25. Past and present
Marc
There was this burning sensation in my throat. Something seemed to be blocking air from going into my lungs. I struggled against the foreign object that was restricting my breathing. My eyes popped open, but closed again as I fought for control of my body. What was that noise? Something beeped loudly beside me. The more I struggled, the louder the beeping got. "I think he's waking up. Mr. Paxton. Mr. Paxton, can you hear me?" I could vaguely make out voices and even detect some movement going on around me. The struggle I was putting up against whatever it was that was blocking me from getting air seemed to loosen, until I stopped struggling all together and my eyes popped opened as I took huge gulps of air into my lungs.
"I think he's breathing on his own," someone said. It took a while for my eyes to adjust to my environment. My throat felt raw. At first when I tried to speak, it burned and no words came out. Someone put a straw to my lips and I greedily sucked down the water, although it was uncomfortable for me to do so. Am I in the hospital? I tried to glance around but my eyes could barely make it past the bridge of my nose. "Get the doctor," a feminine voice said. So I am in the hospital. I felt really weak and decided to stop struggling to keep my eyes open any longer. Soon enough, I gave in to the heaviness that threatened to overpower my eyes and went to sleep.
The next time I opened my eyes, James was there. "Welcome back, mate. You gave us a scare." I tried to form words, but I guess I was a little bit rusty at the whole speaking thing. "Don't strain yourself. The doctor will be here to check on you soon." I knew I was in the hospital. I briefly remember getting into an accident. But how long was I out for? Why the hell was James here? It must have been more than a day; otherwise he would not be sitting here right now. There was something or rather someone I should be remembering, someone important. My eyes opened wide once my brain came to the realization. "Na...Na.." I stuttered but was having difficulty.
"Mr. Paxton, you shouldn't force yourself to speak." The doctor came into my vision, and soon enough I was sitting up in bed. "Okay, Mr. Paxton, I'm going to ask you some questions. If you understand or if the answer is yes, nod your head up and down. If the answer is no or you don't understand, move your head from side to side." I nodded my head up and down to let him know I understood.
"Are you aware that you are in the hospital?" I nodded up and down. "Do you know why?" Again I nodded. "Do you know how long you've been here?" I shook my head from side to side. "I see. You've been here for five days." What? My eyebrows lifted in confusion. "You've been in a coma since you were brought in from the accident."
I opened my mouth and words finally came out. "Where's Natalía?" The question was directed at James. "Is that the woman you were in the accident with? I'm not her doctor so I can't tell you much about her." I ignored him and turned to James. "Maybe you should listen to what the doctor has to say first."
"I'm fine! A broken arm isn't going to kill me."
"Mr. Paxton, you also broke a few of your ribs. Plus you have been in a coma for five days. There are tests we need to run to ensure you are indeed fine." I didn't really care about all that.
"Marc, listen to the doctor for once. I'm sure once you've been checked out you'll feel better." I eyed him. "Why are you avoiding the topic of Natalía?" I knew we left things on a sour note and she was pissed at me, but there was no way she would not have been here. I know the kind of personality she has.
"Are you referring to the woman who has been terrorizing the doctors and nurses here?" That sounds about right. "We had to sedate her. She went a little crazy from lack of sleep. I hear she even tried to strangle a patient. I'm not clear on the details however."
"Excuse me?" I could not have heard right. "Just what the hell has been going on since I've been out? Someone needs to explain to me what the fuck has been going on. There will be no check-up or tests until someone tell me where Natalía Accosi is."
"Mr. Paxton, I really think you should let me do a thorough check-up on you. You can find out about this woman later. It's important that..."
"You shut up!" I glared at James. "Explain."
"Natalía went a little crazy. She was popping pills to stay awake and she tried to strangle Andrea, who by the way lost the baby. She even requested a paternity test to be done. She got pissed when Andrea refused to sign the papers. She was out of control and the doctors eventually had to sedate her." Pretty much everything he said to me flew over my head except the sedation part. "On whose order? Who had her sedated?"
