Sloane starts chest compressions, up on her knees to apply enough pressure. At one point, I hear the pop of a rib, and my stomach swirls with sickness.
“Don’t do this,” Sloane is murmuring over and over. Tears run down her face even though she’s laser focused. “Not after everything. You can’t leave me like this.”
She leans in to give him more breaths.
“Marie?” James says into the phone, squeezing his eyes shut. “Marie, it’s Michael. He... he needs help.” But James starts crying, and I have to reach over and grab the phone from his hands.
“Realm stopped breathing,” I tell her. “What do we do?”
Marie is silent for a moment, and I check to make sure the call didn’t drop. I put it back to my ear. “Please, Marie, he’s dying.”
“I’m on my way,” she says. “Get him breathing again. I’m ten minutes away. Just get him breathing.”
“And then what?” I ask.
“Then we’ll find out if the cure works,” she says.
Sloane falls back to sit on the floor, and I turn. Realm gasps, coughing and moaning. He places his hand on his ribs, and I forget all about Marie on the phone.
James sits there, his face covered, and Sloane stares at Realm like he’s the sun and moon. And when he opens his eyes, it’s her that he focuses on first.
He’s still having a hard time breathing, wincing with every intake. But he reaches out his hand to her, and she takes it and offers a fragile smile.
“Was I asleep for long?” Realm asks weakly, and then grins when she laughs and kisses his hand.
“You fucking died,” she says, shaking her head. “You died, Michael.”
His eyelids are heavy, but he looks at her with complete adoration, and I can see that he still loves her. Same way he did back in The Program. And despite everything he did, she loves him, too.
“Not a chance,” Realm says, touching her cheek to wipe away a tear. “I wouldn’t leave without a good-bye.”
Her face starts to crumble again, but she straightens it quickly. Fact is, Realm is still dying. And so is James. A whole hell of a lot of people will die if we don’t get that cure.
And I can’t help but look around this small room, some tiny apartment in the middle of the suburbs, and wonder how the hell this can all work out.
•••
We get Realm into the bed again and keep him stable while James goes to the couch, telling us he’s fine but looking worse. I was surprised when he leaned down to Realm, his hand on the back of his neck, their foreheads together in a quiet embrace. I wonder how they can be such close friends while in love with the same woman. Then again, I guess we all have some relationship issues.
Marie arrives a short time later, and when I hear the door open, I’m sitting in Realm’s room. “I’ll be right back?” I ask, and he nods for me to go. He hasn’t been able to say much, mostly just watching me with deep-set eyes. Pained.
I jog out into the kitchen and find Marie standing in the living room, talking to James and Sloane with a black medical bag in her hand. Next to her, Wes is holding a box with his good arm, his eyes a little glassy. He’s a little high, and he all but confirms it when he smiles dreamily in my direction.
I walk over and take the box from him. Just as I set it on the kitchen table, he comes over to kiss my cheek, murmuring that he missed me.
“I see she gave you the good drugs,” I say, not hating when he stays against me, wrapping me up from behind.
“Did you know I could smell colors now?” Wes asks, and when I turn to him, he grins. I laugh, and Marie appears behind him.
“Where’s Michael?” she asks, and I wonder if she thinks he’s dead. Like I’d be out here smiling at Wes if that were the case.
“In the room,” I say. We head back that way, and Marie grabs the box. I want to ask her what’s inside, but I imagine I’ll find out soon enough. Marie moves urgently, reminding me that time is of the essence.
I wait at the door while Marie goes inside. She sets the box down and stands above Realm, her arms crossed over her chest. Her expression is unreadable as she looks him over. For his part, Realm smiles at her, and she softens when she meets his eyes.
“Thought you were going to get out of this, huh?” she asks. He sniffs a laugh, and then holds his side and groans. Marie’s smile fades.
“I have a cure,” she tells him, but her lack of excitement isn’t encouraging.
