Forever Breathing (Just Breathe #3) (23 page)

Jack strolls out of the room where Ever is and I shift my weight.

Alody is jarred awake and immediately asks, “How is she?”

She beat me to it. See this girl is amazing. She doesn’t even know my sister, yet she asks about her like they’re best friends.

He looks at me first and I know without any words, there’s been no change. When I brought her back here after Jack and I found her, Amber drained the water but we couldn’t wake her up. There was no open wound so I didn’t know how to use my blood to help heal her. We ended up resorting to prayer and hope.

It’s now been three days and at least one of us has kept a vigil by her bunk, but still no change. She is breathing but she won’t wake up. We haven’t spoken about it but I know we all fear she won’t wake up at all or if she does, she won’t be our Ever. I don’t know how long she was in the water with her legs and no air. I dread having to go back home to land without her.

Alody leans back into me and whispers, “It’s okay James, she’ll be okay.”

I nod at her not sure anymore how things will turn out.

“It’s my turn to tell
you
everything will be alright.” I shift my face to look down into those beautiful green eyes and gently kiss her, thanking her. Jack looks awful. I shift again sliding out from underneath Alody.

“Hey, why don’t you go and take a break, we’ll stay with her in case she wakes up.”

He pats me on the shoulder on his way out the door.

Amber and I talked about things last night. She told me about their plans or moreover Jaspen’s plan to get information from Roman. How he really just used Ever to do his bidding once again. I think the whole plan can be classified as a fail. It makes me want to hurt him all the more, putting my sister in danger like that. And I can’t even imagine seeing Alex again. I think Jack and I are in agreement about him. We both would like nothing more than to teach him a lesson for not protecting Ever. Jack feels horrible for letting her go in the first place. My take on that is, this is Ever we’re talking about, when has
anyone been able to stop her from doing what she sets her mind to?

I head into the room with Alody in tow. I sit on the edge of the bunk and grab my sister’s hand. Alody situates herself in a chair across the room and dozes back to sleep. As I rub her hand, I remember the first time she told me about this place. I smile as I remember how I thought she finally went off the deep end. We were at the park down the road from our house. The same park our mom took us to so many times when we were younger. Ever would swing, so I would swing. When she moved on to the sandbox, I would immediately follow, then on to the slide. It didn’t matter where she went; I was at her heels constantly. I thought she was the coolest of course until we hit our teenage years and then we couldn’t stand each other.

But the day she told me about the sea was the day our relationship changed again. It was as if I was following her around the playground again. She was cool again and I wanted nothing more than to be like her.

I look down to her peaceful face and wish that I could just ‘will’ her to wake up. I move to the floor beside the bunk never letting go of her hand. Finally, after a small while, conjuring up many scenarios that don’t end well, I fall asleep.

***

I wake when my hand seems to move. I hold my breath as I realize what it could be and focus on where the movement is coming from. It moves again. I hop up momentarily letting Ever’s hand go. I grab it again and wait, holding my breath once again. There it was again. Just slight but a small squeeze, nonetheless.

I look over at a still sleeping Alody and lean over my sister telling her quietly, “I’ll be right back.”

I rush out of the room calling down the hall, “Jack, Amber, Jack, get in here.”

Jack comes barreling down the hall followed closely by Amber.

His voice is strained, “Is she…is she alright?”

I nod, “Yes, come, you have to see.”

I urge him to grab her hand and we wait. The three of us just standing there, staring and waiting. Finally after five minutes he exclaims, “There, she just squeezed my hand.”

The look on his face is like he just won the lottery. When you are waiting as we are, you notice even the small things. Amber grabs her hand next and is rewarded with a small squeeze as well.

Jack takes up his vigil by her side and whispers to her. She doesn’t wake. There is no other movement but that tiny reassuring squeeze, we’ll take it.

Chapter 39

Ever

The last thing I remember is willing my legs to get out from under a giant rock that had fallen on my fin as a result of another stupid move. I remember my lungs burning and Jack’ƀs voice. He was looking for me but I couldn’t find him. Now I’m just so tired. I can’t open my eyes. I just want to sleep. But there is something else I have to do before I fall back to sleep. I have to…I can’t focus. What is wrong with me?

Oh yeah, I have to let Jack know where I am. He’s been looking for so long. I try to speak but I can’t feel… I’m not sure if my mouth is moving to make the sounds I need it to make. So I try to lift my arm. Maybe if he sees my arm, he’ll be able to find me. I try but it won’t move. Then I remember that damn chain attached to it, no wonder it won’t move. Suddenly, I remember I have my legs, my lungs and I can’t breathe. Oh no, this is it, I’m never going to see Jack again. I can’t let that happen. I want to see him. I try to yell out to him again and then the darkness I was trying to keep away overtakes me…

***

I feel something warm in my hand. I try to squeeze onto it but then it moves away. Wait, maybe that will help get me out of here. I strain again to keep a thought. My hand, focus Ever on
your hand, I tell myself. That warm thing holds my hand again. I try so hard to focus on that hand. Suddenly there are muffled voices. I think I recognize them. Is Jack still looking for me? Is Alex looking for me? No one knows I’m here. How is there something warm in my hand? I was alone in the ‘dungeon’. Oh crap, my legs. Suddenly my lungs are burning. I can’t catch my breath and darkness…

***

I wake again but I still can’t open my eyes. I’m aware of my legs but it feels different, the air is moving my chest, I can feel it. Something warm is still in my hand. A voice whispers to me, “Ever, I’m here. Please come back to us.”

