"Wanna say that I miss you
But I don't wanna need to
Be the one to hold on for the longest time
I don't know, I don't need to
Be so cold when I'm with you"
~-~-~
A week went by.
An entire week and Chelsea still hadn't woken up.
She was being given the best treatment possible but I had no idea where things were going wrong.
Mathew would call me often to report things at the company. He said that we were facing losses as I wasn't there. The investors were withdrawing because they didn't want to deal with an invisible CEO.
When Patrick was in charge, he was irresponsible. I believed that it was on purpose. A man of his caliber had neglected all responsibilities as the CEO and was sticking around just to show off his power.
I'd have to make up for all that as well.
But not now.
"I won't return until Chelsea wakes up and that is final," I hung up on Mathew.
There were stacks of cash in my bank account. I could live in luxury without a job for at least ten more years. If that was how long Chelsea would take to wake up, so be it.
I hadn't even taken Lucy home. But I didn't feel like returning there without my wife.
Even though it had been just a week, I was losing hope.
What if Chelsea never wakes up as Dr.Hudson predicted?
What if the medicines fail to help her?
What if Lucy grows up with a bedridden mother?
Just the mention of her in my thoughts and Lucy began crying in the room next door. I had safely put her to sleep in the afternoon, but it had been just an hour.
My chair was pulled fairly close to Chelsea's bed but my thoughts kept wandering. I leaned back and closed my eyes, hoping to silence everything around me—my daughter's screams, the hopeless beeping of the heart monitor. To be honest, I hadn't gotten a wink of proper sleep after the accident.
Something touched my knee.
Probably, a bug.
I ignored the feeling and attempted to sleep again.
But once again, there was a light tap.
The hospital room was sterilized.
There could be no bugs.
Fuck.
I opened my eyes and stared at the finger that was gently tapping my knee.
Chelsea was trying something.
Her eyes were closed shut but she seemed to be frowning. My wife attempted to move her head. It almost looked like she was having a nightmare.
Whatever it was, she was regaining consciousness.
"Dr.Hudson!" I hurried out of the room and Camille looked up from the reception.
"Chelsea's waking up."
She gasped, "I'll call the doctor right away!" I went back inside and sat by my wife's bed. Her hand was firmly in mine and I could tell she was trying to squeeze me back.
"Open your eyes, Chelsea. Come on," I whispered.
By the time Dr.Hudson and his team came into the room, Chelsea slowly cracked her eyes open. She was trying to say something. "It's alright Mrs.Xander, try to relax," Dr.Hudson told her.
Chelsea gulped and closed her eyes again, but her grip on my hand was still strong.
"What's wrong?" I asked the doctor.
"She's just tired and she can't stay awake all the time. But she is conscious. It's a great achievement, Mr.Xander. But what could have triggered this?"
"Lucy just started crying," I mumbled.
"That could be it. She was probably asking for her baby... But I won't recommend it just yet. Since her breathing is stable, we'll get rid of the ventilator. It will help in the recovery."
I nodded.
***
"Mrs.Xander, can you hear well?" Dr.Hudson asked while scribbling something on his notepad.
It was around 10 pm and Chelsea had woken up again. This time, she opened her eyes a little more and kept them open. Her ventilator and food tube were taken off, and now she was left with the drip and bandages.
She'd have to get rid of them as soon as possible.
"Can you?" Dr.Hudson repeated.
Chelsea opened her mouth but couldn't say anything.
"It's alright, just nod your head for yes or say nothing for no."
Chelsea gave a little nod and I sighed in relief.
"Excellent. Now, do you have any difficulty seeing or recognizing the people around you?"
Chelsea squeezed my hand without any head movement. Her being cheesy even in a hospital bed made me smile.
"Do you have any difficulty eating?"
She gave a little nod. "Right, we'll work on that," Dr.Hudson scribbled more.
"Is breathing difficult?"
She didn't move again.
"Very good. You're doing very well, Mrs.Xander. You'll be much better in a couple of days," Dr.Hudson smiled before leaving.
"It's pretty late. I'll be in the next room," I told her but she squeezed my hand tighter.
"What?"
Chelsea gave a weak pout.
"What do you want me to do?" I sighed.
She bumped her diamond ring with mine.
"I won't understand your signs until you start talking, Chelsea."
She pouted a little more and kept clinking our rings together.
"Do you want me to kiss you?"
She gave her little nod a couple of times and smiled.
As I was sitting by the edge of her bed, I bent forward and kissed her forehead softly.
"Good night." I got up to leave but she still hadn't let go of me. "Now what?" I sighed in frustration.
Chelsea played with my fingers till she had successfully made me point at her face with my index finger.
"Still desperate, I see." My arms were on either side of her face, my eyes piercing into hers.
"Chelsea..."I brushed my lips against hers. My wife was already breathing heavily.
"Do you want me to ravage you?"
She began nodding more frantically. I brushed her lip with my thumb.
"You'll have to say something though," I whispered while letting my nose touch hers. Kissing the side of her face, I made it to her neck. With closed eyes, I saw Chelsea fisting the sheet in her hands.
"Mm..." She whimpered.
"Try harder," I sucked her skin gently.
"L... Leo..." She was slightly gaping for breath. My hand caressed her other cheek, "Good job." I found my way back to her lips and pecked her.
"If I stay here any longer, I'll have to literally ravage you."
Chelsea smiled a little better. Her pretty eyes were twinkling most brilliantly.
