I struggled to pull air into my lungs.
A strange, unnatural ripping sound replaced the screeching in my ears.
Everything was black.
White.
Red.
When I pried my eyes open, I was enveloped in a sea of brilliant blue.
I parted my lips, and they felt dry and cracked. I swallowed and forced out the only words that mattered.
“Rumple?” My throat hurt, and my mouth felt like it was coated with the plaque of morning breath. I ran my tongue over the roof of my mouth and tasted copper. I swallowed.
“Thomas?” Her beautiful, confused voice sang t
o me. “What…?”
“Are you okay, Rumple?”
“Oh my God…Thomas…Thomas…”
Numbness in my legs.
Queasiness in my stomach.
I fought it down.
“You…okay?” I repeated, gasping. There was something thick and liquid on my chin.
“I’m fine, Thomas,” she whispered, and there were tears in her eyes. “Don’t move, okay?”
Her fingers were against my cheek—warm and soft. She pushed stray hairs from my forehead as the sound of sirens approached. Her touch felt so good, and I knew I was the dumbest asshole in the world to have given this up for so long.
“I never wanted to hurt you, Rumple,” I told her. A little voice in my head told me I had to tell her—it was important she knew. My side ached, and it felt warm and sticky, which didn’t make any sense in contrast to the cold cement below. I was vaguely aware of a lot of screaming around us—the voices of other students, patrons—maybe the diner manager.
“Don’t try to talk, baby,” she said. The movement of her fingers in my hair was faster—frantic even. “Just lie still, okay?”
“You’re so beautiful,” I said. I wanted to wrap my hand around the back of her head and bring her closer so I could kiss her—if she would let me, but my hand wouldn’t move. There was a sharp pain in my back—up high, near my shoulders. Really, I couldn’t seem to get much of me to move at all.
“Oh, Thomas…your leg…”
My leg? My legs didn’t hurt—just my shoulders and my side.
I coughed.
“Stay still,” she whispered again. Her eyes were all wet. Was it raining? It was too cold for rain.
“You’re okay?” I asked again.
“I’m okay, baby.”
“Good.”
“Help is coming,” she told me. She was repeating someone else’s words, but I couldn’t make out whose they were. “Almost here.”
My eyes blurred and closed. The soles of my feet were all tingly.