I want to yell at Jack that I’m right here but for some reason I know my voice won’t work. I focus on my hand and then my legs. The rocks and chains are gone. I know that much. But before I can think about anything else, sleep takes over and I doze off…

***

I wake this time with more energy. I have to somehow get back to Jack. I focus on my hands again and then my legs. I try with all my energy to squeeze the warm thing in my hand. As soon as I do his voice speaks to me, “Ever, I’m here. Do it again.” Do what again? He seems closer now. I squeeze the warm thing again and he whispers, “That’s it Ever, we’re here. You can wake up when you’re ready.”

I stop squeezing. What? Wake up? I thought I was back in a dream or still in the room back at Roman’s.

I think about Jack and how he says he is here. Why can’t I open my eyes and see his beautiful blues. I squeeze again hoping to at least hear his voice again.

“Yes Ever, I’m here. I will always be here. I will wait forever if that’s what it takes.”

Forever. I focus on that word, forever. Yes, Jack is my forever. I smile or at least I think I do…

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Chapter 40

James

Ever’s been out for four days and I am really starting to worry. She squeezes our hands when we place them in her’s but there’s no other indication that she’s still there. I am bracing myself for the worst. I suddenly know how Alody felt when her father was dying. I hug her tighter to my chest just knowing that she felt this horrible and there was nothing I could do to help her through it.

Her weight shifts and she faces me looking tired but beautiful, “Hey, you know I have to go to the castle today.”

I look away for a minute. The fact that my sister is here but she really isn’t takes up every waking moment for me, right now. But my strong girl here knows otherwise. Today she is to meet with her people and Jaspen to work out a plan. I’m not an idiot. I know that Roman is coming regardless of whether Ever wakes up. Regardless of whether we’re ready for him, he’ll be here. I know I need to go with her but I’m so afraid that if I leave, I’ll miss her last breath.  How did it all come to this and how did we all fail to protect her?

“I know, I should come with you.”

She shakes her head and places her hand on my knee, “No, you stay here and see to your sister.” I knew she would give me an out but I still feel guilty. I want to go with her but I can’t right now and she understands. I lean over and our lips meet briefly. She smiles and gets up.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

I nod and watch her walk out the door. I glance back to my sister laying there so peacefully with Jack by her side and I’m glad she doesn’t have to go through this again. This battle is imminent and it probably won’t end the way we would all like. I know, way to be optimistic James. I’m just telling it like it is and trying to face the fact that Roman is a scary dude with a lot of people behind him. We brought Alody’s people but that is chump change compared to what’s coming.

***

After dinner Alody makes it back to Amber’s dwelling. She seems happy and positive about what she and Japsen planned. I find it pretty ironic that he has let her in so easily. I guess he wants it so bad at whatever cost. I can only imagine how this thing is woven with the fact that he and Roman are brothers. There must be some other animosity between them. I wonder if we are all really fighting for the same thing. Probably not.

I am sitting with Ever while Alody fills Jack and Amber in on the plans, she and Jaspen discussed. She told me that Jaspen keeps asking if Ever has wo΀ken up yet. Of course he wants his precious information. I doubt Ever even found anything out.
Alex refused to help me out when I got there. He probably tried to send Ever away but she didn’t leave. She’s so stubborn.

I’m holding her hand thinking about how I’m going to tell my parents. What I’m going to tell my parents, when I feel the familiar squeeze. I squeeze back and watch her face; still no change. It all makes me so mad. We wouldn’t be in this spot if she would have just stayed put and wished differently on her birthday. But I would have never met Alody.  Ugh! I just want her to come back to us.

“Can you…not squeeze so…hard.” A scratchy, barely audible voice fills my ears.

I look down to my sister. Her eyes are still closed but a tiny smirk shows at the corner of her lips.

Loosening my grip I ask hesitantly, “Ever, are you awake?”

Her hand squeezes mine tighter than I’ve felt yet. 

I ask, “Do you want me to go and get Jack?”

Her head tilts barely in a small nod. I release her hand and run down the hall, into the front room. Alody, Jack, and Amber are sitting around still looking somber.

I announce out of breath not from running but disbelief, “She’s awake!”

All three look up at me like a deer in headlights and scramble past me to her room. Jack sits on the edge grabbing
her hand. He brushes his other hand through her hair and whispers, “Ever, hey baby, we missed you so much.”

A small smile touches her lips. Her eye lashes move gently but her eyes still don’t open. It seems as if she is struggling to get them open. Alody, Amber and I stand behind Jack and wait. All our stares are fixed on her.

Jack encourages her, “You can do it, I know you can. As stubborn as you are…fight Ever, come back to us.”