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"Hi, Nicholas." He didn't answer, of course. No Hi, Salomé. Just silence. What was she expecting, really?
"Want to know a dumb secret? You're the only person whose future I ever wanted to predict." I wish I could. I should've been able to prevent this. I would've, if it wasn't for my feelings. She groaned. "I wanted to check if I was in it, which isn't even how precognition works. I don't get to pick what I see."
She would've taken seeing a million horrible things, if it meant she could've gotten him out before the explosion. But that wasn't the way it worked. If I hadn't felt so strongly for him, this wouldn't have happened.
BANG!
She kicked the door in frustration, wincing at the way even that resembled the explosion. I'm never going to be able to hear noises like that again, until he wakes up. He has to.
"It's gross. You stroll into the room and my heart goes 1-2-3 blastoff, and my tongue ties, and all of a sudden I'm calling you Nicholas and complaining about how annoying you are." I'll never complain again, if he just wakes up.
She was silent for a long time, wondering what else to say. Did it really matter? He couldn't hear her anyway. But she continued, "Do you remember that first batch of cookies you made for Griffin?"
He didn't respond. Please, wake up. She continued, "We were in third grade. You must have been, what, fourteen?" It was better back then. No stupid crush, and he was okay. "Well, those cookies were awful. Really, really awful." She would've laughed, but it didn't feel right. Not beside his still body.
Wake up. I don't know what to do if he doesn't. "I didn't get why Griffin was so happy about burnt hockey pucks in his ugly lunchbox. But you made a new batch every week, and they tasted better and better. You wanted to make him happy, so you worked hard and improved." I should've appreciated what he did for his little brother. Now I might never get the chance.
No. It can't be too late. "That's why I fell in love with you." I should have told you a long time ago. "Because once upon a time, you made shitty cookies." She gave a shaky laugh. "It's why you need to wake up, because I don't know how to bake."
She stepped away from his bed and looked over his form. If she hadn't known, he could've looked dead. The rise and fall of his chest was almost imperceptible underneath the sheets that covered his body.
Come back to me, Nicholas. I need you.
Letting out a heavy sigh that strangled in her throat, she stepped out of his room to Griffin. Her best friend's eyes were red-rimmed, and his lower lip was shaking as he met her gaze. She felt anguish coming off him in waves as he looked at the open door.
"Nick will be fine." He nodded, but the pain she felt didn't diminish. As much as she wanted to be there beside him, she had to let him see his brother alone, and stood back as he made his way inside, closing the door behind him. She couldn't have read his emotions for what he was saying if she tried to; it was all just a mess of pain, sorrow and guilt. She frowned at the last one and made a mental note to assure Griffin that none of this was his fault.
Wake up, Nicholas. We need you.