NADIA

We appeared back in my room, and with a quick look around, I checked to make sure it was only me and Aidan. Sat on the floor next to him, my mind was still processing what had happened. It was Aidan, but why hadn’t he looked like himself? I took a deep breath and shook my head. “I'm so sorry, girl. I didn’t mean to barbeque you, but I was scared and used everything in me.” A shiver ran down my spine as I stared at the burnt black of Aidan’s skin. "It's a good thing you heal because you are all kinds of messed up." I placed my hand on his chest to let him know we were okay, but his body didn’t rise. I leaned in, listening to his chest. He wasn’t breathing.

“No, no, no, no, no. Come on, now. Aidan, wake up.” My voice was firm, but the panic was rising inside me. I shook Aidan and my heart raced. “Aidan! You better wake up right now!” Seconds turned into minutes and my yelling became less and less coherent. He wasn’t responding and I didn't want to believe what I was seeing. I beat on his chest while my tears broke through. “Open your eyes! Heal yourself!” The next hit was so hard, I accidentally used electricity, and his body arched up. "Oh, god, I'm so sorry. Aidan. Please." Still no pulse. I completely lost it, pounding and slapping him. “Don’t you dare think you can die on me. Get up! Move! Do something! Please!” Someone grabbed me from behind and pulled me away from Aidan’s unmoving body. I fought back until I smelled Lana's familiar perfume.

Her gaze was glued to Aidan's charred body. "Nadia! What happened?”

"I didn't mean to. I didn't mean to do it. I think—I think he’s dead." With the words finally spoken, I hyperventilated.

Lana hurried to Aidan and knelt next to him to check his vitals. I didn’t even blink as she performed C.P.R. at a calm and steady pace. Even though his body was burnt beyond recovery, a flicker of hope sparked inside of me. After a few more unsuccessful attempts at C.P.R., she stopped. Her mouth fell open and she slowly backed away.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

“No,” is all I could say as my eyes welled. I repeated it until I was yelling it at the top of my lungs. I lunged at Aidan, but with remarkable strength, Lana held me back.

“Nadia, please, I need you to focus.” Lana's voice broke and she let me go.

“No!” I yelled at her. “He can’t be dead. We have to do something. Call 911! Call anyone!” I dropped to my knees next to Aidan.

Lana bent down again. "Nadia, look at me. We can’t call 911 or the police. If someone finds out what happened, they’ll do god knows what to his body and throw us in a cell. We’ll find a way to fix this. I promise. There has to be a way.” Lana choked back a sob.

My tears fell onto Aidan’s blackened arm. “I didn’t mean to. It was an accident.”

Lana pulled me into a hug and rocked me back and forth. “We will fix this.”

But the truth was right in front of me. I could feel Lana’s tears on my back and her body shaking from trying to hold back her sobs.

A few minutes later, I finally stopped crying and lifted my head toward her. She looked so tired and her mascara was ruined from crying. “What do we do?” I sniffled through my tears, trying to regain my composure.

Lana wiped the mascara from her face and breathed deeply. “I don’t know. Maybe we should wait for what’s-his-face to see what he says before doing anything.”

“It doesn’t feel right just sitting here. We can’t just leave Aidan like this.” Almost in response to my words, Aidan's body lightened from charbroiled black to his normal skin tone. Even more unsettling, he rolled onto his side and stuck his hands underneath his face like he was merely asleep. Lana and I looked at each other, both of us stunned. Lana slowly approached Aidan and re-checked him.

I waited for her to tell me everything was okay and that it was a miracle. Truth be told, I didn’t care what it was. I was beyond ecstatic to know my best friend was still alive and especially glad I hadn’t killed him. When Lana finally turned around, I was already smiling.

She, however, looked horrified. “Nadia, he’s still not breathing and he still has no pulse, whatsoever.” I stared at Aidan as he wiggled his nose and continued to slumber.

With a deep breath, I took Aidan's hand. “This bastard sleeps through anything.”