by Ml Preston
“How is he, mami?” Gabrielle asked.
“Well the swelling is gone, but basically, he is still not responding.” My voice was somber. As hard as I tried to be cheerful, it was extremely difficult. The not knowing was the hardest. I didn’t know if he would ever wake up.
“Here, honey. I bought more of your things from your place,” Samantha said. She had been up to see me every day, keeping me sane for the most part.
“I’m sorry, but the doctors are coming in to check on Nicholas.” Nurse Nicole was sweet. She would cover me up with my throw blanket at the end of her shift because I would drift off to sleep laying by Nicholas. She would always look out for me while I was there.
“Okay, we will step out,” I replied. We all stepped out into the hallway while the doctors came in to check on Nicholas. Jason put his hands on my shoulders as we walked out. I walked them to the elevators because I knew they were going home for the evening. We hugged, and they left. I walked back to the room and entered as the doctors left.
“Still no change?” I asked Dr. Miller. He smiled and looked at me.
“There is a little neurological activity displaying which leads us to believe that he will recover just fine. But he is still in a coma so we will have to wait.” That was the best news I had heard since Tuesday. I gave Dr. Miller a hug and went back into the room.
“Okay, the doctor said that you have neurological activity so I am going to do whatever I can do to help you regain consciousness.” I pulled out the mp3 player and played a list of our favorite songs. The ones that brought us to this point. That list was playing on repeat throughout the night. I woke up the next morning and it was still playing. I turned it off. I got up and washed my face and brushed my teeth. The morning shift nurse was coming on duty and came in to check Nicholas’s vitals. I pulled up my email and checked to see what was going on at work. Lori Hansen had sent me an email asking how I was. They were all staying at the Doubletree Hotel instead of driving out to their property in Jupiter. I replied, letting her know that I was okay. I advised her of the information the doctors shared with me last night, she immediately called me to tell me to keep doing what I was doing, and that they would be up here after four o’clock this afternoon. I could hear the tears and smile in her voice. I grabbed his hand and held it as I began to speak to him.
“Hey, Nicholas, your family will be back after four this afternoon. Your mom is great. She emails me every day to check on me. I think that is sweet of her. My mom has her prayer team working on your behalf so I know that you will be better. Did you like the playlist I created? I kept tabs of every song that you and I ever danced to, sung to each other, made love to, and had car sex too. All of them. Helps with keeping the memory fresh. I was hoping that it would spark more activity.” I looked at him and I thought I saw his eyes flutter. I jumped in shock.
“Nicholas, can you hear me?” He continued to flutter his eyes and then he moved his hand. I became a little freaked and pulled my hand back.
“Nicholas?” Tears began to impede my vision and I pushed the button for the nurse. She ran to my side. He was still moving. This wasn’t involuntary, this was all him. He turned his head to the side and opened his beautiful green eyes. They were a bit bloodshot due to the injury, but with light and nutrition, they would heal. He was trying to speak, but he still had the ventilator in his throat.
“Nicholas. Hi, baby.” Tears began to fall. He reached up with his hand and grazed my face. The nurse had called for the doctors and they entered the room.
“Okay, Mr. Hansen. We are going to check you out and possibly remove that tube.” Nicholas gave him the thumbs up symbol.
“Baby, I will step into the hall and call your mom, okay?” He blinked his eyes and shook his head slightly in agreement. I kissed his cheek and stepped outside while the doctors checked him out. They were in there for about thirty minutes, but it seemed like forever. I paced the floor after calling his parents and the girls to let them know what was going on. I told the girls to let his friends know. Finally, the doctors stepped out and the nursing staff was still tending to Nicholas.
“Mrs. Davis, he is recovering. His voice is a little hoarse, but that is expected. He has a headache, also expected, and we are putting in for his diet. We will start with a hydration diet and broth, soft foods, and then work up to a regular meal. He tested well for his motor skills assessment and we will continue to work with him on memory testing to make sure he is improving with no memory loss.” The nurses started heading out. “I do believe Mr. Hansen is waiting for you.” I thanked the doctors for their work and assistance and walked back into the room. When I walked back into the room, Nicholas was looking at me, smiling. He motioned for me to sit on the side of him on his bed. I took my place beside him and he grabbed my hands and kissed them.
“Thank you,” he said to me quietly. I smiled as the tears began to flow again. I lay down in his arms and cried. He stroked my head in an effort to comfort me, but I couldn’t help the tears. My heart was filled with happiness, but the thought of nearly losing him was real. Real and it hurt. This was the first time I have had to actually realize that fact.
“I want to be with you every moment of the day. I know that it is not possible because we work, but I can’t stand to know that when I go home, you won’t be there. Then I wonder about what you are doing, then I want to call you, but I don’t want to seem like a stalker.” His voice was raspy and sexy at the same time. I looked at him as I straddled him so we could be face to face, no sexual tension between us.
“I don’t think you should stress your voice out like this. Just rest. I’m not going home until you go home,” I said with a smile. He had a look of pain on his face. I thought that maybe something was wrong, I tried to get up to get a nurse, but he grabbed my hand wanting me to stay. He cleared his throat and eased up with obvious discomfort. The look on his face was serious.
