Layla's POV

I stood in the hotel clutching my stomach. Whatever I ate was inevitably going to come up. I sat here,  watched Michael die, and come back in front of me.

My mother was off to the side, clutching her stomach. I needed to take her to get an ultrasound, and check on the baby, because I knew it was distressed.

Bill was clutching the flashlight he used to look at Michael's eyes, I'm sure he was traumatized because him and Michael are actually friends.

I snapped out of my trance, and began to order everyone around. "Alright y'all, get up, we need to go to the hospital." I sniffled, wiping the blood on my pants.

They nodded affirmatively before getting up. Bill dropped the flashlight, and headed out first, with me and my mom following. I picked up some of Michael's spare clothes, and sweat pants because I'm sure he would want to wear something more comfortable.

I will never forget the way he looked. His eyes were puffy and purple, and blood was trailing out his mouth. He was choking on air, and his eyes were rolling to the back of his head.

I began to look at the floor where Michael resided earlier. All the blood that came out from his crike pooled on the floor.

I'm praying to every god there is for his safety because I don't know what he did to deserve this.

I picked up a duffel bag, and stuffed his clothes inside. I didn't take any time to clean myself up so I just left.

I caught up with bill and my mom walking down the stairs. We went to the parking garage where the car resided .... I guess we were going to Memorial Herman.

I'm coming Michael.

Michael's POV

I felt myself shaking, I couldn't bring myself to open my eyes, but I could sense what everything was around me.

I think I was in my subconscious.

I walked around on this white tile floor. It was leading me to this door, with a hazy gray background behind it. When I opened it, I was greeted by this lady.

She looked a lot like Layla. She had the same kinky 3c/4a hair Layla had. But her nose was slightly different. They looked about the same age.

She extended her arm to me, but when I tried to grab it, it vanished, and came back, like a holographic.

Where am I?

She smiled, and put her hand behind her back. "Hi, I'm Tanu!" She said happily, she had a thick African accent.

I nodded my head slowly in confusion. I ran my hair through my curls. "Hey Tanu, where am I?" I asked softly.

She looked to the side before whispering. "You're in a place called white silence. It's where dead souls reside. Or halfway dead souls, you're just in a medically induced coma." She explained shrugging.

Coma? Medically induced? What the hell happened to me.

I scrunched up the features on my face, and sat on the white tiles, she sat by me. "I don't believe you." I shook my head, folding my arms.

She raised her brows halfway smiling. "Let me show you then." She ran her arm through my torso, and it disappeared and came back.

My eyes bulged, as this scene unfolded before my very eyes.

I'm in an actual coma?

"Yes." Tanu said.

I raised my finger up and raised a brow wondering how she heard me. "How did yo-" She cut me off abruptly.

"White silence is also your subconscious, I can hear everything you're thinking. Since you're in a coma, and practically dancing on the line of death, you're able to see me as well." She quickly explained, playing with her sleeves.

I stuttered on my words, before mustering up an actual sentence. "Well, who are- who are you?"

She sighed, sitting right besides me, staring into this nothingness room we were in. "I'm Layla's older sister. My mom aborted me because she couldn't afford to have me around. I understand, but it would've been cool to be with my sister." She laughed. "I watched her grow everyday, and I see everything she sees." She sighed. "Even when y'all have sex, but I tune it out." She snickered, trying to tease me.

She's a pretty cool person wow. She's like Layla but more aloof, and chill.

My cheeks flushed red with embarrassment. "I'm so sorry you have to see that." I giggled trying to hide my embarrassment. "But wow, you're Layla's sister? You're absolutely beautiful and soft spoken like me, does she know you exist?" I nodded slowly.

She laughed pushing my shoulder playfully. "No, my mom wouldn't dare, but I like to think she feels my presence. That noise you hear when you're sleeping? That's me trying to look at y'all, and guard y'all from evil. You're the love of her life you know?"

She looked at me taking my hands. "Don't hurt her, y'all's  future is bumpy, but y'all will get through it." She assured.

I gave her hands a squeeze but I was confused why it wasn't dissolving. She heard my thoughts so she jumped to explaining.

"Well it's not dissolving, because we have understanding, we're both aware of what we are so it doesn't happen anymore." She smiled.

I nodded slowly with understanding. "Well when do I wake up?" I asked eagerly, wanting to talk to my baby girl.

She shrugged. "That's up to science now, whether your body is strong enough to wake up from a coma. If you die, this gray room turns white, and you move in to phase two of white silence." She got up, and stared down at me.

I raised a brow, standing up as well. "What's phase two?" I started to shake, anticipating her answer.

She looked down in sadness. "Permanent residence, in a white silence room. When you die, it's like heaven, you get everything you want except your loved ones on earth. But you get to watch them, that's the fun part about this place." She laughed awkwardly trying to shine light on this god-awful situation.

I ran to her and shook her arms, staring to become frantic. "No! I don't want to be here, I want to be with my baby, I want to be with her, I don't want to watch her move on, and be hurt!" My eyes started to well up with tears. "I want to be in her embrace, I love her. I LOVE HER." I yelled the last part.

She softly took my arms of her shoulders. "Well look at me, we don't always get to get what we want, but you can always fly down to visit. Be patient Michael, there's a strong chance you'll wake up." She assured me.

Might? MIGHT?

She nodded. "Yes might." She clearly heard my thoughts.

She sighed, and put her two hands behind her head. "Let me show you something." She removed her hands, and looked up.

I brought my head up slowly, but all I saw was the hazy gray background that was this room.

