I feel her there before I open my eyes. I smell her hair. I inhale her sweetness. There’s a distinct smell of lavender in the air. Yet, we are not outside. Past Ellie’s wide-set eyes and perfectly shaped lips, there’s nothing but white. An oppressive color of white, which dominates rather than comforts.

She lifts up my hand and kisses me. I feel the tingling sensation spread through my whole body.

“Ellie,” I say. My voice is rough and tired. It cracks in part as I repeat her name over and over. I don’t expect her to respond. I’ve said her name a thousand times before to no avail. Except this time, she looks up at me with tears in her eyes. They start rolling down her cheeks as she presses my hands tightly in her palms.

“Oh my God, you can hear me,” I say. Not only that, but I can also hear myself.

“Of course, I can.”

I lean back in my bed and take a look around. Quickly, everything in the room comes into focus. The television on the wall. The whiteboard with some doctors’ scribbles. The curtain for privacy even though it’s a private room. My dad standing awkwardly at the foot of the hospital bed. The monitors next to me, beeping incessantly. My mother staring at me from the other side of the room. Is that a smile on her face? I dart my eyes back to Ellie.

“How do you feel?”

“I’m…okay.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I feel fine. What’s going on?”

Ellie tells me. I’ve been in a coma. Eight days. It was medically induced after I suffered a bad blow to the head. By Blake. Who else.

“Do you remember what happened with Blake?” Ellie asks.

“Yes, he cornered me on the street. But I just remember talking to him. Nothing else.”

“You don’t remember him attacking you. The fight?” My mom pipes in.

“No, I don’t.”

Two doctors come in to see me. The fact that I remember what I do is a big surprise, especially to them. They warn me that I still need to take things easy even if I feel like I’m okay.

“It sort of feels like I’ve been taking things easy for way too long already,” I mumble. “But okay.”

The doctors instruct everyone to leave to give me some time to rest. Everyone except Ellie. My dad seems to be relieved by this, but Mom is visibly upset. Still, it’s doctors’ orders and there isn’t much she can do about it.

“I’ll see you first thing tomorrow morning,” she says.

“Well, maybe not first thing,” I say.

After Ellie bids her sister goodbye, we are all alone. I look out of the window. Twilight has fallen and flurries are gathering.

“There’s a big storm coming,” Ellie says.

“Can you turn down the lights a bit?”

She dims the lights and sits in the chair next to me. Suddenly, the room is bathed in candlelight.

“I love you, Ellie.”

“I love you, too.”

“Thank you for being here. Not just now, but throughout this whole time.”

“You knew that I was here?”

“Yeah. I don’t know how, but I just felt you, I guess. Your presence. Some of the times, I actually heard you talk to me. And I talked back.”

She nods. More tears come. She chokes up wiping them.

“Will you do me a favor?” I ask. She nods. “Will you climb into bed with me?”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You could never hurt me.”

She moves the blankets out of the way somewhat and then sits up on the bed. I run my hand up and down her back. She lets out a big sigh of relief. I push my hand up her shirt, much to her surprise. She flips her head around, her eyes wide open.

“What are you doing?”

“Touching you.”

“I know that,” she says with a smile.

“I missed the touch of your skin. I had forgotten how soft it was.”

She gives out a moan as I run my fingers up and down her back. Her shoulder blades move up and down with each breath and she tilts her head back. I reach out with my other hand and pull on it.

“Hmmm,” she moans. I bury my fingers in her hair and tug again. I want to hear her moan again. I take my hand further up her back and tug at her bra. The clasp opens up and her breasts are released.

“Oh my God, what are you doing?” she asks, blushing. “You just woke up. Is this seriously what’s on your mind?”

“I nearly died. What else could possibly be on my mind?”

She shakes her head, rolling her eyes. “I don’t know if we can do anything like that.”

“Oh, c’mon. Please.”

“I’m serious. What if it’s bad for you to get aroused, given what medication you’re on?”

“I don’t care.”

“I do.”

“Okay, okay. How about this? What if you just lay here next to me and let me touch you. Nothing else?”