Control Me (book 1)

Chapter 22

Sapphire-

I got the call around 10pm. "Hello?" It was an unrecognized number, I figured it was just Coal again calling me from a payphone along the way. Calling me to tell me he would be here soon to hold me in his arms again.

"Yes hello, is this Sapphire Justice?" It was a woman's voice she sounded like she was trying to be as professional as possible, but there was a sad sound in the way she talk. In the background there were people talking and the clanking of shoes down a hall.

My chest tightened, "Yes, what's this about?"

"I'm not sure how to tell you this but-"

"Well say it don't drag it out." My breath picked up, sweat beading off my forehead.

"Do you know a Coal Hampton?"

"Yes, what happened to him? Is he alright?" I was starting to panic and hyperventilate.

"Um well... He's in St. Groves hospital in Montana."

"What happened?!"

"He got into a bad car crash, the doctors think that he may not make it through the night." I felt the tears start streaming down my cheeks. The warm soft tears that seem to curse my eyes more and more. "He told us to call you right before he passed out in the ambulance." I held my hand over my mouth trying to process what was going on, what I was going to do next. "Ma'am?"

"Th-Thank you..." I sniffed trying to hide my crying from her. "I... I'll be there shortly." I hung up the phone, it fell out of my hand and hit the soft carpet below my my feet. I was trembling all over. I was lost, I couldn't drive to Montana. I didn't have a car. I slid down my bedroom wall to the floor next to my phone. I picked it up looking through my contacts and found Mandy. I hit the call button trying to breath and calm myself down. I hugged myself trying to pretend like it was him holding me.

"Sapphire! Hey! What's up."

"Mandy... I-I need to borrow your car..."

"Are you okay? What happened? Are you crying?"

"Coal is..." I bit my lip fighting back the tears, "He's in the hospital in Montana... They don't know if he'll make it..."

"Oh my god... Sapphire are you okay?"

I stayed quiet I was trying to keep the tears inside, I took a deep breath. "Please..."

"Yes of course! I'll be right over." She hung up the phone. For a moment I sat in silence, the quiet of the room. I thought, Coal heals doesn't he, that means he'll just heal up right, everything is going to be okay... Right? I said these things trying to reassure myself even though I knew it was all for nothing because all my worries would weigh down the positive thoughts. If I could barely last two weeks without him who knows how long I would last if he died. I looked down at the piece of leather wrapped tightly around my wrist. The color was faded and on the edge there was a small tear in the leather, ripping the leather at the seams. I pressed it to my lips softly as if trying to mend the wound in our forever. There was no sensation back only coldness and fear. Fear that I would lose him. I held my hands over my eyes, maybe he would be okay. Maybe it was all just a bad dream or it was just some cruel joke.

I cried softly on the floor of my room until the door swung open. Mandy stood in the doorway of my room, her car keys in her hand. There was a sad look spelled across her face, but the sorrow was for me not him.

"I'll wait here for your parents to get home so I can tell them on what's going on. I'm sure you don't want to bother them now." I nodded slowly. She walked over to me and crouched down in front of me. She wrapped her arms around me and pulled me into her gentle embrace. "Hey... He's going to be fine, okay?" I nodded slowly and stood up off the ground. I wiped away my tears from my eyes with the back of my hand. Mandy held out her keys to me, "Go to him. Oh and it may need a fill up on the way." She gave me a small smile, kind and understanding. In the end I was glad to have the friends I did, knowing they would always be there for me.

"Thank you." I gave her one last hug before heading out to her car. I sat in the car thinking for a moment before I started to make the car move. I wondered what the doctors thought when they saw Coal. The scars all over his body. The regeneration. But if they thought he wasn't going to make it then maybe he wasn't regenerating and he really was... I shook my head, I didn't want to think about what could have happened. I had to look up and act like I knew he was fine.

It took a few hours but I finally reached the hospital. It was so big on the outside, it would take me another hour just to find his room. Slowly I walked up to the front desk taking in the massive front room. The woman behind the desk was typing on her computer, it was if she didn't realize I was there or she didn't care. I stayed quiet, I didn't want to be rude but on the other hand anxiety was biting at my toes urging me to speak.

I cleared my throat, "E-Excuse me." She looked up from her work at me with irritation.

"Yes?"

"Um, I-I'm here to see Coal Hampton... H-He was in a-"

"Coal Hampton," she clicked around her computer. "Are you the wife, Sapphire Justice?"

"Uh, yes..." He told them I was his wife?

"Okay, he is on the third floor room 307."

"Thank you," she nodded and went back to work. I slowly walked down the hall to the elevator. There was a man in the elevator with me, it was a quiet ride. I had my hands clutched tight together trying to put my thoughts together, I still wasn't sure that all this was really happening.

"Who are you here for?" The man asked, he looked like he was in his early thirties, his eyes tired and wary.

"Huh? Oh, I'm here for my boyfriend... You?"

"My cousin... He has cancer."

"Oh I'm sorry..."

It fell silent again, "What happened to your boyfriend?"

I looked down at the ground at my feet, "He got into a car crash..." The elevator stopped at floor three. "Well this is where I get off."

I walked out of the elevator, "Hey, good luck." I nodded and the doors closed. I found my way to room 307 I looked at the person in the bed behind the glass wall. I looked at Coal, finally everything had become a reality and tears started to form again. Someone tapped on my shoulder, I turned to see a doctor standing behind me.

"Are you here for him?" He nudged his head to the room in front of me. I nodded slowly. "You must be Sapphire then," I nodded again. "Alright, we have him knocked out right now. His condition is pretty bad. He has lost a lot of blood. For some reason his body won't accept blood transfusion, we have no idea how to fix him. And..." He looked at me with sad eyes like he was sorry for me. "We don't know if he is going to make it, we've him patched up but with how much blood is gone... Point is you are now his successor, you have to make all the decisions for him. Now I know this is a lot but since he has no family on record... In fact he has no record... The wife has to do it..."

"Alright..." I gave him a faint smile.

He nodded, "Well I'll leave you to him." He walked away, I looked back into the room. After a minute I got up the courage to enter.

There was a bandage wrapped around his head. His gown that opened from the front was opened almost completely exposing his chest and the bandages wrapped around him. Red splotches barely visible through the gauze. There was also gauze on parts of his arms and legs. Right below his bottom lip was a butterfly stitch holding his split lip together. I pulled a chair next to his bedside and sat down. I was trembling all over shaking at the radical truth that lay just in front of me. I took his hand in mine and kissed the back of it softly. I set my head down on the bed beside him, tears staining the sheet on the bed. I closed my eyes and drifted to sleep his warmth next to me, comforting warmth that might soon be gone.