You Used To Do That

Davie woke up to the soft humming of machines. He had been slowly pulled into consciousness, hesitant to wake up. He had the faint feeling that he had been dreaming of something pleasant, but as he tried to grasp at the memory, it pulled away from his fingertips.

He breathed out a long and tired breath before opening his eyes. The room was dark, the lights turned off and curtains drawn. And he also realized that his head didn't hurt like before. The pain from the previous day seemed to have dulled to only a slight throb. He tried to sit up but found that it was a bad idea to do so. As he had tried to prop himself up with his right arm, pain flared in his ribs, back, tailbone, and shoulders. He hissed, resisting the urge to just quickly snatch back his arm out from under him and fall back against the bed. He carefully lowered his upper body back to its previous position and sighed. So, he couldn't move. Despite the lessened pain, he probably wouldn't be able to get up for a while. He considered just going back to sleep. It wasn't like he could do anything else, right?

But right as he was about to shut his eyes, a slight movement to his right caught his attention. He turned his head, and was shocked to see that Simon was asleep in the chair next to him, his knees curled up off the ground and a worn looking blanket draped haphazardly over his body. Davie's heart stuttered at the sight before him, and he smiled, though he couldn't pinpoint exactly why. But it seemed that Simon's mere presence sparked pleasant emotions in Davie's mind. It made some sense though. Simon had been the only person that Davie had met so far. And their meeting, however awkward and brief, hadn't been terrible. Plus, they had apparently been close before.

Davie sighed, before looking away from Simon. There had to be something for him to do while he waited, right? He glanced around, noticing a stack of books near his bed. But as he reached out toward them, he found that they were just out of reach. He huffed, bringing his arm back. This was going to be frustrating. As he thought about it, a thought occurred to him. Did he even still know how to read? Something told him that he did, but couldn't place how or when he had learned. He glanced back at the books. If only he could reach them, he might be able to check. His curiosity got the better of him, and he reached his arm out again, attempting to shift his body slightly closer. As his center of gravity shifted, his back protested, pain shooting its way through his muscles. He hissed, pulling his arm back once more. He sighed. It was no use. He might as well just try to go back to sleep. Frustrated, he closed his eyes, his brow still furrowed slightly. He tried to slow his thoughts and even his breathing, but it was no use. He sighed again, opening his eyes. He turned his head to look around again, but there was nothing of interest other than a few monitors he couldn't see and a bookshelf he couldn't reach. This was the worst. He subconsciously rubbed his thumb against the knuckle of his middle finger. He jumped as a voice, quiet and drowsy, mumbled from his right.

"You used to do that." Davie turned his head to look at Simon, who was now stretching his legs out and sitting up, rubbing lightly at his eyes.

"Used to do what? And how long have you been awake?" Davie said, slightly alarmed.

Simon smiled into a yawn. "That thing you were doing, with your fingers. And I just woke up."

Davie glanced at his hand suspiciously. "I hadn't even realized I was doing anything." He closed his hand into a fist and glanced back at Simon. "Have you been here all night?"

"Er, yeah. I've sort of gotten used to it. And, I mean, I figured you would want some of your questions answered when you woke up." He answered sort of sheepishly.

"Oh, well thank you, I guess. What do you mean you've gotten used to it? How long have I been asleep?" Davie asked.

Simon sighed. "A little over a month. I've been visiting every day. I started coming at night because- I- well it doesn't really matter why. Anyway, After I fell asleep here the first few times it sort of became a routine."

"And where is 'here,' exactly? I forgot to ask you that yesterday." Davie questioned.

"It's a room in our- my house. The doctors didn't know when you would wake up, and it was easier to monitor you from here with private doctors instead of at the hospital." Simon answered, fidgeting with the corner of the blanket in between his fingers. He paused, looking up. "Hey, how are you feeling today? Doctor Park gave you some pain medicine yesterday, since you're actually conscious now to feel things."

That explained a lot. "I'm feeling much better than yesterday. Although, it still hurts if I move in the wrong way." Davie answered. "Speaking of which," he added, "can you help me with something?"

Simon nodded. "Anything. What do you need?"

"I uh... can you get me a book, or something? And maybe a mirror."

Simon smiled. "Ah jeez, I forgot you would probably get bored. I can get you a new phone, which will probably be helpful. Your old one broke when you... fell." Simon paused awkwardly for a moment, before clearing his throat and grinning. "Asking for a book I get, but why a mirror?" He raised his eyebrow questioningly.

Davie's face flushed slightly. "I just," he paused, "I don't think I know what I look like."

The grin fell from Simon's face. "Oh. I- of course. Don't worry, I'll get you something. How about we start with a book?" He glanced at the bookshelf before getting up and walking over to it. "Ah!" He exclaimed, before pulling out a book and returning, triumphant over his find. "You always used to enjoy this one." He said, offering the book to Davie, who readily accepted. "It's 'technically' meant for children, but that never stopped you before." Simon said, smiling. Davie smiled in return. Just by glancing, he confirmed that he could, in fact, still read. The book looked interesting, the summary on the back describing a beautiful fantasyscape. He smiled back at Simon. "Thank you." he said. Simon's face softened as his smile widened. "Any time." he said, meeting Davie's gaze.

Davie could only nod and smile in return, as butterflies danced in his stomach and his heart swelled. In that moment, he felt truly happy, and something inside him told him that it was not simply because of the book.