The song should be played at the end.
***
Next morning, JB went to College to attend his first class of the day. He was pretty exhausted by yesterday evening with Pamela working on their movie project.
Even thought he admitted that he had fun with her, it didn't remove the fact that she was still very annoying to him.
He had no news of Melanie since yesterday morning.
Weren't we supposed to talk? If she's not ready yet I won't rush things...
While opening his locker to take his books, something annoyed him. Her things were still there, placed exactly the same way as yesterday...like she didn't touch them. He scratched the back of his neck, head inclined. He decided to text her.
Are you at school now? Just tell me yes knowing you're still alive kk ;) I won't bother you after this.
As he sent the message, he heard a familiar voice coming towards him. It was Jackson; he was literally being pulled by Jr who grabbed his arm tightly, and clearly, he looked annoyed.
"Why are you pulling me like this?? I'm not your dog!!"
Jackson then looked at JB, "JB, tell him to leave me alone! He's acting strange!" Jr wouldn't let him go and he had a serious face. That's not good.
"What's going on?" JB asked curious. Jackson finally escaped from Jr's strong hand and went next to JB, as this last one side-eyed him. The both of them then watched Jr, anticipating his explanation. Jackson frowned, still annoyed by his act towards him.
"I need to tell you something important."
"Ya! Why you haven't take my calls?" JB asked a little irritated.
"Melanie had an accident." He let out without anymore waiting. He sure was more courageous than yesterday.
Seeing how Jr was being so serious, JB's back fell first on the door of his locker, making a big slam sound, resonating in the empty hallway. Jackson gulped noisily and still fixed Jr with his wide eyes. "Where's Mark?" he asked him.
"...I don't know, but he already knows about her."
***
This morning, Mark walked to the hospital. He didn't want to go to class, knowing Melanie was in a coma. Either way, he wouldn't be able to concentrate.
Once he got there, he demanded directions to her room and immediately headed there. In the room, he only heard the monitor quiet noise, but he felt another presence.
"Are you here for Melanie?" he heard a man voice saying to him. He thought he got lost, that's why he bothered asking.
"Yes, i'm here for Melanie. I'm her friend."
The man got up from his seat and came closer to him.
"My name is Denzel. I'm her father."
He came down from another city yesterday night after hearing the bad news. This morning, he came to see his daugher.
Mark knew little on her father; she told him he was her role model and that she liked him very much. So, he wanted to make a good first impression in front of him.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Mark." and he grabbed his hand to do a handshake and...he had a strong grip. Just by this handshake, Mark could tell he had good social skills and was very enterprising.
"If i'm bothering you, I-I can go." Mark started to feel anxious in front of him, stammering.
"Oh no, it's okay. I need to take a walk and breathe again. I don't like to see her like that; not good for my health. I'll come back later." Seeing Mark was blind, he added to be sure, "...You'll be okay?"
"Ah don't worry about me, I'll be okay. Thank you sir." He tapped Mark's shoulder as he got out of the room. The way he talked, he seemed exhausted...emotionally.
Mark walked few steps to Melanie's bed and then continued on her side. He searched for her hand and held it. He controlled his emotions better than yesterday, but his heart was still painful.
The doctor made his entrance as he was doing his daily visit of his patients, files occupying both his hands.
"Good morning."
"Good morning. You are the...doctor?"
"Yes, I'm Dr. Anderson. I came to see how she is."
"Ah okay." and he moved his head towards Melanie again, a bit sadly.
Seeing how Mark looked sad, the doctor told him,
"You know, some people feel they can remember events that happened around them while they were in a coma. Some have also reported feeling enormous reassurance from the presence of a loved one when coming out of a coma."
"Oh really? What pourcentage of chance she has to wake up?"
"I can't really tell for now, but the treatment for her anemia is going great for now. Her blood cell count is increasing slowly but surely."
"Well, at least it's good."
"In the meantime, talking to her about your day, holding her hand or stroking her skin can be a great comfort for her. Even playing her some of her favorite music, putting flowers in the room. All of that can help stimulating her senses and could
help her recover faster from the coma."
"Thank you a lot. I'll keep that in mind. I really want her to wake up."
"Have a good day." and the doctor left after taking quick notes to continue his visits.
Mark immediately took her hand, caressing it gently and giving it pecks at times. "How are you today?" he would ask awkwardly, not use to talk to someone...asleep. Or "Ni hao ma?" and then told her how he felt and saying sorry multiple times.
Mark heard few steps coming to the room. It was sure more than one person coming.
"Here you are..." Jr told him. He came with Jackson and JB. The two of them froze on spot now seeing Melanie in a serious state. Jackson lost some colors while JB...was just quiet. He tried to control himself from crying. Jr was still anguished about her.
"Wow...wow..." Jackson only let out as he rised his head looking up, preventing tears to fall down. He took few breaths but, "...it's coming." he couldn't handle it anymore. His face started to grimace as he began to cry.
Mark, still next to Melanie, moved his head to the direction of the sad weeping sounds Jackson was doing. Jr took him in his arms, patting his back, as he kept sobbing.
Few seconds after that, JB fell into heavy tears, but he was still standing on the same place, unable to move forward.
