12. Memory

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~Jackson

"Hey baby," I murmured, sitting on the edge of the bed, grabbing hold of his cold hand.

He didn't respond, not like I really expected him to. It's been three weeks since Kyle was admitted to the hospital. Three weeks without seeing his eyes or hearing his voice. Three weeks of nothing.

"Ashley got a hundred on her math test," I continued. It was possible he could hear what I was saying, so why not fill him in on what was going on? "She was so proud of herself. You should have seen her - jumping all over the place flapping around that piece of paper." I chuckled softly from the memory of last night. "Logan's back to doing well in school, and finally done with the after-school tutoring sessions his teacher had be giving him to help him catch up."

I felt useless, talking to Kyle like this when there was no way he could answer and no guarantee he could even hear me. So, deciding to stop stupidly rambling, I leaned over and pressed my lips against his. They felt nothing like they were supposed to feel - warm and full of love. Now, they were just there, almost lifelike. It was hard thinking about it, and yet I still chose to kiss him anyway, maybe because in the back of my mind, the whole Sleeping Beauty thing might happen with just one more kiss.

Moving away from the bed, I sat down in the chair in the room. It was hard and lumpy - not a chair meant to sit in all day, but I did, willingly. Since he's been here, I've been here, having taken an extended leave of absence from work. Someone should be here just in case he woke up or something happened. Josh and Leo, while they both wanted to be here too, had important jobs that required them to actually be at their jobs. I was only one of many IT workers for the business side of a stupid shoe store. It was the only place that would hire me and I hated it, so spending a few weeks sitting in an uncomfortable chair and having one-sided conversations with my unconscious husband was nothing if I meant not having to work.

At some point, I must have fallen asleep in that chair, because the next thing I knew, someone was saying my name.

I slowly opened my eyes to see Josh kneeling in front of me. I wasn't sure when he had gotten here, or how long I had been asleep, but all that really didn't matter. What mattered was that he was here when usually he and Leo would come after dinner for a couple hours while I stayed at home with the kids. We only let Ash and Logan visit on weekends, otherwise they'd never want to leave. That way they could get their homework done and get to bed on time without the constant stress of seeing Kyle like this.

"What are you doing here?" I asked Josh when he stood up and held out his hand to me. I took it, also getting to my feet.

"You didn't answer your phone, so I figured you'd be here."

I sighed. "Sorry."

Josh cupped my face with his hands. "Don't apologize," he said with a small smile. "It was bound to happen one of these days." Then he kissed me, standing up on his toes to do so. "Now come on, Leo's making dinner."

I nodded before turning to face Kyle. Sitting back on the edge of the bed, I grabbed Kyle's hand. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay, baby?" I said quietly. But like always, he didn't answer. "Please wake up, Kyle. Home's just not the same without you."

Josh placed his hand on my shoulder. "Come on," he whispered to me. I could hear the waver of his voice. He hated leaving Kyle here every night just as much as I did, maybe more, knowing Josh. But he also knew that sitting here, begging Kyle to wake up was pointless.

I knew that too, I just chose not to believe it sometimes.

Giving Kyle's hand one last squeeze, I stood. I held on, though, until after Josh had placed a gentle kiss to Kyle's forehead.

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