Asher's Heart

Chapter 40

I walked to the stand beside him and placed my hand on his shoulder.

"How did this happen?" I asked softly.

He grabbed my hand and held it between both his hands, staring at his thumb tracing circles around my knuckles.

He glanced back at the girl who lay unaware of what was happening around her.

"They say it was an accident," he said in a low voice.

The way he said it made me ask what I did next. "What do you say?"

He looked up at me, his eyes hard. "I say, I did this to her," he spoke.

His eyes never left me as he spoke those words, not wanting to miss a single emotion that went through me. My brain went into a blank mode, not able to comprehend what he meant, but at the same time knowing full well what it heard.

"What?" my voice came out as a whisper.

"You heard me," he said.

"I don't understand," I shook my head, trying to clear it from the onslaught of jumbled thoughts.

"I was responsible for it, Anderson. I made her like this. I ruined her life," he stood up, letting my hand fall to my side, limp.

I was at a loss for words. What happened?

I looked at Lily, at her faded blonde hair. How long was she like this? How much of her life had she lost?

"Since when is she like this?"

"More than a year," he answered and went to stand by the windows again, his hands in his pockets and his shoulders stiff.

I walked toward him.

"It's not your fault, Asher. It was an accident," I said softly and touched his arm.

He jerked my hand away.

"You don't understand!" he yelled, scowling at me.

I flinched.

"I live with this... guilt every single day of my life," he said. "She may never be able to wake up again. She may never see her daughter again and who knows how many other loved ones. And it would be all because of me," he was talking more to himself now.

He grabbed my shoulders and lowered his head. "So don't you try to tell me it wasn't my fault," he hissed.

I opened my mouth to tell me exactly that when the door opened and a man, probably in his late fifties walked in wearing a white coat.

"Ah Mr. Hart, it's good to see you," he said.

Asher let me go. "You too, Doctor," he said.

"Good thing you came too. I had to discuss some things with you," he said. It was then the doctor noticed me.

"Are you family, Miss?" he asked.

"No," I mumbled, shaking my head.

"She is Ellie, my girlfriend," Asher said.

"Dr. O'Brien," he shook my hand.

"Mr. Hart?" the doctor said. Asher nodded and they both left the room.

I sat on the chair at the corner of the room. I had a million questions more than I did before. I wanted to know about her, wanted to know her. One question stood out more than the others and I was ashamed of it.

****

Asher came back after ten minutes.

"What did the doctor say?" I asked.