“See, that’s the thing. I don’t want you to go home unless it’s my home, our home. However, I don’t want you to only be at my place until I’m all better. I want you to move in with me.” I looked at him with a puzzled look on my face. “This whole time, I heard you. Crying in your sleep, while walking around, on the phone with your friends or family or my family. The music you played—you were my stimulation. I wanted to come back to you. I want us to be together. This is not marriage, maybe one day, who knows, but I want to live with you in my bed every night. I want to be able to take care of your every need. I want to give you massages, cuddle, make love, fuck when we want, how we want without the need to go to another location unless we are on vacation. I want it to be you and me.” Those damned tears did not know how to stop today. My insides melted and his grip got tighter. “I’m not letting you go... Ever,” he said.
“Nicholas, baby.” his mom exclaimed as she walked through the door. I moved out of the way so his family could get in to see him and walked outside the room for a moment. My head was spinning. He wanted me to move in with him. I couldn’t breathe. It was not panicking, but excitement that was taking over. I sat in the chair that was outside his door for the security post. I was trying to calm myself when the door opened.
“Amaya, Nicky is looking for you,” his dad said with a smile.
“Okay,” I said as I stood and took a deep breath.
“There she is,” his mom said as she embraced me with tears in her eyes, slowly crawling down her face. I used my thumb to wipe them away as she stood there and smiled at me. “Nicky told us that he heard you speaking to him, crying, playing your favorite songs. We want to thank you for opening your heart to him.” Jaimie came over and rested her head on my shoulder. “Your love was the source of his fight and we are forever grateful for that.” She started to cry and she hugged me again. I was beginning to cry again.
“So what about it?” Nicholas said. “Are you going to move in with me?”
Acknowledgements
There are so many people I want to thank without whom I would not have e
ven began to put pen to paper. This journey began July of 2014 as a mere inner dare to myself to complete something that I start. First I have to give thanks to God for instilling in me a will to take a chance and to actually see it through. My mother for saying I can do anything I wanted to do and being supportive of my choices. My brother for jumping on my “fan wagon” and he had no clue what I was doing.
My husband Derek who supported this dream from beginning to end no questions asked. The king of my firsts, I will always love you. My children Jazmyne, Elton, and Jayden for being supportive of my dream and me and encouraging me to continue even when I wanted to quit. My financial supporter, Erik. Thanks pops for supporting me.
To Sue and Michelle for being my testers for each chapter as it was completed. To Amy, Ben, Braian, Maurio, Huong, Jessica G. and Justin, my work family, who offered advice, first look edits, first prints, and continuous support.
To my Facebook loves from ReHab and Pervy Book Whores for the endless support and feedback during this process. The texts, the phone calls, the tears you helped wipe, was all done in love and support and will never be forgotten.
To the support groups of Author Noobs and RWBW, the advice you gave and offer of assistance is invaluable and I will never forget the kindness and generosity you showed a newbie like me.
Dawn Stanton, Harper L. Jameson, Lisa Arrington, you guys were a big help to me. Lending a hand with teasers, bios and formatting as well as sharing your knowledge and experiences with me helped keep me focused and on task. You all have my eternal gratitude.
Kerry Dill-Genova, I do not know where to begin. I have learned so much from you during this editing process and I thank you for being honest with me and willing to work with me on future projects.
TJ Jeffery, for and amazing book cover and working well with me during many changes and ideas.
Christina Sanders at prettyflyers.com and one of my oldest friends, it was a God send that our paths reconnected after all these years. Thank you for my beautiful logos.
Keyanna Butler, Do not let anyone bring you down. Your services are invaluable. You took a chance on not only an indie author, but also a new indie author and took on the challenge of growing my brand among social media. I can’t thank you enough.
Robin Lee Hester, you have just really kicked my ass whenever I needed it. You have comforted me during my fears; you have made me smile through my tears, (no rhyme intended). Stayed up late nights to help pick out photos, held the keys to the kingdom while I was on vacation. Recommended those to help me and threatened those who took advantage of me, ($500 mistake). Took a chance and loaned me one of your works to put on display because you believe in me that much. There needs to be a phrase greater than Thank You, because that is what I would use to express my gratitude to you. To a lifelong friendship! I love you!
To my angels in heaven lending a hand through heavenly grace, I thank you! If I have forgotten anyone, it is my head and not my heart!
~Hugs and Kisses!
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About the Author
ML Preston was born and raised in Oklahoma City, where she learned early on that she had a gift for bringing worlds to life with her words. An avid and voracious reader, she was encouraged to nurture her active imagination and quickly found a passion for storytelling. Inspired by her own personal love story, she began to write the voices in her head, embarking on a journey to share her stories. She spins tales of passion and romance where the lines between race and creed, physical perfection and social norms disappear in the face of love. Tales of real love; erotic connections with a heart and soul that everyone can relate to. She now makes a home in Texas with her husband and three children, who keep her grounded when the voices call on her to tell their story. And they never stop calling.