Three days had passed since she took out all her anger at Tyler. And he didn't even do anything to deserve it. In fact, he sent her one of the sweetest things she had read in a long time. She didn't have the heart to text him back. She wanted to, but her heart ached every time she tried. She wanted to apologize to him and get to know more about him. But her attitude ruined it. She tried to swim her troubles away to get her mind off it. After swimming the length of the pool about 15 times, her arms felt like lead and her mind still brought her back to that night. She hadn't been able to stop tearing up when she thought about how she acted. But she kept swimming through it.
After three hours at the pool, she dried off and changed into her regular clothing. She left the gym and realized it had gotten dark out, the walkway illuminated with the amber lampposts. She saw the coffee shop in the distance. She walked towards it in hopes that he would be there. But all the lights were out inside. It was closed.
"No..." she quietly said to herself. She pulled her phone from her pocket and looked at it. 11:13. She unlocked it and looked at the number that he texted from. She swallowed a lump in her throat as the tears welled up again. She took a deep breath and dialed the number, bringing the phone to her ear. It rang multiple times before a male voice came on.
"Hey, you've reached Tyler, leave your name and number, and I'll get back to you."
A beep sounded through the earpiece and she began to speak, her voice shaking.
"Tyler... it's Mandy. Look, I'm sorry. I had no reason to treat you as I did. I just... I had been so frustrated at men betraying me so many times that I forgot there were sweet guys like you out there somewhere. I know that's not a real excuse, and I'm really sorry." She sniffled as tears fell down her face. "I want to talk to you again. I want to give you an actual chance, not treat you like I would've treated an ex. Just... please, give me a call back when you get this."
She hung up the phone and sighed, tears streaming down her cheek. She couldn't believe she was acting like this. She didn't even know the person, and she was sitting next to a coffee shop crying. She couldn't get her mind off of him. She was trying to think of what was making her act this way. She thought it was just because she'd had a lack of companionship with anyone for a long time, or that it was because she really did feel that bad for how she acted. Then she thought maybe it was because she was actually attracted to this person. His blue eyes, his short brown hair. His body wasn't skinny, or buff, but he wasn't that big either. His shirt still hung from his chest down. She looked down at her phone, hoping that a text or call would come in. But eventually she stood up, wiped the tears from her face, and slowly walked back to her room, ready to try and get some sleep.
The next day, she kept checking her phone every 15 minutes, but it was still clear. No texts or calls. This went on through all of her classes She tried calling him again after her last class but got his voicemail. She hung up and threw herself back into the bed, trying to get some sleep. She couldn't handle crying again. Her eyes closed as she fell asleep.
She was walking down a dark, doorless hallway, unable to see where she was going or what was going on. A light shone from a far distance, a white light. She walked towards it and suddenly water flooded in from behind her. Her instinct kicking in, as the water lifted her, she swam hard towards the light, the wave pushing her faster, the light getting brighter and brighter. As she reached the light, a door opened, and she was flung into a white room that was so brightly illuminated it blinded her for a second. As her eyes adjusted, she saw the water being held back in the doorjam by some invisible force. She looked around the room. It was a tall room, and in the middle was a bed. It wasn't empty though. She walked slowly towards it, and as she approached the side, she saw Tyler, lying there. He looked so peaceful. She sat at the edge of the bed and reached out, touching his cheek. It felt warm. Then things changed. Underneath her, the bed turned cold and elevated itself. She blinked and it was a gurney, with the metal sides up around him. Then blurry figures appeared around her. People dressed in light blue clothing. The figures became clearer every passing second, then she heard voices speak.
"What do we got?" She wasn't able to identify any of the voices.
"Male, mid-20s, friend found him unconscious in his bed."
A breathing apparatus appeared, covering his nose and mouth.
"Get him hooked up."
Wires appeared from nowhere and attached themselves to his skin, his shirt dissipating from his body.
"Pulse?"
"35 BPM"
She looked around quickly.