The doctor felt it was necessary to jump in just then. "Her husband came and gave us permission to put her to sleep." Husband? I gave James the death glare. "You're telling me that you allowed Antonio to come here and have Natalía sedated?"
"Well there wasn't anything I could do. When I got here she was already asleep."
I had to take calming breaths. If I didn't, I'd lose my temper. "Where is she now?"
"The room next door."
"Have her moved in here," I said to the doctor. "Sir we can't allow two patients to share the same room on this floor."
"You must not have heard what I said, 'Doctor'. I want my girlfriend in here with me. It wasn't a question. If you like your job and want to keep it, I suggest you do as I say."
"Of course," he said and backed away.
I tried to shift position but groaned in pain because of my broken ribs. "Why are you always so damn stubborn? It's obvious you're in pain."
"I'm fine, James. I want you to tell me everything that has been going on since I've been in this coma. Leave nothing out."
He proceeded to tell me everything that I needed to know. It was a good thing he was here, because from what he told me, Natalía did a complete 180 on everyone. I felt kind of proud that she practically had a mental breakdown over me being in a coma. It shows just how much she really cares for me.
"What are you smiling about?"
"Was she that horrible?"
"You have no idea. I felt relieved when Antonio showed up, because the nurses and doctors were scared of her and scared to go near her." I chuckled softly then winced from the pain. "Careful mate, your feelings are showing."
"Are they?" I got serious again. "Before Natalía gets here, I need to speak with Antonio. I don't like the fact that he made a decision regarding her care when he clearly has no authority to do so."
For the rest of the time, James filled me in on everything that I had missed. I was told Andrea had not been discharged and was still receiving counselling for the loss of her child. Because Natalía went all she-devil on her, she wasn't allowed to visit me. But I told James to have her moved to this hospital. We had things to talk about.
I used the time waiting for Antonio's arrival to let the doctor check my condition. Physically everything seemed fine. The doctor however, wanted to do a brain scan to see if there was any damage from the accident or the coma. I allowed him to do so.
"Well, Mr. Paxton, everything seems fine with you. We are just waiting on the results from your scan. If there is anything you need, don't hesitate to let us know."
"I could do with some food."
"Of course."
"And I don't want hospital food."
"I would suggest you start off with something light, maybe a salad."
"I didn't ask for your suggestion." I turned to James. "Have someone get me a double cheeseburger and fries." He bowed jokingly. "As you wish your majesty." I rolled my eyes and closed them to block out the extremely bright hospital room.
"I'm glad to see you've awakened from your coma." I opened my eyes and sat up. "Antonio, how nice of you to show up now," I drawled sarcastically. "We have things to discuss."
"Do we?" I ignored his question. "First off, I don't know why you are here again, and I don't care. My only concern at the moment is Natalía, which brings me to my second point. Who the hell gave you permission to have my girlfriend sedated?"
"It's just us men here. You don't have to pretend with me Paxton. And I was the one who stuck the needle in her arm. She was terrorizing the hospital staff."
"I don't care if she killed someone and was carrying around the dead body! You had no right to authorize any such thing. You are not her husband anymore."
"Duly noted."
"I'll appreciate it if you don't interfere with Natalia's life anymore. I am responsible for her now. That means any decision that needs to be made should be made by me."
He stared at me with a bored expression and said nothing. "You are Natalia's past. I'm her present and her future. Stay out of our business from now on." He laughed. "Anything else?"
"No. You can leave. And by leave, I mean go back to Italy." He chucked one last time before spinning on his heels and exiting the room. Less than five minutes later, James came back.
"They're bringing Natalía here now. Would you prefer they wait until after you eat?" He held up a brown paper bag I was sure contained my burger and fries. "No it's fine. I'll feel better if she is here where I can see her." They brought her in and placed her beside me as per my request. The hospital bed was way smaller than I was used to, but I didn't mind. I found pleasure in the way she automatically curled into my side as soon as they put her down. I watched her sleep while I ate slowly, and after I was finished I closed my eyes and fell asleep once again.