watch the one that you love’s heart stop and then get shocked back to life. I don’t even know how to begin trying to recover from that.
She squeezes my hand again and I’m once more back in the room. My ass has parked it on the chair beside her bed somehow and judging by the way everyone in the room is looking at me, I’m sure I look like shit.
I hear my phone beep as the doctor finishes up his chat with Ash, letting her know she can get up and walk around for short periods, but not to overdo it. I think getting up at all is overdoing it, but I don’t say anything. He then instructs the nurse to change her pain meds and eventually they all leave the room.
“Was that a phone?” Ash asks me. She’s looking at me like she really wants to ask if I’m okay. I’m kinda glad she doesn’t because I really don’t know what my answer would be at the moment. I pull my phone out of my pocket and check. There’s a text from Mia asking what we need.
What I need is to rewind the last twenty-four hours and take Asha home at midnight. What I need is to stop what happened to her from ever fucking happening in the first place.
“Luke?”
I exhale and look up at her, plastering a smile on my face so she knows I’m okay. She doesn’t need my shit at the moment. “Mia, she wants to know what we need?”
She smiles at me now. “Tell her I need some coffee.”
I can’t help but laugh, knowing exactly how much she needs coffee in the mornings. I could go and get her some, but somehow I can’t bring myself to even leave this room.
“Anything else, something practical maybe?” I ask, lifting her hand to my lips.
“Coffee’s practical,” she says, trying for a look of horror at the suggestion that I might think otherwise. “But maybe some clothes too, and a toothbrush, I need to clean my teeth.”
I’m typing all this down for Mia, adding a couple of my own things too, stuff I was going to give her today at home. “Anything else?”
She smiles sheepishly now and I wonder what she’s gonna say. “Tell her to get my birth control from our bathroom.”
Some more of that weight lifts as I gently bite her fingers, which are still pressed to my lips and watch as her eyes darken in response. “I can’t believe you’re even thinking about that,” I whisper.
“Always,” she whispers back and I have to crawl back onto the bed just so I can hold her again. She lifts up the covers for me this time and I slide under and gently pull her into my arms. Her head is resting on my chest and her fingers slide over me so they are hidden under the shirt I’m wearing and resting on the bare skin of my stomach. My eyes close as I try to imagine us back home in our bed, instead of here in hospital with thirty stitches holding Ash back together.
I feel her sigh against me as I run my hand slowly up and down her back. Glancing down I see Ash has closed her eyes and I gently lean down and press a kiss to her hair. “Happy birthday, Asha,” I whisper, her arm tightening around my waist as I do.
“Luke?” she suddenly asks, pulling herself closer to me.
“Yeah?”
“Tell me a story.”
“A story?” I ask surprised.
She glances up at me now and I can tell she’s getting sleepy again. “Yeah, a story.”
I don’t know if she’s doing this to distract me or if she genuinely wants me to tell her a story. “What do you want it to be about?”
She smiles, her eyes closing. “Anything, your plans for my birthday, us.”
“Us?” I ask, tucking her hair behind her ear.
With her eyes closed and her head resting on my chest, a small smile on her face, she murmurs, “Yeah, us, tell me a story about us.”
I close my eyes too. Her birthday. All the things I had planned for her today as I tried to give her a birthday she deserved. I remember Asha’s birthday last year. How incredibly sad she was. How much my heart ached when I went to her apartment and saw her that day, when I saw what she was going through. How much
She squeezes my hand again and I’m once more back in the room. My ass has parked it on the chair beside her bed somehow and judging by the way everyone in the room is looking at me, I’m sure I look like shit.
I hear my phone beep as the doctor finishes up his chat with Ash, letting her know she can get up and walk around for short periods, but not to overdo it. I think getting up at all is overdoing it, but I don’t say anything. He then instructs the nurse to change her pain meds and eventually they all leave the room.
“Was that a phone?” Ash asks me. She’s looking at me like she really wants to ask if I’m okay. I’m kinda glad she doesn’t because I really don’t know what my answer would be at the moment. I pull my phone out of my pocket and check. There’s a text from Mia asking what we need.
What I need is to rewind the last twenty-four hours and take Asha home at midnight. What I need is to stop what happened to her from ever fucking happening in the first place.
“Luke?”
I exhale and look up at her, plastering a smile on my face so she knows I’m okay. She doesn’t need my shit at the moment. “Mia, she wants to know what we need?”
She smiles at me now. “Tell her I need some coffee.”
I can’t help but laugh, knowing exactly how much she needs coffee in the mornings. I could go and get her some, but somehow I can’t bring myself to even leave this room.
“Anything else, something practical maybe?” I ask, lifting her hand to my lips.
“Coffee’s practical,” she says, trying for a look of horror at the suggestion that I might think otherwise. “But maybe some clothes too, and a toothbrush, I need to clean my teeth.”
I’m typing all this down for Mia, adding a couple of my own things too, stuff I was going to give her today at home. “Anything else?”
She smiles sheepishly now and I wonder what she’s gonna say. “Tell her to get my birth control from our bathroom.”
Some more of that weight lifts as I gently bite her fingers, which are still pressed to my lips and watch as her eyes darken in response. “I can’t believe you’re even thinking about that,” I whisper.
“Always,” she whispers back and I have to crawl back onto the bed just so I can hold her again. She lifts up the covers for me this time and I slide under and gently pull her into my arms. Her head is resting on my chest and her fingers slide over me so they are hidden under the shirt I’m wearing and resting on the bare skin of my stomach. My eyes close as I try to imagine us back home in our bed, instead of here in hospital with thirty stitches holding Ash back together.
I feel her sigh against me as I run my hand slowly up and down her back. Glancing down I see Ash has closed her eyes and I gently lean down and press a kiss to her hair. “Happy birthday, Asha,” I whisper, her arm tightening around my waist as I do.
“Luke?” she suddenly asks, pulling herself closer to me.
“Yeah?”
“Tell me a story.”
“A story?” I ask surprised.
She glances up at me now and I can tell she’s getting sleepy again. “Yeah, a story.”
I don’t know if she’s doing this to distract me or if she genuinely wants me to tell her a story. “What do you want it to be about?”
She smiles, her eyes closing. “Anything, your plans for my birthday, us.”
“Us?” I ask, tucking her hair behind her ear.
With her eyes closed and her head resting on my chest, a small smile on her face, she murmurs, “Yeah, us, tell me a story about us.”
I close my eyes too. Her birthday. All the things I had planned for her today as I tried to give her a birthday she deserved. I remember Asha’s birthday last year. How incredibly sad she was. How much my heart ached when I went to her apartment and saw her that day, when I saw what she was going through. How much
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