethan wasn't just being a neighbor- he was being a bodyguard."
Annie leaned back, a genuine, warm smile spreading across her face. "I remember what you said. You said he wasn't checking the weather when he looked at my window. You said he was intentional with me."
"He was. He is," Ellie said, her voice turning uncharacteristically soft. "Seeing you remember that... it's huge, Annie. That was the night we became friends. You told me Kyson was a dink, and I told you my brother was a loser, and we ate enough popcorn to get sick."
Annie felt a surge of warmth. It wasn't just a memory of Ethan, it was a memory of connection. She looked at the door, half-expecting the "brooding gargoyle" to burst back in.
"He really has been out there this whole time, hasn't he?" Annie asked. "Guarding the door?"
"Since the second you got here," Ellie confirmed. "Even when Dylan tried to send him home, he just found a different chair. He's a respectful turtle, too... just a much more dangerous one."
Annie laughed, the sound bright and clear. The blank spaces in her mind were still vast, but the bridge was getting stronger. She looked at Ellie, her best friend, and realized that even if she couldn't remember everything, she was surrounded by people who had been holding her place in the world until she could return.
"Tell me more about the 'saga,'" Annie said, leaning forward. "I want to know everything the gargoyle did while I was sleeping."