ᴛʜᴇ ʙɪʟʟɪᴏɴᴀɪʀᴇꜱ ꜱᴜʀʀᴏɢᴀᴛᴇ

Waiting

I sat in the waiting room, keeping my eyes on the door to the operating room.

"We have a problem." Annabella says.

Why the fuck did I ask my sister to come here?"

"What?" I ask annoyed but I keep my eyes on the door. Any minute now..

"The press got wind of this." Annabella says and hands me her phone.

I took it and began reading. It's about Leah and I having a secret relationship and her car crash. Of course, they don't know about our surrogacy deal, but its still a mess. There are a few pictures of us in public as well, and some of her in the car crash. I watched the video of her as she got lifted onto the stretcher. She looks so broken.

The doctors come out of the operating room, and I stand up, my heart pounding with fear and hope.

"Mr. Reed," the head surgeon says, "the surgery went well. We were able to repair the internal bleeding, and we're hopeful that Leah will make a full recovery."

I feel a wave of relief wash over me, and I thank the doctors profusely. But then the surgeon adds, "However, she's still in a coma. We won't know the extent of the damage until she wakes up."

I feel a cold, sinking feeling in my stomach. I had hoped that the worst was over, but now it seems like there's still so much uncertainty. I ask the doctors what the next steps are, and they tell me that they'll be monitoring her closely and doing everything they can to help her wake up.

"When will she wake up?" I asks.

"We don't know. But the surgery went off without a hitch."

"How long unil does she recover from surgery?" 

"About two months, and she can resume regular activities." He tells me. "But once she wakes up, she won't need to stay here very long."

I sighed and went into Leah's room. I want her to wake up. I need her to wake up.

Hours turn into days, and I feel like I'm living in a nightmare. I spend all my time at Leah's bedside, holding her hand and talking to her, even though she's still unconscious. I tell her about my life, about my hopes and fears, about everything that's happened since we first met. I play her favorite music, hoping that it will somehow reach her. I don't sleep, and I'm living off of coffee. I don’t mind, but I just want her to wake up.

The doctors come in every few hours to check on her, and every time, they tell me the same thing: she's stable but still asleep.

I feel like I'm going crazy, waiting for her to wake up. I'm filled with so many emotions: anger at the drunk driver who caused the accident, sorrow for the loss of our child, and fear for Leah's future.

I kiss her forehead and keep holding her hand. Sandy pops in from time to time, but she doesn't talk to me. I don't really care because every time she rolls her eyes, I'm secretly hoping they fall out.

Finally, after what feels like an eternity, she stirs. Her eyelids flutter, and I lean closer, holding my breath. She blinks, and then her eyes focus on me.

"Hey," I say softly.

She looks confused, and then she winces in pain.

"Hey, she's awake!" I yelled, and the doctors immediately ran in.

The doctor takes the tube out of Leah's mouth, and she coughs and then groans, so the nurse gives her water.

"Ms Davis, can you tell me where you are?" The doctor asks her, but I can tell she's confused and annoyed.

"Leave us." I tell them, and they hesitate, but leave.

"Hey, how you feeling?"

LEAH

I feel like I was run over by a monster truck. I have countless tubes and needles in me. My mind feels fuzzy. How long was I out for? I look at Aaron, and he looks exhausted.

"The baby?" I ask and try to sit up.

Aaron helps me sit up but avoids eye contact with me. "I hired a nurse for you when we get back to the mansion to help you during the recovery. "

"Aaron. The baby?"

He's still not looking at me, and I immediately know. Tears swell in my eyes. I failed.

"I'm so sorry." I apologize.

"It's not your fault, Leah." He tells me, but he's still avoiding eye contact.

I'm in so much pain. Tears stream down my face, and Aaron wipes my tears. 

"I'm so sorry." I cried.

"Leah, stop apologizing. I'm just happy you're okay."

I can't help it, though. I feel guilty. Aaron trusted me with the most precious thing to him, and yet still here I am. I'm hoping my family doesn't know about this, but I can't help but feel like he blames me.

The nurse comes in after a while and loads me up on pain medication. All I can say is I feel amazing.

I start giggling and look over at Aaron, who's now sitting in the corner.

"Come." I whisper, and he looks around then back at me. He stands over me and tucks a stand of my hair behind my ear.

"Hold me?" I ask.

"I don't think I'm allowed to do that."

"Please." I plead.

Aaron sighs, but he gets into the hospital bed with me, and I lay on his chest. He smells amazing. I placed my hand with the cast on his belly and looked up at him.

"I remembered." I say to him.

"Remembered what?" He asks.

"My seatbelt."

He cracks a small smile.

"You're high." He tells me.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

I snuggle into his chest. I'm pretty sure it's all the drugs in my system, but I really just want him to hold me. I like it. I like his strong arms around me. I like the way he smells. When I look up again, he's asleep.

Did he stay with me the entire I was here?

I sit up slowly, and luckily, he's still asleep. He's handsome. Why is he so handsome? I don't know why, but I lean down and kiss his lips.

Aaron opens his eyes, and I look down at him. I want him to give me some sort of signal that there's hope.

He looks at me in silence, but then he pulls me back down and kisses me passionately.

Maybe there still is hope.