As It Was

Henry

I remembered the day it all happened like it had occurred just seconds ago. Every time I closed my eyes, I would remember the uneasy clench my stomach gave as I wake to my phone ringing sinfully loud in the early morning.

It was that sickening feeling that crept up your spine when you just knew something was wrong.

Mrs. Lee's voice rang through my ears, frantic and hurried, tears choking her as she tried to voice the most painful ones I'd ever heard.

"Chandler's been in an accident-" she started, a sob wracking through her as she sniffled silently, "he's-he's out cold." Her voice shook.

I didn't know what to say or how to react. Nobody ever thinks anything bad will happen before it does. He'd been out drinking with colleagues earlier that night. His deep, honey-like voice still echoed in my head and thrummed through my veins.

"C'mon, Henry," he'd said, "why don't you come with me? None of the guys will mind if I bring you along."

He'd tried to get me to go out with him and some of his buddies from work. The few of his friends from work that I'd met were perfectly nice, but I was never one to intrude. Also, pubs and drinking aren't really my thing.

The thing is, Chandler Lee is responsible. He knows his limit, and he knows when and where it's okay to cross it. I knew from the beginning that the accident wasn't due to him being intoxicated, but due to someone else.

"Where are you?" My voice was raspy with sleep, words caught thick in my throat. Anxiety bit at the skin no longer covered by my warm blankets as I sprang up from bed once I'd realized that what was happening was not a dream, not just a horrible nightmare, but reality.

If only it had been a dream. I wouldn't be here for the second week, the fourteenth day in a row, staring at his body from this uncomfortable chair next to the hospital bed.

If only he was awake and showing that gleaming, brighter than a million stars smile that he was known for.

If only his mind were free instead of trapped in this seemingly inescapable wrath of sleep.