Prologue
I lay there on the ground, feeling weak. I felt like I was hyperventilating, but I wasn’t. I couldn’t breathe. I could feel my heart beat slow and it scared me. It was the worst feeling in the world. At one point it felt like I was going to die. I was so sure of it. But with my weak body I saw Samuel, my best friend, come running up to me. I could hear his voice faintly. It sounded muffled and far away. But, I could hear the fear in his voice. I could tell he is as scared as I am. But still, I lay there not knowing what to do. Not knowing what would happen to me. Would I die? I could feel my body tense up so much. My head was pounding, giving me a headache. I closed my eyes. Knowing there was nothing I could do. If I die, I die. There was nothing to stop it. Concentrating on Samuel, I could hear him talking to me. His voice became less muffled. I couldn’t move and my body ached from Samuel trying to get me to stand up. He shook, but I couldn’t budge.
“Come on! Get up!” His voice was squeaky and tears rolled down his cheeks. “After everything that happened. Everything we’ve been though. You’re going to leave me? Now? You can’t.” His shirt was drenched from the tears and his eyes were puffy from crying.
He laid his head on my hip and cried. I knew this hurt him as much as it hurt me. We’ve been through so much together. And we both knew it was going to end. I loved the feeling of his body right next to mine and I knew that if I died, I would want Samuel to be right there beside me. I focused on my breathing. Long, deep breaths. That would help. But, I knew the fate that awaited me. So now I lay there. Waiting to die.
What felt like an eternity probably was only fifteen minutes. Samuel sat up and looked at me with a half smile on his face. There was something in his eyes that made my heart skip a beat. It was…relief. But, that wasn’t what made my heart skip. It was then I realized that I was breathing better. I could feel my body loosen up a bit, but I still could hardly move. Samuel sat there, waiting for me to get up, but I still couldn’t. It was too hard. My body still ached. Hope ran through every part of my sore body. I was going to live. I knew. And so did Samuel. He kissed my cheek and held my hand in his. “I love you,” he said. “I would die if you left me.” I knew by his voice that he wasn’t saying it as a friend. I wanted to tell him that I loved him back, but I couldn’t speak. I knew he saw it through my eyes, though. We were both happy that I was okay. Everything would be fine. Everything would be alright.