He heard voices through the fog of his mind. People were shouting. To Scott it sounded like a man and a woman were arguing about something.

Amidst the noise was the beeping. Constant, incessant beeping. It was annoying. He wanted it to stop.

A door opened and the shouting became crystal clear.

"Find who did this or I'll do it myself."

The woman. Her voice sounded familiar. He heard her footsteps coming closer as the door shut behind her.

"Oh, Scott." She was upset. "Please be ok. Please, please, please." She touched his hand. "I can't lose you too."

Her voice faded. Everything was black.

"Scott?"

A voice. His voice.

"Scott."

Scott looked up. It was him. Isaac. He's here. He's fine. He was standing at the foot of the bed.

"Isaac-," Scott started to say.

"Shhh…" Isaac smiled. "You're going to be ok." He moved closer and took Scott's hand in his. Scott had never seen him so calm. "I love you," he said.

Scott's heart quickened. "I love you too." That made him smile. Scott looked down at Isaac's hand holding his. "What happened to you?"

Isaac carefully removed his hand. "You have to find that out."

Scott's brow furrowed in confusion. "What-?"

Isaac began to walk away, "Find me, Scott."

Scott sat up, "Where are you going? ISAAC?!"

Suddenly he was staring at a ceiling. Harsh lights beat down on him from above. They hurt his eyes. Hands were clutching his arm.

"Oh, my god! Scott, honey. You're awake. Are you ok?"

His mother. His eyes were still foggy but he could make out her shape. He lifted his arm with whatever energy he had. She took his hand. "Mom," he said. His voice was hoarse, barely audible.

"Yes, honey. It's mom." She held his hand to her cheek and kissed it. "Thank god. Thank you, thank you, thank you."

"Isaac…" Scott said. His vision was slowing coming back as the room was coming into focus. He saw his mother's face. She'd been crying.

She shook her head. "I don't know. No one's been able to find him." Scott filled with dread. "What were you guys doing out there so late?"

"We…" Scott started. Talking was difficult. "We wanted… to see the moon."

The door to the room opened with a loud click and a doctor came in flanked by two nurses. "You're awake!" he said, a wide smile on his face. "Good." He walked over to the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Terrible." Scott replied.

He laughed. "Well, after the trauma you experienced that's to be expected."

"When can I leave?" Scott asked.

"Oh, not for a while yet. You've sustained several injuries including broken bones and a head laceration." That explains the headache. "Plus, you've been unconscious for four days."

The rest of the day was a blur. Nurses came in and out checking and rechecking the many machines around the room. Sometimes they brought food. His mom tried to get him to eat it but Scott was never hungry. Isaac was all he thought about.

He must've fallen asleep because suddenly the room was very dark. He looked around and saw that his mother had gone. There was a note on the table beside him, his phone sitting next to it. He picked up the note and illuminated it with the light from his phone.

Had to go to work. The hospital is swamped. I'll be back as soon as I possibly can. Call me if you need anything. I love you so much,

Mom

He put the letter back on the table and immediately started dialing his phone. He put it to his hear and waited. Pick up, he thought. Please pick up.

"Hey-,"

"Isaac!" Excitement and relief spread like wildfire through his body.

"-you've reached Isaac. I can't come to the phone right now because reasons but I'll try and call you back as soon as I can. Thanks!" The beep indicating the start of a voicemail rang in his hear.

Scott was still. Numb. It was several seconds before he could say anything.

"Isaac…" it come out as nothing more than a whisper. "Where are you?"

He felt the words catch in his throat. He pushed through.

"There… there was a time when I couldn't imagine life without you. I didn't want to. It was so foreign to me that I couldn't even wrap my brain around it. You were here and you were never going to leave." He felt a tear roll down his cheek. "You're my best friend. I need you to be ok. I need you to come home. I need you by my side because I don't think I can keep going without you."

He lowered the phone and put it on the table beside the bed. He was going to be ok. He had to be. The universe didn't bring them together just for it to end like this. He pulled the covers around himself and tried to sleep.

Bzzzzzzzzz. Bzzzzzzzzzz.

His phone began vibrating violently on the table. Scott shot up and looked at his phone. His mom was calling. He answered.

"Hello?"

"Scott?! They found him! They found Isaac!"