WITHOUT THINKING, I had pushed the doctor next to her and grabbed her face, my lips crashing down on hers. It took her a while to actually respond to it but soon, I found myself leaning on to her touch on my face, her thumb caressing my cheek. As our lips parted, she gave me a soft smile—one that melted my heart. "Hi."
My lips twitched and for a second, I wasn't sure if I was going to cry or laugh, or both. "Hi. I did miss you."
"Okay, lovebirds," Dr. Housten had placed her hand on my shoulder, making me take a step back so she could stand in between us. She gave her a soft smile before continuing, "We've got to keep getting handsy to a minimum. We can't risk your heart, remember? We'll have to keep you in for a week, make sure the surgery really went well and there isn't any left damage from the wound you sustained."
She nodded. Awake. She's finally awake.
I winked at her before turning to Dr. Housten with seriousness. "But so far, she's okay? She's good?"
She nodded. "Yes, so far she's good." Then, she faced her. "You'll have to be prepped for a follow-up CT scan and MRI and if we see nothing wrong, you're in the clear and free to leave tomorrow after we've discussed medications and follow-up checkups. Do you remember what we've talked about?"
"Nausea, pain, and discomfort is normal," she reiterated. "I'm going to feel tired more than usual for several weeks because of the surgery and I shouldn't tire myself out. So, no extensive exercises or any other kind of exercises until you give me the go."
I'll have to talk to Dr. Housten later and ask what medications they were giving her and what certain things I should when she gets discharged and get to go home.
"Good," she uttered and glanced towards the nurse on the other side of my bed. He looks about maybe my age, maybe a little older, but definitely fit. He's wearing deep blue scrubs that emphasized his blue eyes, a stethoscope around his neck, and a nameplate on the pocket of his shirt.
Adam Gomez, Registered Nurse
He nodded towards Sam as a greeting, a sly smile on his face. "Hi, I'm going to be helping you while you're here, make sure everything's okay."
Definitely not too happy with this nurse. He'll positively try something on Sam.
That cannot happen.
Rolling my eyes, I gazed at Sam who was just giving me that knowing smirk of hers when she found something funny. "I'm going to call everyone. Tell them you're awake, alright?"
She nodded. "Can you have them bring Gabriel too?"
"Of course."
Walking out, I dialed in Sean's number first, knowing that he should learn first that her sister was finally awake after these past couple days of having everyone so worried about her.
We talked for a while, telling him to bring Gabriel with them as per her request and they said that he was going to get off work early and call Adriana, make sure that they would be here tonight. Then, I called Alex and he had said that he'll be here soon, he just needed to fix a few things. After that, I sent a text out to the guys, having our group message still named "best men".
We came up with it, telling ourselves that we would be each other's best man no matter one, when we were teenagers. Now, it had stuck and we still kept our promise of being best friends with one another.
Right now, I could use some friends.
As we waited for people to start coming in, I decided to stay with Sam for a mean time, sitting on the bed I've been sleeping on for the past couple of days, as we watched a bunch of crap on the television. It was something that kept me busy, took my focus away from having to think about everything that involved Sam.
We were holding one another's hand, me taking the back of her hand, and resting my head on it. She pulled on my hand slightly, causing for me to turn my attention to her. I can't help but feel like someone's ripping my heart at the sight of her—bandage around the nose, her bruised eye wasn't healing faster than mine, and a bandage around her shoulder.
"You haven't been talking," she uttered, her voice hoarse still. Probably from the tube that they took out of her throat to help her breathing. "What's going on in your head, Travis?"
And I couldn't help it. There were not threats of tears, they just went out in a second. My heart was in pain and I couldn't help but cry about it. I shouldn't even be crying—I'm not the one who got shot, I'm not the one who's lying in the bed.
So, I shook my head. "No, I'm fine. I'm okay."
"Hey," she tugged again, moving backwards from her bed. "I can't pull you so you're going to have to come up to the bed."
When I started to shake my head again, she merely gave me that blank look—one that was enough for me to stand and follow her orders. I decided to lay on my side, placing my arm under her head for support as I snaked the other one around her waist.
The moment she stared up at me, those brown chocolate eyes were curious and worried. "Now, tell me what's wrong and don't tell me that you're okay because if you were, you wouldn't be crying." When I didn't speak, she continued on, "does this have to do with your nightmares?"
My brows furrowed. "You heard me?"
She gave a small smile. "Doc told me. Said something about you dreaming about me but it's a bad one. She thinks it's probably from the fear that you could've lost me. Is that why?"
"I keep dreaming, you know," my voice broke. All throughout the time I've been here, I've never cracked, but I guess, her being awake and holding me back, everything came out. "about that night. I was so scared, thinking that you might die in my arms. Alex wanted you to go to AIIFA headquarters but we both knew that if we didn't find the nearest hospital, you could run out of time."
She nodded, understanding but I couldn't help but continue. "It's just... I can't sleep right. It's always the same thing and I would accidentally find myself waking up looking for you, but you would be asleep, still fighting for your life."
What am I even doing? Crying to her like this, needing for her to comfort me when I should be the one comforting her.
"I'm sorry," I ran my hand through my hair, pulling a little to try and get a grip. "You shouldn't be worrying about me."
She frowned, as if she was disappointed. "Look, do I have to get my gun and threaten you to tell me everything? I thought we promised one another that we wouldn't push each other away, meaning, you get to tell me everything."
And there she is. The hot-headed woman was back and I couldn't help but smile at her. "First off, you don't have your gun so you don't have anything to threaten me with."
Chuckling, she shrugged with one of her unharmed shoulder. "Eh, who needs a gun? We're in a hospital, there's a lot of options."
It got me to match that laugh of hers. This was better—something light. It always seemed light whenever she was around.
"Hey," she raised her hand and placed it on the side of my face, her thumb caressing my cheek. Her warmth, I felt it. "We're going to get through it together."
Those eyes of hers were asserting assurance. She thinks that it was all going to be okay, that we were going to be able to move on through this mess, something the rest of the guys has been telling me but I could never believe.
But when it came from her? It felt so true. So real.
*
So, it's still on Travis POV!! Heyy!!
Anyways, I'm still thinking if I should switch it back on Sam's or just continue with his point of view.
Maybe the next chapter will be Sam's. We still do need her story!
This is a short chapter but I hope you enjoyed it. Only a few more chapters and then, here comes the epilogue!
- bella xxx