I awoke to not only the one face I had awoken to yesterday, I saw not only Tom sitting in the chair next to me but five other people pacing around the room, anxiously waiting for me to wake. No one notices I’ve awakened yet; I slowly try to sit up on the bed, getting in even more pain that last night. I breathe in a deep breath as I place a hand to the side of my rib cage. Instantly everyone is by my side, worried looks on their faces.
‘How’s…’I start to say, breathing deeply through the pain, ‘how’s Nathan?’
‘We can go see him today if you’re up to it.’
I nod my head just as Nicolla steps forward.
‘Could I talk to you alone first?’
‘Yeah sure,’ I answer looking around at the guys as they all walk out of the room, leaving Nicolla and I alone to talk.
‘What’s up?’
‘I think I owe you an explanation about the other night with Nathan and I. I didn’t want it to get that far, nothing was meant to happen.’
‘How come I recognize you, and your voice?’
‘What?’ she asks confused in my change in conversation.
‘Have we met before? Before the other night I mean?’
‘Don’t you remember the flight to Bolton from Los Angeles last year?’
‘Sure I do, we met during the flight?’
‘Yeah, we had talked the whole flight; it felt like I knew you for years. I was flying back home from visiting Tom in Los Angeles.’
‘I was returning to Bolton after checking out a great performing arts school that I never ended up going to. I couldn’t bare living that far away from home and family.’
A knock at the door interrupts our conversation down memory lane; Max and Jay enter with smiles on their faces.
‘Are we going to see Nathan now?’
‘Yes we can visit Nathan now, and the nurse has agreed to let you stay with him tonight, if you’re not in too much pain.’
They both reach under my arms and legs to lift me off the bed and gently place me back into the wheel chair, still placed by my bed. We start to head out the door when Carol stands in front of us blocking our pathway.
‘I’m sorry Kiara,’ she says leaning down to be at eye leave with me.
‘I should’ve been the best friend supporting you through everything, the one person you can talk to about absolutely anything,’ she carries on, placing her hand upon my knee.
‘It’s alright, I forgive you, lets just promise to never fight like this again,’ I say placing my hand upon hers as a tear rolls down her cheek.
She moves out of the way and Jay continues to push me down the hall. We pass six doors before finally coming face to face with the closed door where Nathan is lying still on the bed. I take a deep breath and quickly breathe out as a sharp pain starts in the side of my rib again.
‘Let’s go,’ I say looking over to Max and Tom standing either side of me.
Tom opens the door and steps in, holding open the door as Jay wheels me into the room. I try my best to prepare myself for the worst, as Siva pulls the curtains away from around the bed. Machines running pumping away to help Nathan breathe for now, drips stuck into his arms to keep the medicine running through his body to give him all that he needs.
The sight was not what I had hoped to see; I was hoping to see him sitting up in his bed not lying still. Jay pushes me closer to the bed, close enough for me to reach my arms out and place my hands into Nathan’s, tears rolling down my cheeks as I stroke his hand with my thumb.
‘We’ll give you some time with Nathan alone,’ Siva says placing his firm hand on my shoulder.
I turn to mouth ‘thank you’ to them as they are all walking out of the room.
Max stops to tell me, ‘We’ll be back in a few hours to check on you.’
And with that the door closes behind him, and finally I’m alone with Nathan.
‘I don’t know what to say, I’m not even sure if you can hear me still, but… I’m sorry. I’m sorry for being stupid by seeing Tom behind your back, we both knew it was wrong. But most of all I’m sorry for getting you into all of this mess.’
I place my hand gently on his hand, as tears continue to fall down my cheeks.
I awake to the gentle lift of getting out of the wheel chair, I hadn’t realized I feel asleep. I cling my arms around their neck, while they grip the side of my ribs and under my legs, carrying me around to the other side of a bed.
I’m placed not just on a bed, but I am placed next to someone. I open my eyes, just as I see Max removing his arms from around me, I turn my head to the right of me to find I’m side by side with Nathan, I find his hand and place his within mine, cuddling up the best I can next to him, resting my head on his shoulder and slowly letting myself to fall back to sleep.
Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep!
I prop my head up still sleepy, looking around the room to find the source of the beeping. My eyes widen as I see the life support monitor connected to Nathan, instead of steady heartbeats, it’s a rapid beat, as it increases more faster it suddenly goes flat.
Beeeeeppp!
The long sound of a flat line, closely followed by: ‘Code blue, room seventeen! Code blue, room seventeen!’
In an instant, doctor followed by nurses with carts file through the door. One instantly comes to my side and helps me off the bed and back into the wheel chair, she pushes me toward the door.
‘No! I want to stay with him! No!’ I scream looking back at Nathan, knowing they are just going to continue pushing me out.
She places me against the wall, she heads back inside and closes the door behind her. I slowly and painfully stand out of the wheel chair, slowly shuffle my feet toward the window to Nathan’s room to peer in. tears form in my eyes, I try blinking them away but it’s no use.
‘What are you doing out here?’ asks Siva walking toward me from around the corner.
I turn my head, tears streaming down my face as I face the lads. I quickly turn back to the window to watch them work their magic on Nathan, the lads all surround me peering into the window as well.
‘I can’t lose him this time, not so soon, I didn’t even get him back yet,’ I finish saying, fighting through the tears and the pain of my ribs.