CHAPTER 06

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-You had no right to disappear, whispers Milan lip service.

I remain silent. I stop breathing. And I'm waiting for the sequel.

-Seven years. You left me all alone for seven years. And me like an idiot I waited for your call every day.

-But... no Milan... I'm here, I didn't leave. We... we are... we went to prom on Saturday and then...

My mind is starting to cloud again and I can't do anything to hold it back. I don't know if Milan is listening to me but he keeps talking without letting me finish my sentence.

-And the day my phone rings, it's because you're in the hospital. You have no right to call me for help when...

Her words go up in smoke the moment they pass the barrier of her lips and I sink again. I don't know what shit the nurse gave me, but no matter how hard I fight, I dive back in. I no longer see Milan, I no longer hear him, but his beautiful irises accompany me in my restless dreams. Only today, his gaze does not save me. He pushes me even more.

Emma,

I have absolutely no idea why I stayed here. You've been sleeping for three hours now, I should have slipped away and never come back. Like you did seven years ago. I don't want to dive back in, you have no idea the hurt you've inflicted on me. And yet, I sit like an idiot on this uncomfortable chair ordering my legs to go without ever succeeding in making them obey. You had no right to come back and mess everything up. But as usual, you just do what you want. And as usual, I'm staying.

Milano

It is dark around me. Only the noise of the machines breaks the agonizing silence that surrounds me since I found myself telescoped into a reality that is not mine. For half a second, I forget where I am and what happened to me. But this memory lapse is only a mirage. Reality is catching up with me so violently that I would have preferred to remain in ignorance indefinitely. Rather ironic for an amnesiac, don't you think?

My eyes flicker uncomfortably in the dark as a treacherous sensation seeps through my veins. I'm suffocating. I'm starting to feel overwhelmed by all the disasters that fall on my head but I just have to see it for everything to go up in smoke. Milano. Curled up in an old chair and obviously asleep. He's there. He stayed with me. More than his words, I remember the resentment that damaged his eyes last night. And despite that, he stayed with me. The weight that compressed my chest lightens instantly. I try in vain to turn towards him but my inert legs prevent me. I go back to sleep quickly, clinging to the slightest scraps of hope that I struggle to harvest.

A noise pulls me out of my dreams. I hardly open my eyes, the migraine beating my skull not making my job any easier. My gaze falls on Milan and I already feel a little lighter. I am a boat in the middle of a storm, I would be able to face all the tidal waves that await me as long as I can hang on to my lighthouse. I remain silent for a few minutes, the time to nourish myself with all the strength that my best friend has always had within him.

His drawn features and tired eyes make me feel guilty, but I needed him here too much to regret that he stayed. Her turquoise blue pupils are hidden by her furrowed brows and totally messy black locks that fall carelessly over her forehead. His lips are pursed and his hand absently strokes his beard.