Broken

Chapter 41

A day later, I was sitting next to Seth's bed, waiting for the nurse to come in and check on him. Seth was still floating in and out of consciousness when the nurse came in and checked on his vitals.

"He's going to be fine, but he'll be tired for a few days."

I nodded as she completed his check up and left. I gripped his hand.

"Seth?"

"Beth? What's going on?"

"I got my eyes back."

"What?! Beth, you better be kidding!"

I smiled. "I'm not. I gave them to you. You're going to be able to see again!"

"But how?" Seth asked, gingerly touching the gauze covering his eyes.

"I made a deal with the president and I got them back."

"You broke into the White House?" Seth asked, masking any anger if he had any.

"Guilty. Are you mad at me?"

Seth couldn't help but chuckle. "No, Beth, I'm not. I just want you to be safe. And now, maybe that'll happen."

I felt my pent up sadness break loose, and I cried into my hands. I wasn't going to see him again. My protector, my friend, this guy that I had met oh-so-long ago... one of the only people on earth that still cared about me, and I was about to lose him. I couldn't hold back the terror and pain I felt anymore. I didn't want to go to California. That was the last thing I wanted, but I didn't have a choice at this point. There was no question about getting Seth eyes, no matter the cost.

I felt Seth grab my hands and gently pull them away from my face.

"What's wrong?" he asked in his usual quiet tone.

I sniffled and tried to control my sobs. Seth sat up and wrapped his arms around me. I felt him lift me onto the bed and readjust his arms. I fell into his embrace, not wanting to forget this moment. This final moment with him.

The nurse took his gauze off two hours before I was being taken. His new eyes dilated, unaware of the bright hospital lights. He yelled in pain and his pupils shrank almost immediately. He looked around the room and found me. His eyes connected with mine. Although I could only see out of one eye, I could see him fully, and he could see me.

He kept his gaze on me. He immediately detected sadness in my eyes.

"Beth, what's wrong?"

I looked at the clock. An hour and a half left. I couldn't tell him, could I? I can't imagine how angry he'd be. I smiled and shook my head.

"Nothing! I just can't believe I pulled that off."

"What, your little break in? Oh gosh, Beth, you're ridiculous."

I raised an eyebrow. "Hey, you watch your mouth, young man. I'm the reason you can see, so be grateful!"

Seth scooted closer to me. "Oh, I'm very grateful, trust me. I don't think Hank or Charles would have done that."

"What wouldn't we have done?"

Oh crap.

Charles helped Hank sit down in a chair while holding C.J. Hank gave me a dirty look, but I just kept my focus on Charles.

"What are y'all doing here?" I asked.

Charles shrugged. "We'd thought we'd come visit the rest of our team. Nothing like getting the gang back together!"