A R I A

"Careful," Miles' grip on my waist tightens as he helps me stay on my feet.

I drop back onto the bed in frustration and push my finger through my hair, squeezing my eyes shut. This is the fifth time I've almost fallen in the span of ten minutes. I still can't stand. It's been four days since I woke up, and I still can't get my legs to work. Apparently, even after ninety-six hours, they think I'm Sleeping Beauty. Having to depend on others and a wheelchair to do something as simple as moving around makes me want to shred a teddy bear until there's nothing left but strings of cotton.

"Come on, love," I crack open one eye to see Miles holding his hand out to me with that charming smile of his. "You're not going to give up that easily, are you?"

Damn. If I had just met him, I would have mistaken him for a London boy with that accent of his. With a tired sigh, I place my hand in his and let Miles pull me to his chest. I try to ignore the small flip in my stomach and fix my gaze on my shoes. Once again, Miles' arms slip around my waist as he steadies me. My legs begin to shake when he helps me take a step away from the bed.

My knee suddenly folds when we take another four steps. I yelp as I feel my body fall, but just before I can hit the ground, I stop.

"Didn't I promise I wouldn't let you fall?" One of Miles' hands is supporting my back while the other is still wrapped around my waist. When he pulls me back to him, he looks down at me and winks with a grin.

Instead of smiling back, I lean my head on his chest and close my eyes, pressing my lips together. "I'm tired of feeling so helpless. I can't do anything on my own. I can't even eat actual food. Honestly, what is that brown stuff they're always feeding me? It's like someone took urine and shit, then mixed them in a blender. It's just—ugh, I just hate being cooped up in this dark room. I hate this stupid hospital gown. I hate how I overheard this kid's mom tell him Nutella causes cancer. I hate everything about this place."

Yeah, I went a bit off-topic. So what?

And just like that, Miles starts to laugh. The sound makes me open my eyes and raise my head so that I'm looking up at him. I pout, brows furrowed. Why is he laughing? Jerk.

His laughter dies down, but his smile remains. "You," He pauses, booping my nose while dipping his head. "are the most adorable person I've ever met."

A wave of heat floods into my face and my lips part as I stare back at Miles in awe. My blush only deepens when he places a lingering kiss against my forehead.

He helps me plop onto the wheelchair, so I give him a questioning look. Once I regain my ability to speak again, I ask, "Where are we going? It's almost midnight! I'm supposed to be asleep. If we're caught in the halls, they'll kick you out for sure!"

There I go again, whisper-yelling.

Miles' mischievous grin makes me huff and lean back into the chair, waiting for him to push me out of the door. Once we're in the hallway, he stops pushing the wheelchair and walks around to stand in front of me.

"Hmm, what happened to that rebellious side of yours?" Miles narrows his eyes. "We're going on a little . . . adventure."

"What kind of adventure?" I raise a brow in suspicion, dismissing his other comment. What on earth is this boy thinking?

"We are going to go on a hunt for food, duh. Aren't you hungry?"

As if on cue, my stomach growls as soon as the word 'food' leaves Miles' lips.

"Hungry is an understatement. I'm starving. But, are we going to eat real food? If not, then, I don't mind starving until I get my hands on a burger or something." I say. There's no chance that's happening. I can't leave the hospital until I'm discharged.

"Of course we're going to eat real food. McDonald's is right next to the hospital. We don't even have to take Ry's car."

"You're still using his car? Poor dude." I shake my head and rest my elbows on the armrests. "And you know we can't go to McDonald's, right?"

"I thought you said you hated this place." The corners of his mouth turn upwards.

"I do, but—"

"Shush."

"We can't—"

"Blah blah bl—oh, yuck. What did I just step on?"

"I'm wearing a goddamn hospital gown! People are going to notice, even if we do make it out of this place without getting caught by one of the nurses!"

"That's why it's called an adventure, Shortcake," Miles says, moving around the wheelchair to wrap his fingers around the handles again. He leans down, with his warm breath fanning the side of my face. "Ready?"

I frown. "For w—"

Before I can even get the word out, I'm speeding down the hallway. I refrain from screaming at the top of my lungs and clutch onto the armrests as Miles continues the push the wheelchair as he runs like he's Usain Bolt. His laughter bounces off the walls, and soon I can't help but join in. Everything passes by me in a blur. The cool breeze from the air conditioners hits my face and my stomach flips It's almost as if I'm on a rollercoaster. Geez, how fast is this guy?

