Page 1 of Revived (Lucky Ones #1)
Twenty-three years old
W alking up to the open doorway at the end of the long corridor of this hospital floor, my breath stutters in my chest. A firm hand clamps around my shoulder, causing me to turn my head slightly until I catch my own eyes staring back at me.
Okay, so technically ‘my’ eyes is a gross exaggeration, but they are identical to my own.
My twin brother, Flynn, gives me a reassuring nod.
He tightens his grip for just a moment before he lets me go and waits patiently at my back.
He’ll wait here until I’m ready to face my biggest fears.
He knows my struggles better than most people, considering he’s about to bury the love of his life in just a few days.
Flynn was in love with Anneliese Fischer for the entirety of his college career, and before that he quietly pined for her all throughout high school.
They were the textbook example of the right people at the wrong time.
They had a couple of months together, and now that has to last him for the rest of his life.
The universe is cruel like that. We hear constantly about how people can be gone in the blink of an eye.
However, that day– the day we watched one of our best friends in this entire world take his last breath– where we both felt blinding pain as we held our individual reasons for breathing and begged whatever higher power that would listen to save them.
We learned how true the cliche phrase actually is.
Whoever makes these decisions about who lives and who dies, they decided to take Annie from Flynn, but for some reason they decided to not give me a definitive answer yet.
Because the woman who has been my reason for living since I was five years old is on the other side of this threshold, fighting for her life.
I’ve been told by numerous professionals that she’ll survive.
I’d love to take their word for it, but the fact that she has a machine pushing oxygen into her lungs and pulling out the carbon monoxide because she can’t do it herself is telling me a different story.
It’s giving me pause that I don’t typically have where she’s concerned.
For eighteen years, there’s only been one other time in our lives where something concerning her has made me pause before approaching her.
I didn’t like it then, and I sure as fuck don’t like it now.
I close my eyes and take one final deep breath before making myself step into the room.
My sweet, sassy, and beautiful Elena is almost unrecognizable. She’s been mostly cleaned up from the blood that seeped from her belly less than twenty-four hours ago. The tubes and hoses that cover most of her arms and face make my stomach hollow out.
I’m so damn sorry, Boo.
My head drops; it feels too heavy to hold up.
I can feel Flynn standing at my back, showing his silent support.
Our other best friends, Knox, Dom, and Xavier, stand not far behind him.
Everyone’s waiting for my move. Elle’s father agreed to give us the room for a moment in exchange for him going home to shower.
He looked about as rough as I feel and smelled even worse.
Deciding that I’m done stalling, I take the seat beside her bed and thread my fingers through hers.
I’m careful not to pull or move anything that could tug or cause her any more discomfort.
It’s a stupid thought. Obviously, she’s in a lot more pain than from a moved tube, but it’s the only thing I know to do right now to help.
“Hey, Boo. I’m here with the guys. We need you to wake up, Elle. We’re lost without you. I don’t even know which way is up right now. Come back to us. Come back to me. I’ll do whatever you ask of me. Including letting you paint my nails and tweeze my eyebrows if you just wake up.”
As gently as I can, I bring my face down to her hand and kiss her knuckles.
Then with my four conscious and surviving best friends watching on in silent support, I break.
I crumble to ash at her side as I allow all the fear and sadness over the events of the past day to consume me.
I’ll do anything for her, including laying my own life down in exchange for hers.