Chapter 3
Mike and I lay in a hospital bed across the hall from his dad. Although the hospital keeps the room temperatures cold, we were burning alive. It was hard, but we still chose to keep our legs tangled and our sticky arms around each other.
Mike starts to doze off beside me when I hear his dad curse loudly. Becoming curious I kiss Mike's cheek and make my way quietly across the hall. The cold air pricks at my bare skin as I stop at Dad's doorway, seeing a young, red-haired nurse at dad's side to check his vitals.
"You don't have to snoop, Darlin'." Gosh I love his accent too! His Native American heritage makes his voice deep like Mike's, but a southern twang keeps it interesting.
"You know I wasn't snooping, Dad." He smiles and motions me to sit on the bed beside him. The nurse gives me a polite smile as I get comfortable. When she is done she makes her way out the door and back to the Nurse's Station a few doors down.
Dad takes my hand in his as we hear silence from the hallway. I remember just last year his hands were strong and callused, but now, they are wrinkled and frail.
"I don't know what you think of me, but I want you to hear my side of the story before this ole' ticker gives out before ya'lls wedding day." He taps the spot right above his heart, making me smile as I notice his bright eyes are also just like Mike's. Now that I think about it, I don't think they realize how much they have in common.
"Dad, you have to think positive. Before we got the call, Mike and I were gonna spend the night on the pull-out couch," I see a tear quickly grow at the corner of his eye, "I'm sure we can do that here also. Even though we can't move as freely and the rooms smell like disinfectant." He offers me a small smile and pats my hand.
He takes a deep breath, another thing he and Mike do before talking about something serious. "Through everything I put myself and my family through, I can still remember the first day I met Elizabeth. And the day she died, pieces of us all did as well. She was the optimist, the bright haired, dark eyed beauty," I saw his eyes glaze over as he lost himself in his memories, I squeeze his hand tighter, like I could keep him from an edge he was about to jump off of.
"That day... it was in the spring and I had just moved in to the house beside hers. She had her hair up with a bandana and a pair of ratty over-alls on. She was covered from head-to-toe in yellow paint." There was a knock at the door and we turned to look as the same nurse from before came back in the room. "I had gone over to introduce myself, but she didn't even give me the time of day! I reckon' she sensed I had girls crawling all over me, but it was the exact opposite for her. By the next week I was wrapped around all her pretty little fingers too many time to count, but I officially won her over." His eyes meet mine and wink, a chuckle protruding through his smile proudly.
"The same time a year later, we finished the wedding plans and had tied the knot. To wake up every morning and see her eyes light up was what I lived for. A few years later Mike was born, and boy was he a handful! Every day from sun-up to sun-down he had us running laps around the house! But time flew; one day he was running laps, the next he was graduating from high school."
I smile sweetly at the nurse who sat in the plastic chair beside me as she wipes a stray tear off her perfect face.
"Mike moved out and was staying a couple blocks away in a new apartment complex built for college kids like him. After his second year, his mother died," he snapped his fingers, "Just like that."
Tears built in my eyes and blurred my vision as the nurse beside us blew her nose loudly, causing the room and halls to echo with the booming sound.
"I could barely arrange the funeral unless I was high on something. The years without her bubbly laugh or dark eyes have been the hardest. All the alcohol in the world wouldn't let me forget about Lizzie. Even now I don't go an hour without thinking of her sixty minutes of that sixty minutes," The nurse hands me a tissue as a tear races down my face, betraying my will to stay strong. "I tried quitting everything cold-turkey a few times before being admitted to the hospital. I went to every meeting I could, but it wasn't enough. Even now I still feel the weight of the withdraws. And though I know that Mike doesn't know it, or doesn't want to know it, I genuinely love him more than I love myself. He's one of the last things I have left of Lizzie--" His voice cracks as he loos down at his hands, then back at me. His dark eyes show brightly as tears cloud them. "I see Elizabeth in you. Your optimism, your drive to be there for the ones you love... I know that Lizzie would love you unconditionally."
A sad smile found its way onto my face, and I found that I had to keep wiping tears off of my chin. I take Dad's hand and wrap my arm around him, kissing his wrinkled cheek.
"Thank you. I can't wait to be a part of this family. Now lay back and get some sleep. Good night, Dad."
"Good night, Raven."
The nurse offered to walk me back across the hall but I turned her down. I shut the door, leaving a crack as I walk back to the bed. I crawl up into the thin-sheeted bed and curl up next to Mike, pressing my cold toes against his calves. The cold that continued to fight with the hospital blanket quickly died down as he turned to me and wrapped his arm around my waist, holding me protectively.
I kiss his cheek and nestle my head on the pillow, feeling his bicep under my neck.
"I love you, Mike." I whisper, a yawn fighting against me as my eyes shutter closed. I heard him mumble it back quietly, his voice covered in sleep as I begin to drift there myself.
**A/N~ Happy Holidays everyone! I have just finished my first semester of college and therefore have some extra time to finish all the editing and get this out to you guys as a final product. Well, I know you wanna give me some feedback, good or bad, so comment below, or hit that vote button(: ***
