The Secret Life of a Nerd (a Student/Teacher romance)

Chapter 23

I woke up to a bright white light. I slowly opened my eyes and looked around. All it saw was white. Heaven? Am I....dead?

"Gertrude!" I heard that all so familiar voice gasp. I looked to my right, and there sat my very own angel holding my hand, crying his heart out. "Oh my god, I thought I was gonna lose you." Brett cried into my shoulder.

"What...what happened?" I asked him, my voice raspy and barely audible.

"Your father shot you. Luckily it was only shoulder, but it was right near your heart. He almost hit your heart, Gertrude. The doctors didn't know if you would be able to make it through the surgery, but you did. I prayed every night for you to wake up and I never left your side. You've been in a coma for almost two weeks. Oh god, I love you so much, Gertrude. I couldn't stand the thought of losing you."

"You'll never lose me, Brett. I'm yours, forever and always. I love you."

Brett hugged me gently, making sure he wouldn't hurt me. Then he kissed me. "Mmmm....I missed theses soft pink lips of yours."

I giggled softly. "Brett, may I have some water please?"

"Yeah of course. Ill be right back.". He kissed my forehead and walked out, and then a doctor walked in at the same time. They greeted eachother and went separate ways.

"I see our patient has woken up. Im Dr. Nickels. How are you feeling, Gertrude?"

"Fine."

"That's wonderful. Just let me check your charts. You took quite a bullet, Gertrude. Almost reached your heart. Looks like luck was on your side that day. Well... Everything looks good. Do you have any questions?"

"When will I go home?"

"Oh, I'd say in about a week if everything goes well. You were in a coma, we need to monitor you to make sure you'll be fine and it fall into another coma."

"Ok, thank you."

"Oh and congratulations on getting engaged. Brett and I go way back to middle school."

"That's right, Nickels." Brett intejected and handed me a cup of water. "Nick Nickels...prankster of the year. Now years later, he's a doctor. You're not pretending to be a doctor are you?". Brett asked playfully.

"Haha no. My pranking days are over. Hell, what if I told someone they had 3 hours to live? They'd believe me cuz I'm a doctor. Then they'd freak out and I'd tell them it was a joke, then they'd sue me. Can't take that chance. Anyways, I need to check on my other patients. I'll leave you two love birds alone. Nice meeting you Gertrude." and then he left.

"Hm. Nice guys. Would've thought he'd be a clown. Haha." Brett commented.

"Brett? What happened after I got shot?". I asked, causing him to get serious again. He sat back down in the chair next to my bed and held my hand.

"After you blacked out, eveyone in the room shot your father at least once, even after he was dead. They pulled out about 70 bullets."

"What about the bullet my father shot to kill me?"

He looked at me with sorrowful eyes, hesitating to answer.

"Well?" I instigated.

"Gertrude, let's not worry about that now."

"Brett, please." I begged.

"Alright.". I took a deep breath and let it out. "Gertrude, my....my dad took the bullet for you."

"He....he didn't. He couldn't have. He stayed home."

Brett shook his head. "He came when he saw your dad snooping around outside the house and looking in through windows. He knew something was going to happen. So he came and ...."

"And?"

He gulped. "And....and the ummmm....the bullet...it took his life."

I gasped and started to cry. "No. No. Why would he do that? Oh my god. Brett, I'm so sorry. If it wasn't for me..."

"If it wasn't for you, my dad would've died a sick man and he would've suffered until the very end. Gertrude, my dad was dying already. They didn't want to tell me because they didn't want to upset me. My dad had cancer, Gertrude, it was killing him and he would've only has 2 years to live. I guess he figured that it wouldn't make sense for two people I love to die, so he took the bullet. He saved you and I'm so grateful for that. He gave his life for my happiness."

"I can't believe it. Your dad..."

"Is a hero. He died a hero and will always be remembered as a hero. My father was a great man, a selfless man, and a hero. Don't blame yourself. His time was coming and there wasn't anything we could do. I love you, Gertrude. And my dad loved you like a daughter. He saved you because he loved you. Don't think of it as anything else. No one blames you. Ok?"

I nodded my head.

"Good. Now get some rest. You need it if you want to get better. I'll be right here when you wake up. I'll never leave your side."