Everything is happening too abruptly, as soon as things seem to get better, there’s a sudden plummet downwards. This is all my fault. I left him to thrive alone, I abandoned my brother in order to learn that I shouldn’t and that no matter how much he may bring me down, I need him. Oh the irony! I’m crouched down on my knees, withering in a pool of tears while Baekhyun went into the bathroom to inspect the severity of the situation. I don’t want to know the result, but I sure need to.

  I cup my cheeks and listen to my shallow breaths, “How bad? Tell me he’s fine and that’s it’s a minor scratch or something. Maybe he’s just sleeping… Maybe he fainted for a short while… Maybe he’s not injured that badly… Maybe…” My efforts to calm myself are useless and I only choke on more tears.

  It’s my fault.

  Stupid Jennifer.

  Those thoughts will never leave. They may fade like scars, but those thoughts will remain forever, imprinted into me. Even if he’s okay, there will be that engraved inkling of blame. It’s Chanyeol’s simple belief that I abandoned him that I will never let go of.

  “Jennifer, I don’t think he’s dead,  but…” I take a step towards the bathroom door, but Baekhyun’s voice insists I don’t witness the scene he has. “Don’t come closer! You don’t want to see him in this state.”

  “He’s my brother,” I reprimand to his dismay. Surely Chanyeol would have just knocked himself on the head and fallen unconscious. After all, he’s not a stupid boy. “It can’t be that bad-”

  Breaths halt.

  Tears freeze.

  Limp arms.

  This thing in front of me, this distorted and hideous thing, no way is that my brother.

  No.

  The window is completely open wide, enabling the sprinkles of pollen to waft in and enter Chanyeol’s system. His head; his crimson, puffed, balloon-head is hanging out from the window sill where his blood, mixed with drool seeps from his lips. Everywhere is pink, rashes are crawling up from his feet to his neck and the splattered blood stains imply that he was once coughing out blood. In his hands is the container of medications, with pills scattered just around his hand, those contaminated pills, he found them, and he consumed them. All of it.

  First he opens the window to his greatest allergy. Then he overdoses on dirty pills he found on the ground.

  How could I ever live with myself?

  How could I, knowing that this all happened because of me?

  How?

  “Baekhyun…” The tears don’t stop and I let my body fall into his arms. My head fits into the space in his neck and my tears soak through his fabrics, “Why did I leave and let this happen?” I couldn’t bear any longer to look at Chanyeol.

  He’s breathing.

  His last breaths.

  The door swings open and the nurses sprint in, tenderly lifting Chanyeol off the ground and onto a trolley. His head lolls back and his chest rises, I don’t want to look. But just one glimpse of the person I love and cherish most is worth it. I open my eyes at his red and swollen demeanour, all that pain, squished together in one body. Who would have thought that there was a time he loved living. I realise, I can’t tear my sight away.

  Even with his allergic reaction, Chanyeol is somehow still the most beautiful person I have ever seen.

  If only I could see him smile for me.

  His eyes flutter open and my heart crumbles. Can he see me? His finger twitches slightly but his lips are too bloated for him to muster a grin, yet there is the twinkle in his eyes. That gratitude. That sheer relief that even though he brings me down, I came back. For him.

  Baekhyun lets his grip loosen on me and like a bee drawn to honey, I just run all the way to Chanyeol. Can he just push through this operation like all the past surgeries he survived? Will he, with the knowledge that I’m not going to escape from him? I envelope him in a hug and the nurses shove me away, ordering me to back away from the ill patient.

  “Why did you do that, Chanyeol?” I shriek as he glances back to me.

  With immense energy, he whispers, directly into my ear, a hint of an aching grin.

  “To set you free.”

A/N: I was proud of the emotion I had in this chapter and then I realised the word count... I'm really sorry for a VERY short chapter :( I still hope you enjoyed it anyways and I assure you, the next chapter will be much longer! Please leave a comment and subscribe <3 I don't reply to the comments, but I do read them and they all make me smile :) Comment with how you think this is going to go ;) Thank you~~