Chapter 232: Friends
Amy’s POV
Ryan’s grandfather was a miracle worker. With the way that Ryan had been refusing to leave Vivian’s side, Amy had truly been worried that by the time that Vivian woke up, Ryan would be the one falling unconscious. His body having exhausted all of its energy in looking after her. But Langston Terrell had worked his magic and now Ryan was out getting some much needed sleep.
In his absence, Amy was making sure that her friend was not lonely. At some point during her watch, she had started talking just to fill the overwhelming silence. How in the world had Ryan endured it for all of those countless hours without breaking into sobs?
Now as she spoke, sharing a story from their past, Amy had a big smile on her face. The expression was not at all how she felt on the inside. But for Vivian’s sake she was faking her joy.
"Do you remember that time we ate at that fancy restaurant and then realized that we didn’t have any money on us?" Laughing softly Amy took a breath and blinked rapidly, the tears that had been threatening to fall going away. Taking a shaky breath, she resumed her story, her voice riddled with pain despite the fake cheer that she was forcing into it. "They had us in the kitchen doing dishes for hours. We got so bored, we began singing and it was so bad that they actually banned us from the restaurant, not for forgetting to pay but because of our horrible voices," Amy sang a few words from the song that they had butchered, her voice breaking every now and then as she forced back cries. Looking over at her friend, she expected to find the other woman’s grey eyes fixed on her, the awful song having somehow roused her. But that was not the case. Vivian was still unconscious. Sighing heavily, Amy began fixing Vivian’s blanket.
"It is fine, rest as much as you need. But please, please wake up soon. You and I need to make more silly memories like that. Then one day when we have kids, we can share all of that with them, Alright?" Silence greeted her. But Amy chose not to let that bother her, wanting to believe that some part of Vivian was aware of her words and was in full agreement.
***
By the time that Mark came to join her in the room, Amy had long since run out of stories and she had also lost the energy to beg and plead with her best friend to wake up. So instead she was just holding her hand and humming softly under her breath. When the man walked closer to them, Amy looked up at him briefly before turning her gaze back to Vivian. Mark, looking as tired as she felt did not say anything for a few minutes, simply taking the seat on the other side of the bed and staying silent.
"How is he?" Amy finally asked when the silence got to be too much. Looking over at her, Mark gave her a smile that did not reach his eyes.
"Who? Are you talking about Ryan or his grandfather? Or do you mean the old man we saw earlier who said that he was going to make you his wife even if it killed him?" Huffing gently, Amy flashed a genuine smile at the man. In the tough few days that they’d had, she had come to appreciate his ability to cheer her up however briefly more and more.
"I was talking about Ryan, but now that you have mentioned the Terrell patriarch, I would also like to know how he is doing as well. As for the old man, let’s not talk about him. I’m scared that if I so much as wink in his direction his heart will stop and his granddaughter, who is much older than me by the way, will not be happy with that development," Mark chuckled at her response and this time she could see a spark of happiness in his eyes. Turning back to the still slumbering Vivian, his face became serious once more.
"Ryan’s grandfather is headed back home. He might not have said it, but I can tell that this whole thing has really affected his health. It took quite a lot for him to make it to the hospital," Squeezing Vivian’s hand, Amy met Mark’s eyes over Vivian’s prone form. "And what about Ryan? How is he holding up?"
Leaning forward, Mark readjusted Vivian’s blankets before answering, his voice betraying how tired he was.
"When I went to check on him at the hotel, he was so deep in slumber that he did not even notice my presence," Giving her a sad look Mark continued.
"I left after ordering room service for him. The food will most definitely be cold by the time that he wakes up, but I would rather he eat cold food than skip eating all together in his rush to get back here. I know my friend, getting him to leave was hard enough. When he has finally had some sleep, he is going to come rushing back and I’d rather he not go back to surviving on chocolate bars and coffee,"
Amy nodded, Ryan’s lack of sleep and awful diet had been worrying her a great deal as well.
Before she could think better of it, she got to her feet and moved around the bed until she was right in front of Mark.
"Amy, what are you-" Not allowing him to get the question out. She leaned in and hugged him tight. When she let go, she dropped a chaste kiss on his cheek. "You are a good friend, Mark. Ryan is lucky to have you. We are lucky to have you," She told the man. Having not expected that, she saw his eyes begin to glisten before he cleared his throat and got himself under control.
"Thank you, but it is really nothing. Any friend would have done that," Amy shook her head. "But you have gone above and beyond what most people would have done. You really put the best in ’best friend’," To her surprise, Mark reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, his fingers grazing lightly over her cheek as he looked up at her, his expression was serious. "You are an excellent best friend as well Amy, and you have really been helpful throughout this entire thing,"
Oh.
Having not expected that, Amy found herself looking into Mark’s eyes and unable to look away. The far too long staring contest was broken by the nurse coming in, the two of them finding other places to look while the nurse did her checks. After the woman left, Amy found herself moving her chair over to Mark’s side. They did not say anything more to each other, they just stayed silent, watching Vivian. Neither of them minding the fact that their hands were touching the entire time, the contact grounding.