Tiffany

Today, I repeated my entire schedule again. Wake up; brush my teeth, a shower and the rest of the day spent by Jessica’s side. I’ve been doing this after a few weeks prior to Jessica’s accident. I stayed loyally by her side, sleeping or reading a book. Sometimes, I would just stare at her face blankly, wondering if she ever was going to wake up. But I would banish those thoughts in my mind and wait, no matter how long that would take. It became so that even Taeyeon had stopped visiting and if she did, her visits were usually less frequent and short. She would just come in, ask me if there was anything I need, we would go for a short walk and I would return back to the ward while she returned back to her campus for classes. Krystal had stopped coming completely. She couldn’t take the sight of Jessica’s motionless body and had to be dragged away by Amber when she would cling to the bed, crying and wailing like a three-year-old. Only I remained. It’s not that I wouldn’t cry like how Krystal did. It was just that, what good was that for? If I wailed every night, would that wake her up? I had to be strong for Jessica. As I was sleeping soundly by her bed one night, I heard the soft creaking of the door.

“Hey, Tiffany,” a whisper snapped me out of my slumber and I looked back to stare at the visitor lazily.

By now, it could only be Taeyeon. We’ve been here long enough for the nurses and receptionists to let us through without much question.

“Oh, hey, Taeyeon. What are you doing here at this time of night?”

Taeyeon offered me a small smile which I returned wearily. Still groggy from my sleep, I laid my head down onto my folded arms and watched Taeyeon’s careful movements across the room.

“I just came to check up on you. Still doing fine?” Taeyeon made herself comfortable on a nearby couch.

“Hmm…? Oh yeah, we’re fine.”

“No, that’s not what I meant, Tiff,” Taeyeon rested her elbows on her knees, giving me a somewhat pitiful glance.

“Then what did you mean?” I questioned, raising an eyebrow at her.

“I mean,” Taeyeon paused, apparently thinking, “Jessica’s been that way for almost two months now. She’s suffering.”

“I don’t see your point.”

I saw it, but failed to recognise it as a valid point at all. The chances of Jessica’s awakening had slimmed down considerably and the doctor had mentioned that at that rate, Jessica might not even wake up at all. Taeyeon heard this, and her sour expression soured even more.

“Tiffany, I know you know what I mean.”

It was quiet for a while. “I…can’t just let her go, Taeyeon.”

“Tiffany, look at the needles and the tubes they put inside her. That machine is helping her breathe, for God’s sake!” Taeyeon pointed a finger at the steadily beeping machine by Jessica’s bed.

I looked down and fiddled with Jessica’s and my entangled fingers. Her nails had grown, but I was there to trim it short and her hair had grown much longer. Jessica became paler and thinner as day passed by. Death was lingering near her, but until I saw reality, Death was an entire planet away.

“I can’t. I’m not going to give up. There—there still is a chance that she might wake up.”

“She’s dying, Tiffany. And you’re not doing anything about it.”

I shot to my feet, barrelling towards her before I could even think twice. I grabbed her collar and stared fiercely into her blank eyes. She was limp to my touch, as if she had allowed me to grab her, and she wasn’t shocked at all, as if she had expected what was to become of this conversation.

“What do you want me to do about it? What can I do about it?” I seethed.

“You could let her go.”

My grip on Taeyeon’s collar loosened and even if she could squirm out of my hands, she remained still until I let go of her and drunkenly stumbled back to my seat by Jessica’s bed. All this while, Taeyeon had been watching me intently.

“You’re not trying to prove her anything by keeping her alive. You should move on, Tiffany. You can’t stay here all the time. The past will eventually catch up to you,” with that, she left, leaving me unable to sleep as I pondered on her words.

Jessica

I watched the heated argument between Taeyeon and Tiffany. Halfway through the argument, Tiffany had rose to her feet and grabbed Taeyeon’s collar. She screamed in Taeyeon’s face and I could do nothing but watch. When Tiffany had finally calmed down and staggered back to her seat, Taeyeon took her leave, leaving behind some words that haunted Tiffany’s and my mind.

“Tiff,” I said as I stood by her, “you aren’t going to give up on me, aren’t you?”

She sighed and rubbed her forehead as she thought. I noticed that her hand had been withdrawn from mine. I stared at my hands, unable to feel her warmth anymore.

“Tiff…you’re not, aren’t you?”

“Jessica, please wake up. I don’t know what to do anymore,” Tiffany pleaded and she touched my hand.

The moment her skin touched mine, I felt my hands burning with the vital warmth that I needed to go through the day with. My hands felt blessed and pure when she touched them.

“I have to wake up. I have to. I can’t see her like this anymore.”

Readers’ Note:

If you guys wanted TaeNy, well, sorry I will be disappointing you. In about a few more chapters, or consequent ones, I’ll wake Jessica up from her deep slumber. Then there’ll be JeTi again!

Thank you for reading!

Yours Faithfully
Jazzign