You woke up to your head throbbing, sterile white lights stabbing your dry eyes as you tried to open them. A soft beeping started to register in your ear, the objects inside the pristine room you seemed to be fading one into the other, unable to put any of them into focus.

You took a deep breath as your vision cleared, and when you tried to move, you were immediately restricted by the needles and tubes in your arms. You tried not to panic, but it was hard not to when you had no idea where you were and how you ended up there. The beeping intensified, and people in white lab coats flooded the room immediately.

The next hours felt surreal, your brain unable to fully comprehend their words, your speech fumbled and confused as you tried to answer all their frantic questions. You were alone, no trusted friend at your side who could help you understand, and it all became overwhelming so fast.

Slowly, the memories came back to you. During the last mission, your team was ambushed, and when the bomb went off, you were the closest to the explosion. You went into a coma, and the doctors were able to fix you up as much as possible and had to be transferred to different hospitals. Your body was covered in burns and gashes, and they said you were lucky your team called medevac in time.

Your team.

Simon.

You had been awake for a week, and no one had showed up. The medical team had assured you that they had notified your Captain, so you thought that by now, someone would’ve shown up. They never did. Even when you were discharged from the hospital, you had to take two buses and a cab to Simon’s apartment. The whole time, you tried to find a rational explanation, ignoring how hurt you were feeling.

You and Simon were roommates, and while that was a very inconvenient arrangement given your past history, it was the only way to cut costs; neither of you needed a lavish place to stay at anyway. You knew your relationship with him wasn’t the best, with everything that had happened, but you thought that he would’ve at least shown up when you woke up.

You immediately spotted his car outside the apartment complex when the taxi dropped you off, and braced yourself for the confrontation. When he opened the door, he looked like he’d just seen a ghost.

“You never came.”

Your words lingered in the doorway, the air getting heavy and almost suffocating. He said nothing, just let his eyes wander anywhere but on your face. His silence was more painful than any of the wounds on your body. There was guilt in his gaze, one of the few expressions of his you were able to read.

“We didn’t think you’d make it.” was all he said.