Lily fell asleep with her head resting on Jason’s shoulder. Jason felt much better after he ate. He didn’t have starvation eating at his stomach, making him feel angry. They both still sat up right on the hospital bed. The sky was pitch black outside the window. Jason rested his head on top of Lily’s who was still sleeping on his shoulder.
The covers were pulled up to their waists. Jason desperately wanted to kiss her on the forehead, but the scorching hot burns were all over her face. So, instead, he placed his hand on top of hers. His gauze bandages started peeling because of usage.
Lily’s hand twitched under his. “Jason…?” She whispered. Her lashes brushed against her cheeks as her eyes opened.
Jason still rested his head on top of hers. “Hmm?” He murmured.
“Can I have some water?” She asked quietly. Exhaustion filled her tone.
“Of course.” Jason said. He lifted his head up and reached over to the bedside table, lifting the jug of water. Lily waited patiently with her head still resting on him as he pressed the straw to her lips. Her skin stung from the burns as she took little sips, but it wasn’t as bad with the pain meds.
He took the jug away when she finished drinking and placed it back on the table. “Thank you,” Lily said softly.
“There’s no need to thank me,” Jason placed his head back on top of Lily’s. “I’m just glad I could help.”
“Didn’t visiting hours end a while ago?” She asked.
“Yes,” he exhaled, “but they let me stay.”
Lily wondered why Jason was allowed to stay. “Who saved me?” She decided to ask instead. When he didn’t answer, she looked up at him. “Jason?” His eyes dulled in hesitation, “Who saved me?” His lips were a straight line. “Why aren’t you telling me-”
“I did.” He let out.
Lily’s eyes widened in fear. She looked down at his hands where the gauze was wrapped around his palm. She sat up, grabbing his hand. “Is that why you’re hurt?” She turned it around so his palm faced her, “I didn’t know-”
“I know that it was stupid,” Jason uttered, “the firefighters made that very clear.”
“I’m sorry,” Lily whispered, “I wish I was strong enough to help myself get out of there.” She looked down, her short hair covered her face. “But, I fainted.”
“When? Before or after the chunk of ceiling fell on you?” Jason asked.
“Before…” Lily murmured, “Fire blew up the heater and I was thrown back.” She looked up at the wall, avoiding Jason’s gaze. “I was knocked out by the impact.”
“Lily… Do you have a head injury?” Jason’s tone grew sharper in worry. He stared at her face that gazed off in the distance. “Lily?”
“No. I don’t think so.” She responded.
His burnt hands started searching her head for bumps, “Are you completely sure?” She felt his calloused hands part her hair and rub her head, searching for lumps.
“Yes, I’m sure.” She said while she pushed his hands away. “I believe I would have a horrible migraine if I had another concussion.”
Jason placed his hands on his lap, “Well, I was just making sure.” He sighed, “I was just trying to help.”
“I know,” Lily said, placing her head back onto his shoulder. She raised his hand that she still held. “Did you hurt yourself while taking the ceiling off of me?”
She really catches on fast… Jason thought. “Yes.” He said as he rested his head back on hers. “You’re so intelligent, you know that?”
Lily shook her head, “No… I… just worry too much…”
“Well, yes.” Jason said, making guilt weigh down Lily’s stomach. “But, you’re also very smart.”
“If I was, then I would’ve made it out of there…” Lily whispered.
Jason pulled his hand out of her grip, taking her off guard. She tried to reach for it again, her burns stretching. He held it out of her reach. She tried to extend out to it, but her burns pulsed and she quickly tugged her hand to her chest. Lily breathed deeply, trying to get the pain to stop. She was annoyed, but the pain drowned out her irritation.
“If you promise you’ll try to go to sleep, I’ll give it back to you.” Jason said softly.
Lily whimpered, leaning forward. Her burns stung under her bandages.
“Come on,” he whispered, his voice as soft as silk.
When the pain was manageable, she leaned back, laying her head on the bed rest. Jason pulled her into an embrace. He tried his best not to touch her wounds. He wrapped his hand around the bare part of her shoulder, and the other around her head. She leaned into him, her breath shaking.
“I know it hurts,” Jason whispered softly, “but sleeping will help you heal.”
“It was so terrifying…” Lily whispered. “The flames burning my skin, and the feeling of not being able to breathe…” She dug her head into his chest, tears bleeding through her gauze bandages. “I couldn’t breathe… The smoke… It burned me…” She was telling the truth. The smoke burned her lungs as she inhaled its deathly scent. It burned her eyes like poison. It even burned her skin because the heat was unbearable. “It hurt…” She sobbed, “It hurt so much…”
“I know.” Jason rubbed his fingers through her hair. He pulled her closer. “God, sweetheart, I know.” He couldn’t imagine what she felt being in there for an hour. He couldn’t even stand being in there for a couple of minutes.