Even if he cried quietly, Mark could easily hear JB and he didn't like that. True that, they fought and that he punched him. Plus, they stopped talking, but it was only temporary. He walked carefully to JB and took him in his arms. JB didn't hesitated as he hugged him naturally, searching for comfort.
The next day, Mark came in the afternoon before Melanie's mom would show up. Actually, her dad would come in the morning and her mom in the afternoon after work. So, Mark tried to come in between to have his own private time with her.
He would talked about his day; what he did, clumsy things that happened, the weather outside, the different sounds he would hear, etc. He informed her about the other guys too and told her that his parents were going to see her tonight.
Today was Melanie fourth day in coma. She only had a little bandage on her head since it bleed less, starting to heal and, she had no more oxygen mask as the medical staffs saw how her breathing was better, thanks to the increase of blood cells.
This morning, her dad wasn't here yet cause he had to assist a very important meeting. He'll only be able to pass by for lunch hour.
As Mark was tired from going to College, then the hospital and go back home everyday, he naturally became more tired.
He came to see her as always and just immediately laid his fit, long skinny body next to her. One arm on her pillow, above her head and the other one around her waist, he slept like that for maybe two hours.
Nurses and health professionals who were passing by the room thought they were adorable together. They would tell each other how Mark was very dedicated to Melanie, taking care of her everyday. The fact that he was blind was even cuter. The women were jealous of Melanie.
Denzel, Melanie's father, finally passed by as it was lunch hour. He also contemplated the sight of the two together...in the same bed. As it was his daughter, he would immediately tell any guy who touched her to go away.
Mark, was different. He sensed that. He saw how he took care of her and the way he talked to her. He could tell he really liked her, even if he was a bit annoyed by the fact that he was blind. He came everyday to see her and spent hours to be with her knowing she was unconscious.
Would every guy do that?
JB liked Melanie a lot, but only came once. That first time with Jr and Jackson, after that he never came back. He didn't know what he would do with her being...asleep; he can't talk to her, he thought. So, he preferred to wait until she wakes up, if she does wake up...
As the good son he was, he continued to go to College and do his homeworks and project with the thought of Melanie in coma torturing him.
Now, it didn't matter cause she had Mark.
Denzel thought Mark should be hungry by this time, so he went to the room and tapped his shoulder carefully until he woke up. Mark groaned a little and did "Hm?"
"Are you hungry? It's lunch time."
When Mark recognized Melanie's father voice, he blushed. Embarrassed, he jumped out of the bed. His body started to shake, worried about what he could say, him sleeping next to his daughter. Still, it wasn't something really grave.
"Oh, i'm so sorry!"
"It's okay. Let's go eat together. I'll pay." he simply said, going straight to the point. He didn't want him to feel more embarrassed.
"Ah? O-okay." he still felt shy in front of him.
They headed to the cafeteria, bought food and sat together. They started eating quietly and Denzel began a conversation, wanting to know him better. After that, he wanted to know how he knew his daughter.
"So...how you and Melanie know each other?" he asked.
"Well, a bit randomly. We first talked in a bus stop area, waiting to go to College and since then, we kept bumping into each other and slowly became close."
"Ah okay. I can see...that you like her a lot."
Mark gulped and blushed again, feeling his body becoming suddenly hot.
Countless meaningful memories of him with Melanie flew in his mind; he liked her a lot and missed her so much.
How was he supposed to respond to her dad. Honesty is always a win, no matter what the reaction. He felt his throat becoming dry, but he did say "I do like her a lot, sir." and cleared his throat.
"I hope you'll continue to take good care of her when i'm not around."
What? Easy like that...
"Yes sir."
"Call me Denzel."
Mark only nodded at his remark.
After finishing their meals, they went back at the ICU floor and Denzel talked to his daughter one last time before leaving. After his leave, Mark remained with her.
He searched in his bag and took out his i-phone. He brought some music with him today knowing how Melanie liked music and dancing. They both liked the same genre. Well, all the five of them.
He placed one earphone in her right ear while the other was in his left ear.
"I know you like music...maybe it will wake you up? But today, we'll only listen to more soft songs, ok?"
He chose the playlist and pressed play. It went on for one good hour and finished with one of his favorite.
"Have you seen A Walk to Remember ? This song plays in it. It helps me when I pray for you everynight...because now, God is our only hope I think." and, he played the song.
Since Melanie's unconsciousness, everyone prayed for her; her family, Mark's family, her friends and even the medical team. They prayed for her to wake up as soon as possible.
After the song ended, Mark talked to her again, rememoring her how they've met and all the things they've done together as he was laying again next to her, holding her hand gentlty.
He then sat up and got off the bed, arranging his stuff.
"Your mom will be here soon, so I have to go. I'll come see you tomorrow. I'll tell Coco about how you're doing."
Above her, hands placed on the bed, each side of her body, he gave her a tender kiss on her forehead. He went down to rest his forehead on hers.
"For the first time in my life, i've never felt attached this strongly to a girl. You have to wake up...I miss you so much."
He rubbed his nose on hers, giving her an eskimo kiss. After that, his head naturally tilted to the side, and...
_________________________________________
Hey hey!
Here's another update. What do you think will happen next?
You'll know in the next one! Should be this coming weekend.
I've already started writing it, I just want to perfect it; good picture and good music to put you in the ambiance, helping you imaginate it in your head.
Malory :)