:: E I G H T E E N ::
Luke covered his mouth with his palm, pressing it tightly against his teeth. He was pressing his hand so tightly against his open mouth that he tasted blood and, when he looked at his palm, he saw small cuts on his fingers.
He started muttering incoherently under his breath, a tremor in his hands. He looked from Ellie to his hands continuously as he kept on muttering.
"Luke," Dr. Claire said in a warning tone making him stop and take in a gulp of air as he tried to calm himself.
He then leaned against the wall, the coldness bringing him back to his senses. He ran a hand through his rough hair and then rubbed his face, letting out a long breath before looking at the doctor and giving her a slight nod.
"Are you sure?" She asked, concern written all over her face. Luke nodded once again before entering the room. He heard the clicking of the door but didn't look back.
He walked over to Ellie's bed and sat down on the white plastic chair next to it. He kept staring at his fidgeting hands on his lap, fighting for the courage to look at Ellie and it took him fifteen minutes to muster it up.
Looking around, he realized that Dr. Claire had left them alone which made him ease up. All that was there was the machine next to Ellie's bed that kept beeping, which, if it didn't mean anything positive, would've been annoying. He then leaned forward slightly and looked at Ellie's face.
Her head was wrapped in a bandage that was bloody like every other bandage that was wrapped on her body. Tears pricked Luke's eyes when he saw the cuts and bloody bruises on her arms that clashed harshly with her pale skin. There were tiny plastic tubes inserted into her veins and a ventilator was there to help her breathe.
Luke bit onto his bottom lip as he softly took Ellie's hand in his, tracing small patterns on the back of her hand which felt so cold and lifeless. He let out a choked sob and brought their intertwined hands to his lips before placing a soft, lingering kiss on her hand. Tears that were threatening to fall fell uncontrollably as he cried in pain, the pain in his heart that made him feel as if it was shriveling up. It made him want to tear it out of his chest and fling it away.
He cried and cried for what seemed like hours until he was tired and his half lidded eyes felt sore.
"People," he said with a shaky voice. "People are monsters. They just hide who they are behind the pretty masks they design for themselves. Trust me; I've seen the real people once their masks fall off," he spoke quietly. "And sometimes I - I think I am one of them." He sobbed. "I'm so sorry, El. This is all my fault."
And the tears started once again, rolling down his cheeks and causing the front of his t-shirt to dampen with tiny wet spots.
-
An hour later when Dr. Claire decided to check up on Luke, she saw him fast asleep. His head was resting on the bed as he leaned forward in the plastic chair, his hand still intertwined with Ellie's. Claire placed a hand on her heart, a small, sad smile forming on her lips as tears pooled in her eyes.
The scene in front of her reminded of the tragic accident her then boyfriend Mark had gotten into. Being a rebellious teenager, Mark was never one to listen to what anyone said and one fateful night he had gotten onto his trusted motorcycle and sped along the highway after an argument with Claire. An hour later Claire, who was expecting a call and an apology from Mark, got one from the police instead saying that he was found dead on the spot.
The heartbreak Luke was feeling was something Claire could relate to, which was why she was doing everything and anything she could to help bring Ellie back. She was determined to do so and wouldn't give up without a fight.
She walked over to Luke and shook his shoulder lightly. Luke's eyes fluttered open and he looked up to see teary eyed Dr. Claire. He straightened up in his chair and said, "Oh hi, Dr. Claire," with a small smile.
"Ready to head back to your floor, Luke?" She asked softly. "I would've let you stay, but since this is the ICU, and with Ellie's condition it'll get busy. I'll let you back here tomorrow." She said with a smile.
Luke looked at Ellie before placing a kiss on her cheek, letting go of her hand as he stood up and nodded, following the doctor outside.
-
-
Luke yawned as he stretched his arms in front of him. Wondering what the time could be, he looked to his left and saw that it was seven in the morning on his bedside clock. There was light filtering in through the translucent windows of the hall, dancing on everything it could touch.
He slowly got up from his bed, removing the white sheet away from him as he swung his legs down. His feet made contact with the hard, cold floor before he slipped on the slippers next to his bed. He grabbed the glass of water on the table next to his bed, taking the saucer on top of the glass and placing it on the table before taking a sip.
Once draining the glass of its contents, he went off to ask the nurse if he could shower. This was a thing that irritated him. He had to check up with the nurses if he could have a shower and usually he got a 'no' since his wounds were still healing. He went and spoke to the nurse named Melanie who was by his side since day one.
"Let me check," she said when Luke begged her to give him permission. It was embarrassing. "Show me your arms," she raised his arms and looked through with expertise. She then examined his legs.
Luke had been in the hospital for five days now and he has been prodded with needles, jabbed by the doctor and been half naked for the longest time that he was almost used to being so exposed now that he was unfazed when the nurse pulled up his t-shirt to examine his torso.
"Alright, you can shower," she declared once done. "Your wounds are healed," she beamed. Luke felt as if she was happier than anyone over the fact that Luke was getting better. He had never met a nurse like that in his life.
And when he mentioned that to her she responded with, "You remind of my three sons. In a way I feel as if you're one of my sons now, dear," she reached up and patted his cheek as she looked up since he was towering over her.
"Thank you, Melanie," he said as he hugged her, feeling her motherly hug back. "Say hi to your sons from me," he said once he let go and went to grab his toiletries that Jack had brought for him before heading over to shower.
Feeling clean and fresh, he stopped by Dr. Claire's office to let her know that he's going to visit Ellie and when she gave her approval, he flashed her a sincere smile and headed to the ICU.
He perched himself on the seat that he had filled yesterday. He took Ellie's hand softly in his and said, "Good morning, El," with a smile on his face. "It's me, Luke." The doctors had advised him to say his name before talking since it will help. They had also advised him saying that there was a high probability that she could hear him so told him to take caution with what he said.
"You look beautiful," he whispered. "Well not exactly beautiful since you look like that time we spent digging up your whole backyard and you were covered in mud from head to toe," he joked. "But still, you've always looked beautiful to me." He kissed her hand and began tracing patterns on it.
"I love you, El," he sighed. "I love you more than words could ever describe. I love you to the moon and back. Heck, I love you to a place farther away from the moon and back. You're my everything, El - my helping hand, light in the darkness, rope above the pit, everything. So please don't give up on us, El, because we sure haven't given up on you." Tears pooled in his eyes blurring his vision.
He wiped at his eyes furiously and sniffled. "I'll see you tomorrow, Princess," he said before standing up, placing a lingering kiss on Ellie's forehead and walking out since his emotions were mentally straining him.
A/N: HOPE YOU GUYS LIKE THIS! What do you think will happen to Ellie?
Please let me know what you guys think in the comments! I love your feedback since it helps me write more :) love you guys xx
And I actually did so much of research on coma and comatose patients, it's crazy! not coma, i meant the amount of research i did was crazy. Dedicated to @Aggressiively since she's an amazing reader and has stuck by this story since the beginning!
And also a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who's reading this since it has hit 5.2K and is just 2 reads away from 5.3K! Thank you all so, so much!
- Pooji