Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 59120 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 296(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59120 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 296(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
She purses her lips. “Come in.”
I follow her in and laugh at the half-eaten room service trays on her bed.
“What?” she grins, “It’s a vacation for me.”
“You’re the best.”
She shrugs, grinning. “How’s Chief handling all of this drama anyway?”
I flop onto the bed. “He’s not. Chief loves drama about as much as he would love a bullet to the head. But he is trying.”
Reagan’s brow furrows. “I’m sorry, that sucks.”
I shrug. “It’s stupid. I love him. But I can’t stay there right now. That girl is going to drive me up the wall.”
“Well girl, you know you can stay here with me, though I don’t know how long I can afford this place.”
“I could stretch out these tiny hotel shampoos for at least a month,” I say, flopping backwards onto the bed. “No offence to Chief, but I may actually murder my sister if I have to see her one more time.”
“She’s got mean girl eyes, that one. The ones that look right through your soul and keep tabs on every calorie you eat.”
“Try every time you breathe. Even Chief’s started looking at us like he’s waiting for a murder to happen.”
Reagan cackles, then snatches a pillow and hugs it to her chest. “So, what about the reason you’re actually in town? Tell me more about what it was like to see Travis.”
I stare at the ceiling and let out a low huff. Just thinking about Travis, wired to all those machines, makes my stomach twist. “There is nothing more to say than I already said, it was fucking awful seeing him like that. Just...horrible. What if he doesn’t wake up, you know?”
She doesn’t say anything. She knows me too well to start with the optimistic bullshit. Instead, she just does her little tilt of the head, her ‘I’m listening’ face.
“He looked bad. Like, worse than I anticipated. He doesn’t even look like himself anymore. Even in a coma, he kind of looks...darker. If that makes sense?”
“Well, who knows what the last two years have been like for him,” Reagan murmurs, “Have you asked Chief that question?”
I shake my head. “No, I’m kind of scared the answer will hurt even more. What if he’s seeing someone? What if it’s even worse than that? What if he’s...happy?”
She smiles, but it’s warm this time, not playful. “Well, at least then you’ll have closure.”
“Yeah,” I murmur to myself, “I guess you’re right.”
“So, what’s the plan?” Reagan asks, sitting up and folding her legs. “You wanna hibernate here, or you wanna go out tonight? I can make us margaritas in the room. Refined sugar is good for emotional healing. Science.”
Before I can answer, my phone rings, vibrating the side table so hard it nearly jumps off. I snatch it up and see it’s Chief.
I hesitate, thumb over the screen. “It’s Chief.”
“Answer it, don’t make the poor guy suffer.”
I do. Chief’s voice tears through the line before I can say anything. “You need to come home. Now.”
My heart seizes in my chest. “Why, what happened?”
“He’s awake, baby. Travis is fuckin’ awake, and he’s asking to see you.”
I don’t realize I’ve stood up until the room tilts under me. “Are you sure? He’s really—”
“He’s talking, seems good. Get your ass down there, kid.”
He hangs up.
I turn to Reagan. “Travis is awake. He wants to see me.”
She moves quickly, picking up my keys and shoving them in my direction. “Go,” she says, pushing me toward the door.
I manage a strangled sort of laugh, blink the heat from my eyes, and bolt for the hall. In the elevator mirror, my reflection looks wrung out and wild with hope, a sight I’d almost forgotten. The hospital’s only ten minutes from the hotel, but time dissolves on the drive and suddenly I’m in the parking lot, heart beating out of my skin.
Inside, nothing has changed. Fluorescent hell, freshly mopped floors, every surface smelling like sanitizer or bleach. I don’t pause at the desk this time, I know the way. The second I reach his unit, the nurse who I spoke to yesterday, who I see is named Mary, rushes over to me. She takes my hand, smiling. “He has been asking for you.”
I clutch her hand, desperate, like if I let go I’ll just dissolve into thin air. “Is it okay to go in?”
She smiles—so kind, I nearly lose it right there. “Of course, you’re the only one he has asked to see.”
The world tilts under my feet, and I find myself unable to let go of Mary’s hand. She gently releases me, coaxing me with kindness to go through the door. I hear it creak open, but I don’t feel myself move through it. It feels as though I’m in some kind of twisted dream. There’s a second of silence, then a hush that vibrates in my ears. Just the two of us. No more nurses, no more distance, no more excuses.