The Dead and the Restless (Completed with undergoing editing)

Chapter Thirty-One

"Oh my God," I breathed, walking up to him, taking in every feature. I moved a hand up to touch his face to make sure he was real. I almost gasped when he wrapped a hand around my wrist, pulling me into a hug. I felt my throat choke up, and I couldn't breathe. He was really here, right in front of me. "You're really here."

"I'm right here," he whispered into my ear, squeezing me tight. Everything else that happened in the past few hours seemed insignificant now. "Always."

I buried my face into his chest, my breathing coming back and quickening. It was almost as if I could feel the dam I'd built to stop the tears from leaking collapse, and my body shuddered with every debris that fell to the ground. Without even knowing, I heard myself let out a loud sob and I gripped his back, holding onto him for dear life. This was the first time I had cried in weeks, and it felt strange. I couldn't find another emotion to fit how I felt, and it was the only thing I could manage to do.

"I'm s-so sorry," I cried into his chest. He shushed me, running a hand through my hair, trying to console me. His breath was warm on my forehead, and I knew now how much I yearned for his comfort. It had been so long since I heard his voice, and even longer since I felt his warmth.

"There was nothing you could have done," he said. "You're the reason I'm still here. You saved me, Lease."

I felt a lump in my chest. He was wrong. Only a few days ago I was ready to pull the plug on him and let him die. If I had, I wouldn't have saved him. I would have killed him, and I'd be the reason he wasn't here.

"Excuse me," Sienna interrupted us. "But can we talk about what happened for a few seconds?"

"Yeah," Darlene said, backing her up. I stopped hugging Craig and turned to her, but I still held onto Craig's hand, refusing to let him go in worry that he'd fade away again. "I think this is something we need to discuss."

"What happened?" I heard Liam say. My eyes met his as he walked up behind Darlene, and I could see hurt in his eyes. I didn't know if he meant to hide it or not, but it was there, and it hit me hard. I instantly felt guilty, but I didn't know why. I wasn't doing anything bad, I was just hanging on to my best friend. But it was just his stare that was unnerving, and I found myself avoiding his gaze, unable to look him in the eye.

"I don't really know," Darlene said, pulling up a hand to scratch her forearm. She looked genuinely confused. I'm surprised she didn't realize that Abbey had done it. "One second, we were all getting ready to go to bed, and then he-"

She motioned toward Craig.

"Got up," she continued. "The monitors beeping started going off like crazy, so I ran over to him to see what was wrong. As soon as I got to him, his eyes were open and he was struggling, thrashing around on the bed. Then, next thing I know, I'm hearing a lot of loud bangs at the door. I thought it was you guys, and I yelled for someone to get the door. I wasn't paying attention to who did it, I was trying to help him."

I noticed that she was itching her arm more, and that her hands were shaking. I know Darlene wouldn't lie, but something was off.

"Who opened it then?" I asked, looking around. No one answered. My eyes locked on Abbey, but she was off in some fairy tale land, way too far for any of us to find. I knew it was her. It was blatantly obvious. I sighed and looked back at Darlene. "Look, it doesn't matter who is to blame-"

"I think it does," Sienna said, folding her arms and pursing her lips. Of course she would care.

"It won't do any good-"

"I think it would," she interrupted again. "I don't want to have to be brutally awoken again by something trying to rip my throat out."

"Well, you're going to have to get used to that," I said, staring straight into her eyes and challenging her right back. "Because once were out there, that's all you'll worry about."