A nurse heard Lily sob and she walked in the room to find Jason helping her calm down while lightly stroking her hair. The nurse smiled softly and lightly shut the door behind her. She never saw teenagers act like that before. That boy was actually helping her, not yelling at her to stop sobbing.
Jason softly stroked Lily’s hair, causing her to feel tired. “Why do you always force me to sleep…?” Lily whispered. She sniffled as the tears stopped slipping from her eyes.
“Because I know you need it.” Jason’s voice was quieter than a whisper.
Lily tilted her head back to look up at him, “You’re not going to leave me if I fall asleep, are you?” Her eyes still shone with tears.
Jason stared into her eyes, softly running his fingers through her golden locks. “Well, I can stay here… or I can get a hotel nearby. You’re safe here without me.” He said, “Plus,” he booped her nose, “you can protect yourself more than I can.”
“I’m not saying that I can’t…” She held his hand that was on his lap, and looked down at the gauze on his hand. It started turning red from blood. “I don’t want to be alone…”
“You’re not alone.” Jason stated, “You have nurse-”
“Please,” Lily gazed up at him, “stay?”
Jason sighed, “Alright, fine.” He smiled. “But, you,” he poked her nose again,“have to sleep.”
“You won’t leave?” Lily asked quietly.
He shook his head, “No, I won’t.”
“Promise?” Her eyes shone with hope.
“Promise.” He actually meant it, he wouldn’t leave. He knew that she needed someone to help her when she had nightmares. Or were they visions? Memories? Her father’s memories? Whatever they were, she had trouble sleeping because of them. He stared into her disbelieving gaze, “You don’t believe me, do you?” When she looked down, he sighed and shook his head. He grasped a part of her chin that wasn’t black and crisp, and tilted her head up to look at him. “Tell me, have I ever lied to you?”
She shook her head, “No…”
“Do I have a reason to lie about that?”
She gazed at the ground, her chin still tilted up, “No…”
He let go of her chin and pulled her into a hug again, “Then I want you to sleep, and if I leave, then I owe you something expensive.”
“But, I don’t want anything expensive…” She murmured. Her blonde hair fell over her face as she felt guilt clog her throat. She closed her eyes, her breath shivering.
She heard Jason exhale, “Lily,” his grip tightened on her shoulder, but in a comforting way, “do you even know what day it is?” She opened her eyes to find that he held his phone in his hand, but she couldn’t see the screen. He tapped the screen lightly with his thumb, then he put his phone down. “Well? Do you?”
“No…” Lily muttered. She wondered what he did on his phone.
Jason chuckled, “Do you even know what month it is?”
She looked up at him, “Do I look like a calendar?”
“I guess that’s a no.” He smiled, “Then I guess you’re gonna have to figure it out tomorrow.”
Lily’s eyes narrowed in confusion, “What’s tomorrow?” She asked softly.
“You’ll see,” he teased, “but, you promised you’d try to sleep, didn’t you?” He snickered at her alarmed look.
“No, no. You can’t leave me hanging like that!” She almost yelled.
“Shhh…” Jason whispered, “People are actually sleeping right now, and you should too, you know.”
Lily’s head pulsed with confusion as she breathed deeply. Jason held her firmly, but he wasn’t hurting her. He wasn’t trying to hurt her either. “Fine…” Lily sighed. “I guess you’re going to leave me hanging…”
Jason smiled, “Do you want me to help you sleep or can you do it on your own?”
“Can you… do it…?” She asked softly. Lily loved it when Jason ran his fingers through her hair. It calmed her. At that time, her heart raced, causing her mind to refuse rest.
“Of course,” his voice was soft and smooth. He brushed his fingers through her hair, running them through her golden locks that shone silver in the moonlight. It took a little longer for her eyes to start weighing down, but after a couple of minutes, they did. Her bloody burns started calming down. She let herself relax in Jason’s embrace. She breathed ever so softly. Eventually she found herself fading into the dreamland when she heard Jason’s voice the last time that night. “Good night, sleep well.” He whispered, “Have good dreams, I promise I won’t leave until you wake.”
Until she woke.
So he was going to leave her. At that moment, she didn’t care because exhaustion turned her vision black and she found herself fading into her dreams.
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