"Get better soon, alright?"
***
The physiotherapist was beginning to leave after the morning exercise with Chelsea.
In just two days, she was able to turn her wrists and elbows without much difficulty. Her lower body was still healing and it would take a lot more time.
"Thank you," Chelsea smiled as the doc left.
I sat by the edge of her bed just watching her.
"Come on, Leo... Let me hold her..."
Even though Chelsea had managed to speak, she still sounded very tired. At this point, Lucy seemed stronger than her. I was not taking any risks by letting them be together.
"She's asleep right now. In a few more days, I'll let you."
"But... Please..."
"No means no, Chelsea," I glared.
She looked away feeling hurt. I hated being guilty but she made me feel it deep.
"Look," I held the side of her face, "I hate letting her be away from you just as much as you do. But in a few days, you'll get better and you can hold Lucy as much as you like. Co-operate okay?"
She smiled again and squeezed my hand that was on her face, "Come closer."
"I have places to go-"
"Please?"
I gave in with a sigh. The reason I hated our proximity now was because she left me hungry every time we pulled away. Every part of me was yearning to be inside her again. I wanted her like a drug, to get away from all the shit that had been happening lately.
"I love you, Leo."
Chelsea pressed her lips against mine, it was a soft, slow kiss completely guided by her. It only made the bulge in my boxers grow. I kissed her back, savouring her taste.
Right then, there was a knock on the door and I got up to answer it.
"Hey man," Jay grinned at me, Chase and Chuck were with him as well. "Jim's at work so we came alone," he replied. I let them in and Jay almost squealed on seeing Chelsea awake. They brought flowers and balloons for her.
"His idea," Chuck told me while pointing at Jay. "Of course..." I sighed. "Where's Lucy?" Chase turned to me. "She's asleep in the other room." The guys went over to peek at my little angel. "Damn, the room is incredible. I didn't know that hospitals had five-star service," Chuck grinned.
When Jim came over last night, I told him everything that had happened. Since Chelsea was asleep, he couldn't talk to her but he had promised to bring the boys with him soon. Just as he predicted, the boys were going crazy over the wealth I owned.
"I'll be back in a few hours, take care of Lucy. Don't wake her up. If you need something, ask Camille at the reception desk. Keep an eye on both girls, okay?"
"Aw, look at you Mr.Xander, such a family guy!" Jay teased.
I ignored him and turned to Chelsea, "If you need anything, press the bell." I pointed at the red button near her bed.
"Okay." She smiled as I exited the room.
***
I pulled over in front of Xander Corp. and went inside the posh place. All mine. The security guards stared at me with hanging jaws, and so did my other employees. I walked over to the reception where the blonde pretty girl, whom I had specifically kept to draw in whore-loving rich investors, gasped.
"Mr.Xander... Sir... I-Its so good to have you back...!" She clapped her hands forcefully.
"Ask Mathew to come to my office," I replied calmly, "Even Jeffrey. Book an appointment with him."
"Right away, sir."
I walked over to the elevator and waited as it took me to the topmost floor. It was almost nostalgic to hear the familiar ding of the elevator followed by the doors opening to a spotless hallway. The plants in the corner were still well-maintained.
On reaching my office door, I nearly had goosebumps. The handle was cold.
The door creaked open and I was met by a cold dusty wind. It was obvious that the room had been used rarely. My desk was stacked with files and papers. Even the laptop in the corner had collected so much dust.
However, I found it interesting that the TV looked as good as new. I saw a game console connected by wires and many more unnecessary hardware.
There was a knock on the door followed by Jeffrey's face peeking in. He smiled at me, "Is the boss all cosy?"
"Just come in," I sighed. Mathew popped up behind him. "Mr.Campbell just happened to be in the neighbourhood," he told me.
"Patrick used to play video games in here?" I pointed at the TV.
"Um... I think so, sir... He rarely did any work..."
Jeffrey walked over and inspected the console, "Damn... These are really great, you know? He has good taste." I ignored my lawyer who had turned into a boy, "Ask someone to get the place cleaned. I don't want to see any of these tomorrow."
"Yes sir," Mathew nodded and left us alone.
Jeffrey settled on the couch, "It's good to be back here again. The last time we were together here, things didn't look nice, huh?"
I glanced at him, then stared outside my window.
It was exactly like Chelsea had said.
The view was incredible.
She'd love to be here.
I could almost imagine her pointing out the lights, the river, the sky, the stars... Just like how she used to talk to the insects and elements as a toddler.
"It's strange, isn't it?"
Jeffrey blinked at me, "What is?"
"How certain things turn beautiful over time."
He pondered over my words for a while, then smiled, "Yeah."
I took a deep breath.
Maybe the night air didn't smell as good as from Chelsea's balcony. It still felt special.
"Do you know where Patrick is?" I turned to my lawyer.
"The detectives are working on it... And on the person who initiated the freeze. It's going to be very hard-"
"I don't care how hard it is," my tone dropped by an octave.
The fearful look in Jeffrey's eyes had returned.
I had seen it so many times in all those around me. But that was long ago.
It felt fucking good to have it back.
Power was the luxury I missed more than anything.
Now, I was rightfully making it mine again.
"Whoever caused this will regret everything."
Jeffrey loosened his tie with a smile, "You've turned into a new kind of devil, huh?"
He wasn't wrong.
Vote, Vote, Vote!!!
Lyrics: Told You So by Mike Perry
Last Edited - 10/02/24