"Hey! What are you doing?" An angry nurse stands by the elevator doors when we reach this floor's lobby. Her arms are crossed over her chest, with a clipboard in her hand. Oh, man. She looks about ready to kill. She must be new here, since I don't recognize her. "You kids aren't supposed to be out here."

"Uh, we were just . . . RUN, SHORTCAKE!"

"Miles, you idiot, I can't walk. You really expect me to run?"

"Oh, right."

Stupid, but cute.

"You two are not going anywhere. What is your room number?" The nurse taps her foot impatiently and arches a brow. For some reason, she reminds me of Mrs. Cockroach.

By that, I mean this lady looks like her doppelganger. With the same ugly scowl, crooked teeth that are rotting, hollow cheekbones and stringy black hair, she could definitely pass as her twin sister.

"Since when did this place become a boarding school?" Miles says, in what he probably thinks is a whisper. In fact, it's anything but a whisper. He might as well have shouted. I bite my lip to stop myself from bursting out in laughter when I notice the nurse's red face.

"Please, I am not in the mood to deal with two imbeciles. Just get back to your room before I have to sedate you both."

Huh. She even sounds like Cockroach.

Miles leans down to actually whisper into my ear. "She can't do that. This lady is crazy."

I nod my head in agreement while the nurse frowns at us. My eyes dart to her name tag.

"Linda," I read it aloud, connecting my gaze with hers once again. "Do you happen to have a sister?"

Her dark eyes widen and her lips part as she stumbles back. "H-How do you know my name? And how do you know I have a twin? Are you a psychic?!"

What the . . .

"Um, no. Although that would be pretty cool. You're wearing a name tag, Linda," I flash her a grin. "and I never asked if you had a twin, so you kind of just confirmed my suspicions. Let me guess; she's a high school teacher and her surname is Cockroa—uh, I mean, Cockraine?"

She stiffens. "That's correct. I am assuming you two are her students?"

"Her favourites," I say, trying not to break character. Favourites, my ass. I'm sure she would push us both out of an aeroplane in a heartbeat if she had the chance. "So, is your last name Cockro—Cockraine, too?"

Mrs. Cockraine is married, I know that much—actually, I know a lot more than just that, since she is one of those teachers who absolutely love telling their students about their life stories. Anyway, she once told us that she had kept her maiden name because she preferred it over her husband's surname, which just so happens to be Dickinson.

Linda raises a brow and sets her clipboard aside. "Unfortunately, yes."

"Well, that's just great," Miles groans, leaning against the wheelchair and resting his chin on my head. "There are two cockroaches now. I'm not going to be surprised when it turns out there's a whole infestation." 

My hand flies up to cover my mouth so that my laughs are muffled, but the sound still echoes and bounces off the walls of the empty hallways.

What I don't understand, though, is how there really isn't anyone here besides the three of us. What happened to all the staff that were here earlier?

Just as the thought crosses my mind, a young nurse walks into the waiting room and presses a few buttons on a vending machine. Once he collects his candy bar, Hiroshi turns around and stops in his tracks when his eyes land on the three of us.

"Uh, hi?" He waves, but with confusion laced in his voice.

Hiroshi is one of the few nurses who I've actually managed to get along with—and Miles, too. But he doesn't have a night shift, from what I remember. So seeing him here, at this time, is a little surprising.

"Hiroshi! Did you bring me any cookies?" Miles ditches me to poke around Hiroshi's little satchel.

Huh, if I weren't in love with him, I would've shipped it.

Before the poor guy can even answer, the elevator doors open and Linda steps away from it. The scowl is back on her face, and the person who walks out of the elevator mirrors her face. Literally.

The room is silent. No one dares to utter a single word as Mrs. Cockroach and Linda have their glaring contest.

That is, until Hiroshi scoops up a handful of white cheddar popcorn from a little bag, shoving it into his mouth as he says, "Ah, shit. Here we go again."

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Ahhh, haii!! It's been a while since I updated this book, I know. This chapter is also just a little filler, and I know I promised last chapter that things will get much more interesting, but that's going to have to wait for about another 2 chapters. I'm not exactly proud of this update. In fact, I'm barely satisfied, but I just thought, 'oh, what the heck'. So ye.. hehe

Okay, now it's time for some self promo XD. I have published my new book! Ahhh! Drowning is inspired by crystally_rain 's cute little crush stories that she told us about in her A/N's, like I have mentioned before. If you're interested, please do check it out—oh, and go read Crystal's books too, if you haven't already! They're the best ;)

Here is the gorgeous cover made by the one and only fallenaengel :

Other than that, I have no other news or anything to tell y'all, so I guess I'll see you in the next chapter. Don't forget to vote and comment!

Chloe ❤