Tanu waved her hands in the air, specifically in circular motions, before forcing her arms up. The gray background began to open, and I could see what was happening outside of my body.

I looked at the picture, it looked like a projection screen on the ceiling, except it wasn't a movie. It was real life.

Tanu put her arm around me, I continued to look up. I was laying down, with an IV magnesium drip in my arm. This doctor had my EKG results as well.

I saw 3 people rushing into my room.

Nancy, bill, and...

Layla, my beautiful baby. She had blood all over her pants, I wonder why?

Tanu spoke up. "She performed an emergency crike because your airway was obstructed, you had an allergic reaction to those poisonous flowers." She explained.

I keep forgetting she can hear my thoughts.

I continued to look up as Layla listened to the doctor.

Layla's POV

"Michael has suffered severe damage to his left atrium due to him going into V-Tach. The poison on the flowers were extracted from a spotted dart frog. The emergency crike cleared his airway and saved his life." The doctor clearly explained.

"We put him in a medically induced coma to give his body rest. We intubated him, and hooked him up to a ventilator so it can breathe for him." She pointed to Michael. He was hooked up to so many wires.

"We also started him on a magnesium drip for his heart, and a heparin drip to thin his blood a bit so it can circulate easier." She put her hand on his IV. "He's due for another EKG, and we will know more if he wakes up." She stated.

If? What do you mean IF?

I called out to the doctor before she left her room. "What do you mean if?" I smiled painfully.

She sighed, placing her pen and chart down. "Well due to the crike, the reaction from the poison, him going into V-Tach, compressions, and the multiple shocks of fibrillation, his body was put though a lot of stress, hence the medically induced coma, but we need time to see if he will recover from something so traumatic. If he doesn't, we will have to terminate your husbands life support." She explained carefully.

I really want to make him my husband, but how am I supposed to have that chance when he's gunna die soon?

My mother stepped up to ask more questions. "How long? How long will they keep him on this ventilator before they decide to pull the plug?" She said with her glassy eyes, clutching her pregnant belly.

She sighed again. "We will give him 4 months because that's the usual recovery time, but after that, he will be considered dead. We will detach the ventilators that are breathing for him, and pronounce his time of death. We did everything we could. I'm so sorry." She gave me a sympathetic look before walking out the room.

My mom gave me a hug, along with bill. The kissed Michael on the forehead before giving us some privacy. I'm sure they headed for my mother's ultrasound.

I pulled a wheely chair on his bedside. I grabbed his hand. I was alarmed but not necessarily surprised when he didn't grab my my hand back. His hands were actually cold, and his body looked like a corpse.

His breathing was stifled and machine like. Well he wasn't breathing on his own.

The tears started to well in my eyes, and I could feel the warmth of them trail down my cheeks. My nose started to run, and a feeling of helplessness started to boil in the pit of my stomach.

I stroked his hair, and looked at his face smiling, I really did love him.

Michael's POV

"She's touching my hair! I can feel her!" I smiled happily touching my head.

Tanu smiled alongside me. "Well that's because you're not dead!" She laughed. "So you can feel her touches." She rubbed my back comforting me as we looked up at the scene.

Layla was sniffling and crying. "Michael, I don't know if you can hear me." She used a free hand to wipe her eyes. "But if you can, that's great!" She smiled halfway, squirming in her seat.

I looked at Tanu then back up at the screen. "I can hear you!!" I said loudly. Of course she didn't hear me.

My body was so stiff and still, there was no signs that I could hear her.

Layla continued to speak, and stroke my hair. "Michael, nakupenda. I love you. Everyone here needs you." She cried. "You know they kept referring to you as my husband?" She raised a brow, still crying.

Husband? "I would love to be your husband!" I said to myself.

Layla continued to look at my cold body. "I won't have a chance to do that if you die. Wake up please! I need you, I love you, I want to spend the rest of my life with you, I want to marry you dammit." She said the last part louder.

My heart was beginning to ache as I continued to watched her touch me.

"There's so many things that I want to do butthead." She laughed, still hurting inside. "So wake up so we can do them." She touched both of my hands.  "I know you can wake up, I believe in you." She kissed my hands.

I looked down st my hands smiling because I could feel her warm lips on my skin.

She pushed her hair out her face and continued to speak. "I'm so sorry I put you through all this, you know, living with me and being with me is a roller coaster, but how am I supposed to live with myself if I keep hurting you? Sometimes I feel like we would be better apart so you can't get hurt."  She looked down, disappointed with the words that exited her mouth.

I began to feel tears well up in my eyes because that is the last thing I want, that's doing more harm than good.

Tanu tapped my shoulder. "Look up!" She pointed at the screen.

Layla was smiling at me. "But then I remembered that you're not weak, and neither am I. I am determined to make this last." She kissed my forehead.

I touched my forehead again, there was a feeling of sadness and happiness pulsating through my holographic being, I want to feel her warmth in real life, not in pieces.

She kissed my cheeks, and my nose. "I have to go check on my mom and her ultra sound. The baby needs to be safe, I'm sure you'd like to meet her?" She giggled wiping what was left of her tears.

"Stay alive for me?" She smiled, before leaning in, kissing my lips ever so softly.

I watched as she walked away, and the scene above me faded away into this hazy grayness. I was left where I started, with Tanu as my companion.

I looked down, to see Tanu smiling. "You heard her, stay alive."

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, I know it's different than what you all are used to, but I tried to do a spin on it. These will post when I have wifi

Vote and comment, I love you.

- Kenny 💚