Beyond the Pack’s Law: My stepsister or nobody else

Hayley’s POV

One of the healers, an elderly woman with compassionate eyes, laid her hand on my shoulder. “We will give our best.”

I nodded as tears streamed down my cheeks, observing them carry Aiden away. Ryan stood next to me, his face serious. “He’s going to survive Hayley,” he said nevertheless. “It is a must.”

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down. “We did all we could,” I said at last. “Now it’s all about hoping.”

Ryan agreed, shaking his head, albeit fiercely. “He’s a soldier. He will come out strong.”

We remained in that hallway as the sounds of a medical team working intensively filled the background behind locked doors. It was such a mix of fear and hope that made my heart beat so fast in my chest anytime I was there. Ryan kept moving up and down with a worried look on his face; he seemed determined too.

“Ryan,” I said with a trembling voice, “do you think he really made it?”

He stopped pacing around, turned, and looked at me with all his serious eyes. “Hayley, Aiden is one tough guy out here on earth.” He has gone through worse things before and survived; do not forget that we need faith in him always.”

I just nodded, feeling like I was holding on to this belief while he continued pacing back and forth in front of me.

Her words weighed heavily on my chest as I swallowed. “Can I see him?”

She nodded. “Yes, but only for a few minutes. He needs rest.”

Mom and dad followed her into the room, with Ryan and me trailing behind them as we came closer to the hospital bed where Aiden lay, connected to so many machines that the whole thing looked more like Frankenstein’s lab than anything else. His face was pale and drawn, and I could feel that his skin had no warmth at all when I took hold of his hand. “Aiden, we are here,” I whispered.

Aiden opened his eyes slightly, just enough to analyse who was in front of him before he asked, “Hayley, Ryan.”

“We are not going anywhere,” Ryan said firmly, standing on the other side of the bed. “You just focus on getting better.”

I felt as if Aiden tightened his grip on my palm for an instant before making another effort at saying something. “I felt… so weak. I hate this.”

“You’re not weak,” I insisted. “You’re the strongest person I know. You’ll get through this.”

The healer stepped forward into view. “He needs rest now,” she said coldly. “You can come back in a little while.”

“Yes! Yes, of course,” was all I could say as I reluctantly let go of Aiden’s hand. “We’ll be right outside,” was all I could promise him.

But once outside again, it was hard to fight back those tears that were welling up in my eyes again. “I hate seeing him like that,” I admitted quietly.

There’s little let up yet apparently finishing off some sort of consolation that would doom us forever if only for an instant seemed to prove no better than any other conclusion would have done at the time either, not even after Ryan had clung so tightly around my shoulders that one might have thought my shoulder blades were fused together. “I know,” he said calmly.

However, at least he knew why life is so beautiful; in places like this one, nursing caretakers all appear to be absolutely sure about what they are doing while still seeming friendly and casual. It is because they know of their responsibility towards all patients who come to them in desperate need.

Drawing in a deep breath, I concentrated on calming myself down. “You’re right. We’ve done all we can.”

We waited in the waiting hall, and the clock hands circled slowly like they had all the time in the world. Now and again, a healer would come outside and update us, but it always seemed like Aiden was doing well but still critically ill.

“Hayley,” Ryan said, breaking the heavy silence after a long period of time. “Do you remember when we were younger and Aiden used to dare us with such silly things?”

I gave him a small grin. “Of course. He used to make us do the most outrageous things! I remember once he dared us to climb that old oak tree during a storm.”

“I couldn’t believe it actually happened,” Ryan chuckled. “I thought for sure we’re going to get stricken by lightning.”

“But Aiden was right there with us,” she said, and my heart warmed at the memory. “He always supported us.”

Ryan nodded. “And now it’s time for us to support him.”

Another couple of hours went by until finally, the healer returned looking much less tense than before.

“His condition is improving… He is still weak, though, but at least the worst is over.”

A deathly relaxed feeling came over me, followed by weak knees. “Thank you,” I said while tears continued streaming down my cheeks.

“You can see him again,” she added, gently smiling, “just for a few minutes.”

We hurried back into the room where Aiden lay on the bed, looking slightly better because his colour was returning. As soon as we approached him, he opened his eyes wider than before and smiled more broadly as compared to earlier.

“I told you,” he said, still weak but with approbation in his eyes that paid attention to determination, “that I wouldn’t go anywhere.”

I was holding his hand tight, my heart full of love and empowerment. “You scared us!” I yelled at Aiden.Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

“Sorry,” he murmured back. “It wasn’t my best moment.”

Ryan chuckled softly. “Just concentrate on getting better. We need you all, right?”

Aiden nodded as sleep took over again and closed his eyes. “I will. It’s a guarantee.”

Until the healer let us out gently, we remained beside him again. In the waiting space, I felt renewed hope inside me. Aiden would make it up because he was a brave one who had us as his companions.

“Hayley,” Ryan whispered after we sat down together, “we did quite well today by arriving here before it was too late.”

I shook my head in approval while completely wiped out by exhaustion. “Yes, we did. Now, we

only need to wait till he gets better.”

Ryan smiled with a determined look in his eyes. “He will,” said Ryan, “and we will overcome this together, like always.”

As night gave way to dawn, I found myself alone inside that waiting room, my mind a whirlwind between fears and aspirations. My eyelids shut momentarily before all my exhaustion checked in.

“Hayley?” Ryan’s voice came breaking through from somewhere in my mind at that moment.

Caught up by its sound, I looked up through the doorway, where he stood smiling faintly. “He’s awake and asking for you.”

My heart leapt high upon receiving such news, then I hurriedly went towards Aiden’s room. When I stepped inside it, I saw him sitting upright, looking much stronger than earlier. His eyes lit up upon seeing me.

“Hey,” I softly said while approaching his side. “How are you feeling?”

“Better,” he said back, sounding slightly raspy yet stronger than before. “Thanks to you and Ryan.”

I took a seat next to him, holding onto his hand with mine. “We couldn’t have made it this far if you hadn’t fought hard enough, Aiden.”

With seriousness in his eyes, he squeezed my hand tight. “Listen, Hayley, I need to let you know about something really significant to me.”

In that moment, my heart raced as I leaned closer towards him.

“What is it?”